YHA closures

Philip Whiteman

Re:YHA closures

Post by Philip Whiteman »

I used to be a defender of YHAs but my opinion on their justification is changing.

JUSTIFICATION 1. They provide low cost accommodation:

Some rural hostels are now charging £13.95 a night. A few pounds more and you stay in a B&B with a huge breakfast and privacy to boot.

JUSTIFICATION 2: They provide good accommodation for the independant travel:

Not if you want to be comfortable. From recent experiences in Hawes and Kettlewell, my wife and I were crammed into the corner of the hostel by single large groups that naturally overtook the hostel. I have no objection to group bookings but the YHA should not allow individual bookings. It was an uncomfortable experience all round.

JUSTIFICATION 3: YHAs provide cheap accommodation to young people.

Only if you regard young as over the age of 45.


I am sorry but the way the English and Welsh YHA are running their hostels - they deserve to close!
Andy Tallis

Re:YHA closures

Post by Andy Tallis »

Some Youth Hostels are nearly £20 a night now!
They are not so much use for the independent traveller unless he is travelling by one of those petrol powered metal boxes as the network of hostels is so fragemented and their directions in the handbook assume you will be arriving by car! They also sent me 3 handbooks last year but not one yet this year.
Pilotlight

Re:YHA closures

Post by Pilotlight »

Here is a problem. We (family of 4) will be coming home from Kent at easter back to Northumberland and we often break the Journey and stay over half way.

We thought about spending a day in the Peak district and using a YHA. It would have cost us over £85 for the family. As it turned out we found a Travelodge off the A1 for £10 for all of us for the night? What would you choose??

We spent a weekend in the Ambleside YHA and we nearly got divorced after the first night!!! Niether my partner or I got any sleep until after 2pm because the hostel was so noisy with tramping feet!!

I love and adore hostelling, some of them are in beautiful locations and you do meet some interesting people. However with family? I have my doubts?

As for promoting YHA for young people, great! I am a youth worker and we considered using YHA and their Go for It breaks. They would not entertain the idea of our staff being on site. It is all managed by YHA staff. One of the big benefits of residentials for youth work is the bonding that goes on between workers and young people, that will have a positive effect when they get back home. YHA does allow this to happen so many youth groups would seriously question whether it's worth it.

I may be becoming cynical, but alot of government funding is targeted at 'children in need', which quite often is appropriate, but for those young people not presenting themselves as a problem or with parental financial backing, opportunities to explore are becoming less and less. The YHA are like many charities struggling with money worries targetting those at need children.

The YHA and cycling in general are, in my opinion, struggling to develop in a 21st Century modern culture- have it now! Everyone seems to be saying that cycling is a boom sport, well not from where I am? I do not see many young people wanting to take it up competitively. Fears of road dangers and cars put parents off. I do agree with a number of comments made about pushing cyclists of roads. I am lucky living in Northumberland, where cars on some lanes are rare, too fast, but few. But look what is happening to mountain biking, with all these designated routes (7Stanes in Scotland). Cycling is being pushed into small areas of specific use and it will not be long until this becomes a reality on many roads. aka new highways act and sustrans.

Pilotlight
(div'unt bash me brains aboot)
Pilotlight

Re:YHA closures

Post by Pilotlight »

It's me again.

Do you realise that after next year there will be only 1 rural hostel in the whole of Northumberland.

Sorry North of the Tyne, I forgot about Ninebanks near Alston.

Northumberland is perhaps England's last rural county with plenty of wilderness, but no hostels??
Durr???
braz

Re:YHA closures

Post by braz »

To all who have something to say on this matter:
please e-mail all your stories and comments regarding the current YHA sitution to yha@stennack.co.uk please. Only truthful and personal stories - no hearsay please. I don't know what I can actually do to help, but I'm trying (and have been for years, my partner says). Your anonymity is assured - you will not be quoted personally.
regards to all, Braz.
blackie

Re:YHA closures

Post by blackie »

Hi Braz, I will E-mail. In all honesty I looked at an old book before joing YHA. I would not have joined if I had known about the closures.
BromleyYHA

Re:YHA closures

Post by BromleyYHA »

I have been Publicity Officer for our local YHA Groups since 1977. Currently I'm Publicity for Bromley Outdoor Group - a registered local YHA group.

The club is disgusted at the current policy of the YHA to sell the family silver.

e.g. We adopted Blackboys YH on the Wealdway - now to be closed. The current YHA Management is totally out of touch with its members and has no idea how to manage its affairs. Expecting this youth hostel to be able to contribute a fixed percentage to its already inflated Head Office costs is unrealistic.

They have made no attempt to see whether hostels could be saved. Blackboys village will suffer immensely - this is a delightful gem in the heart of cycling country and for walkers on the Wealdway.

There are plenty of local tourist attractions and there will now be no Youth Hostels in the beautiful Wealden area.

Write to:

Wealden District Council, Pine Grove, Crowborough, E Sussex TN6 1DH
Ian Kay, Chief Planning Officer

Argue that a change of use should not be permitted and indicate the need for simple accommodation in the area.

Come on CTC members - fight alongside us to retain the Youth Hostel heritage !

Alan Sealy, Publicity, Bromley Outdoor Group

alansealy@yahoo.co.uk
http://bromley.yhagroup.org.uk
Helen

Re:YHA closures

Post by Helen »

Don't forget - no need to give the YHA any money to use youth hostels worldwide. You can join Scottish YHA for £6 (£60 life membership).
Andy Tallis

Re:YHA closures

Post by Andy Tallis »

SYHA are excellent in my experience the last 2 summers - not excatly hostels scattered everywhere but quite enough if you can cover good distances. They are generally cheaper, friendly, better service, nice staff etc. I bought 3 years YHA membership for £20 last spring but when the time comes to renew (or maybe even before) I will probably join SYHA. I have noticed that just after I renewed my membership YHA sent me 2 membership renewal packs and handbooks (despite their "environmentally friendly" thing) but have yet to send me a handbook for this year.

Andy :-)
Helen

Re:YHA closures

Post by Helen »

I've heard from a Warden that YHA might drop the handbook altogether.
SYHA's leaflet is enough for me when cycling, but I have old handbooks to back up the info.
Don't forget that in Scotland and Ireland there are LOADS of independent hostels. Some nice and quirky, some full of greebo backpackers. I read reviews first, or am so desperate for digs I don't care! Maybe we can start a thread for our own reviews of indis (as we are particularly concerned about bike storage and security)???
Andy Tallis

Re:YHA closures

Post by Andy Tallis »

How on Earth can they drop the handbook?
I guess as they will have hardly any hostles they can just advertise the few that they do have to large groups by another means thus excluding young people trying to travel independently to gain a greater knowledge, love and care of the countryside like myself (does that bear some resemblence to their ethos in the 2005 handbook or is it just me?) altogether. After all, what kind of person wants to travel between youth hostels by bike or on fot and therefore needs a simple book to carry that gives them all the info they need? Everyone is expected to plan their trip 6 months in advance and drive to a hostel in a big town and pay £19.50 a night because it has en suite facilities I couldn't care less about, and then they'll send me literature ytelling me they need me to do voluntary work for them!!!

Andy :-)
Stuart

Re:YHA closures

Post by Stuart »

I don't understand people who advise others to drop membership of an organization to prove a point! Better to stay within the YHA and change it from within.
YHA management would probably rub their hands if you left as it would give them a free hand to continue their destruction of a superb institution.

Stay and fight!
gar

Re:YHA closures

Post by gar »

YHA new hostel at Grimsby looks perrtty good.
Trouble is... is Grimsby known as a destination for trippers/ tourists/visitors of the impecunious sort.... or is YHA going to pul them in, with all those bed spaces?
axel_knutt

Re:YHA closures

Post by axel_knutt »

"Don't forget - no need to give the YHA any money to use youth hostels worldwide. You can join Scottish YHA for £6"

I like that, I'll bear it in mind when I'm up for renewal this year. :-D
gar

Re:YHA closures

Post by gar »

The publicity blurb for YH Whitby is doing very good service as a table cloth.... so YHa is some good after all.

I last joined YHA 10 years ago and paid a lump sum for life membership. I enjoy the mag when it gets here.
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