YHA Hindhead gone!

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by mercalia »

I see now that the YHA at Hindhead has closed. That was a lovely hostel in a very beautiful area. The blight was you had to leave your car at the top a mile a way at risk of being robbed....that didnt help i think?

This is the YHAs view -
"we will be focusing our efforts on YHA Tanner's Hatch to maintain a presence in the area. It is an integral part of YHA's Capital Strategy to have a fully invested in network of Youth Hostels that meet the needs of today’s guests."

:lol: :lol: :lol: :evil: with just 2 hostels now south of London some Capital Strategy. One for school parties ( Holmbury ) and one for back-to-the woods- wallahs. I am getting to the point that being a member a waste of money

I think the current management is narrowly following markets rather than trying to make create & nurture them?
User avatar
horizon
Posts: 11275
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Cornwall

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by horizon »

I stayed at Hindhead when I was 16 and I last stayed there a couple of years ago, a span of over 40 years. It was magic the first time, still delightful the last time. I thought it was one of the YHA's iconic pin-up hostels that they would keep whatever it cost just to show that they still cared. Obviously not.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
groberts
Posts: 588
Joined: 27 Apr 2009, 4:15pm
Location: Surrey
Contact:

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by groberts »

horizon wrote:I stayed at Hindhead when I was 16 and I last stayed there a couple of years ago, a span of over 40 years. It was magic the first time, still delightful the last time. I thought it was one of the YHA's iconic pin-up hostels that they would keep whatever it cost just to show that they still cared. Obviously not.


Completely agree, just goes to emphasize what has happened and continues to happen to the YHA, I despair but perhaps it's a case of use it or lose it? I was last there myself in about 1965 before moving onto Tanners Hatch, also very good. Another case in point is the equally wonderful Saffron Walden YHA built in 1497 where I stayed in 2009. There were two of us there that night and not long after it too was closed.

Meanwhile, I am pleased to report that despite opening a new YHA South Downs at Southease near Newhaven recently, Telscombe YHA still appears to be going. I stayed there in 2009 and apart from being an attractive flint building in a wonderful location on the top of the South Downs, there was also still something of the original YHA ethos about the place and how it was run.
eileithyia
Posts: 8399
Joined: 31 Jan 2007, 6:46pm
Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by eileithyia »

Sad day, parking at Hindhead; wasn't an issue if you arrived by bike :lol: Lovely hostel.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by mercalia »

horizon wrote:I stayed at Hindhead when I was 16 and I last stayed there a couple of years ago, a span of over 40 years. It was magic the first time, still delightful the last time. I thought it was one of the YHA's iconic pin-up hostels that they would keep whatever it cost just to show that they still cared. Obviously not.


Well I suppose Tanners Hatch nr Dorking is very similar - an old workers cottage in the back of beyond. Hindhead closed just a day or 2 ago. I suppose not many people went there any more - that means the car brigade. This, the increasing prices and the loss of hostels where you can camp is quite depressing. I use the yha less and less. I think the yha should lose its charity status, too many people turn up there with cars that cost a pretty penny, who are looking for a bargain?
tatanab
Posts: 5033
Joined: 8 Feb 2007, 12:37pm

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by tatanab »

I recall trying to get into Tanner's Hatch several times in the early 70s. Only once was I able to stay, being turned away on other occasions because it was packed with a London crowd who had "discovered" the hostel and filled it every weekend. From the one time I stayed there I have vague memories of a charming little hostel with 3 tier bunks. Having been turned away I went to Milford (closed in the early 70s) which was a pain since I'd always have ridden at least 60 miles to get to Tanner's Hatch. But I suppose that as a young chap the extra miles did me good. I always preferred the simple hostels. I stopped hostelling in 1986 when the demise of rules and the growth in motor borne visitors put me off.
User avatar
horizon
Posts: 11275
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Cornwall

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by horizon »

My first hostel was Tanners Hatch (as for many people I expect). My second was Holmbury, my third Ewhurst Green, my fourth Hindhead and yes, you've guessed, my fifth was Milford. This was the old Surrey circuit (almost) walkable with a little hitch-hiking. I did it when I was sixteen. The walking circuits still exist in the Lakes and so forth but it's the cycling links elsewhere that have disappeared.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by mercalia »

The trouble ( or virtue ) of Tanners hatch with camping is getting a laden bike there. There are 2 routes one going toward Polesden Lacy is impossible as too rutted and potentially muddy - dont think of a trailer :shock: The other is a long trail which has a tree across it to stop cars I think not too bad in winter when the leaves have dropped ( maybe but I dont want to camp then :lol: )
exukchris
Posts: 1
Joined: 9 Oct 2016, 9:32am

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by exukchris »

I have just come upon this wesite.
I am horrified that Hindhead Hostel has now gone. I had checked on google a couple of years ago and saw the building was still there.
I first came across Hindhead aged 13 years while Youth Hosteling by bicycle by myself. I would not subsequently let My children do such a thing alone.
The following year, I took my parents and siblings there. This was 1959. For some reason, the temporary Warden coming in hadn't arrived, so my father acted as Warden for the next week until the YHA sent a replacement. We stayed two weeks in all (although the maximum allowed time was 3 nights.)
My father was in his element, having been a Warden at Cudham hostel in Kent for a fortnight in 1951. Hindhead was a marvellous place.
That Open Fire.....
Seven years later, I took my fiancee there. We were on a motor scooter at the time. As this was NOT allowed, I parked it way down the track hidden among bushes, and we went in as Hikers... Those were the days...
I have been living in New Zealand for the last 47 years, and was hoping to get back to UK again in the next couple of years for an extended travelling holiday... I suppose I will have to cross Hindhead off my list now... sob!
axel_knutt
Posts: 2880
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 12:20pm

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by axel_knutt »

Yes, it's sad. I don't think there are any of my cycle tours that I could repeat without coming to a closed hostel.
“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
User avatar
robgul
Posts: 3088
Joined: 8 Jan 2007, 8:40pm
Contact:

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by robgul »

I hadn't spotted this thread before - those hostels bring back memories from the early 1960s when I used to go walking at weekends with the Woodford & District YHA Group - usually "train assist" but sometimes cycling . . . I recall Cudham, Hindhead, Tanners Hatch, High Beech, Ewhurst, Crockham Hill Holmbury, Ivinghoe, Jordans, Saffron Walden, High Roding . . . and so on.

Those were the days when the YHA "Rule 1" applied . . . getting their under your own steam.

Rob
E2E http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk
HoECC http://www.heartofenglandcyclingclub.org.uk
Cytech accredited mechanic . . . and woodworker
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by mercalia »

robgul wrote:I hadn't spotted this thread before - those hostels bring back memories from the early 1960s when I used to go walking at weekends with the Woodford & District YHA Group - usually "train assist" but sometimes cycling . . . I recall Cudham, Hindhead, Tanners Hatch, High Beech, Ewhurst, Crockham Hill Holmbury, Ivinghoe, Jordans, Saffron Walden, High Roding . . . and so on.

Those were the days when the YHA "Rule 1" applied . . . getting their under your own steam.

Rob


well the ones I high lighted all gone :( maybe others all rather sad and I wonder whether it was necessary as it killed off a whole set of client use. for the most part lost me as a client, I only ever use them now if they have a special offer like 20% off as will be having this following week at Burley New Forest, 4 night for £20 & 2 nights in Brighton at end of month get there using my Freedom pass from London ( cost me nowt) , for £18.
groberts
Posts: 588
Joined: 27 Apr 2009, 4:15pm
Location: Surrey
Contact:

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by groberts »

So sad to hear and wonder if there is really any future for the YHA, except as a quasi commercial lodging for parties. At a fundamental level for cyle / walking touring there are so few left it's no longer practical to use a hostel each night when as there are now too many gaps.

I also stayed at Hindhead in the 1960s and about the same time Tanners Hatch. A few years ago I was at Saffron Walden and Telsescombe, all wonderfully unique hostels that epitomised what the YHA was about - only one of these four is now open, I wonder for how long?
PH
Posts: 13106
Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 12:31am
Location: Derby
Contact:

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by PH »

groberts wrote:So sad to hear and wonder if there is really any future for the YHA, except as a quasi commercial lodging for parties. At a fundamental level for cyle / walking touring there are so few left it's no longer practical to use a hostel each night when as there are now too many gaps.

I've stayed in some wonderful hostels which have either gone, changed out of recognition or are now booked months in advance with school parties. The thing they all had in common was under use, midweek stays would often be a handful of older people in a hostel with large capacity. It was great, but does anyone think it was sustainable? Does anyone think it was fulfilling the Y objective in the name? Now, I can rarely book a hostel, certainly can't string enough of them together to make a tour and the idea of turning up and getting a bed has long gone. It is a shame, I do miss them, but I also see that they are now doing a better job of what they were set out to do than they have in the recent past. I'm going to have to disagree with those middle aged or older folk complaining that the Youth Hostels are full of school parties.
User avatar
horizon
Posts: 11275
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Cornwall

Re: YHA Hindhead gone!

Post by horizon »

PH wrote: I'm going to have to disagree with those middle aged or older folk complaining that the Youth Hostels are full of school parties.


They aren't. I've had some excellent trips using hostels off peak. I have the place to myself (literally) for which I pay about £12 per night. Come the weekends and school holidays, the price shoots up, the cars arrive and the hostel is full. Unfortunately for the "young person of limited means" hostels are either too expensive or it's school/college time.

I do think though that the YHA has a good future. I haven't seen the accounts books but it's got a strong network of hostels in popular tourist areas, it's got good marketing and it's got a market - car borne groups, families and couples who like walking and "exciting" days out. And yes, school parties. Who come in coaches and mini-buses. With a teacher (or two).

What it doesn't have anymore (so much) is the facility to offer "young people of limited means" the chance to explore the world on their own legs and wheels and on their own or with a friend or two. The alternative is cycle camping.

This is a slightly sweeping but not damning assessment of the YHA in its current form. I don't think it's all bad. I would only object strongly if someone claimed that nothing had been lost except nostalgia and memories: I was talking to a neighbour (aged 72) the other day who said the YHA had saved his life - he could travel on his own at the age of 14 and find his place in the world, something he still valued and appreciated. He still cycles and explores.

Young people have cheap flights and heaps of opportunities. But I think 14 - 16 year olds have lost something. Whether they would now take up the opportunity if it were offered is another matter and whether it is irreplaceable I don't know.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
Post Reply