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According to a story in the North-West Evening Mail, a couple have taken on this enterprise youth hostel, which perches outside the south-west corner of the Lake District National Park. Returning from a period touring around Australia and New Zealand…

They travelled across the country looking for a spot which they could compare with Down Under. They chose Millom.

The former ironworks town is “as beautiful and scenic as New Zealand” according to David Friend, one of the new owners. One can only suppose that the special effects in Lord of the Rings were even more impressive than previously thought!

Hyperbole aside, Duddon hostel does command an excellent view of the southern fells, and can act as a base for exploring the South-West Lakes. It’s served by a railway station for the car-free, and its relatively small size makes it well suited to groups. News of the enthusiastic new owners should be warmly welcomed.

More information can be found on the hostel’s own website.

Good news from the wilds of Cumbria, where a much-loved remote and simple hostel is all set to rejoin the network:

We are delighted to announce the re-opening of Skiddaw House as a bunkhouse from 6th April 2007.

Skiddaw House is a century old former shepherd & gamekeepers cottage, 1550 feet above sea level and three miles from the road. It is located in the shadow of Skiddaw, and located near Keswick in the Lake District National Park. The building is located on the route of the Cumbria Way.

The bunkhouse will be operated by the resident wardens - Marie & Martin (Martin was the warden from 1992-2000).

The Skiddaw House Foundation has been formed as a company limited by guarantee and is currently seeking charitable status, and will support the wardens in the upkeep and running of the building. It is hoped that funding will be sourced to enable sympathetic and sustainable improvements to the building over the coming years, subject to the necessary consents.

Discussions have commenced with YHA England & Wales with a view to Skiddaw House becoming part of their network as an enterprise operation.

Further information can be found at www.skiddawhouse.co.uk including booking details.

We look forward to welcoming guests old and new.

Issued on behalf of Marie, Martin and the trustees of the Skiddaw House Foundation, February 2007.

The first round of consultation on the governance review has been completed, and a document published called “Towards a Programme of Renewal”. In it, review leader Andrew Purkis (pictured left) sets out his initial recommendations for bringing YHA’s governing structure into line with its stated aims and with the stresses of the 21st century.

Of particular interest to visitors of this site will be his attitude to YHA Groups. What’s perhaps surprising is that he doesn’t appear to have one:

Continue reading…

Another fun-packed edition of YHA’s email newsletter:

Dear Supporter

Welcome to Get Involved, YHA’s newsletter for loyal members and supporters. Here, we aim to tell you how you can become more involved with YHA through taking part in governance, volunteering or fund-raising as well as keeping you up to date with changes in the YHA network.

Governance Review Update

The second stage of the Governance Review is under way and the next consultation document is available for comments. More

A meeting has been arranged on 6th March in London to discuss the latest stage of the Governance Review. More

Network News

Guests now have a wider choice of stunning properties in more fantastic locations thanks to the YHA Enterprise scheme.

The past year has seen rapid growth in the scheme which allows YHA to add more superb locations to its network while also offering profile and the YHA brand to accommodation providers. More

Volunteering

Thanks to the success of the Do It 4 Real Summer Camps in the past two years, YHA is now looking for enthusiastic volunteers to take on camp counsellor roles in 2007. More

YHA is looking for an enthusiastic supporter of small Youth Hostels in the Lake District to help set up a new volunteering network. More

Fundraising

YHA’s latest appeal, to raise funds to revamp two sites in the Lake District, is climbing towards the heights of success with donations flooding in from generous supporters. More

If you would like to receive this newsletter yourself, you can register here

The youth hostel at Wooler, one of the ones saved from closure last year, has been given a £600,000 grant to fund a thorough refurbishment.

The money was donated by the Northern Rock Foundation (who also financed the purchase of the hostel last year), Northumberland Strategic Partnership and the Lankelly Chase Foundation. The work should bring the hostel up to Matlock’s beloved three-star status, and be completed in two years’ time.

Read the full story at Northumberland Today.

The new handbook’s been out for about a month now, so a review of it is long overdue. Here’s an overview of what’s in it, what’s no longer in it, and what needs to go back into the next one…

Continue reading…

Nearly six months from its relaunch, I’m fine tuning the design of this site. Mainly this involves changing some of the fonts used and introducing pull quotes to the articles (they’re the shaded boxes off to one side holding a quote from a paragraph).

Another change is to use red for titles to break up the sea of green used on this site. Heck, if the YHA can move away from green, why shouldn’t I? As always, your comments and suggestions would be welcome.