YHAgroup.org.uk

Newport Outdoor Group welcome you to enter the 2007 Cadbury Cup, which will be staged from Brecon Youth Hostel.

This long established event is open to all affiliated Local Groups. To win the event groups must enter a minimum of two teams, with each team comprising a minimum of two members. The overall Cup winners are determined by the score of each Group’s two teams.

The event is a mixture of navigation and general knowledge, with each team navigating a course of approximately 12 to 15 miles and by answering questions on varying topics at each checkpoint. Points are gained by reaching checkpoints, and at each checkpoint reached additional points are gained by successfully answering the questions.

Entry is free of charge, but it is recommended that all participants stay at Brecon YH on Saturday night. Though the hostel manager is aware of the event, we have not pre-booked any beds - so it as advisable to book beds as early as possible.

Additional information can be had from Norman Roberts, 02920752156, norman.roberts1@virgin.net.

The former Steps Bridge YH, which was closed last year and became an independent bunkhouse (plans to operate within the YHA enterprise scheme apparently fell through), is on the market again. The property, now called “Blytheswood”, includes six acres of broadleaf woodland and goes under the hammer on 25th October. According to the estate agent it’s expected to make around £200,000.

Will this be another ex-hostel to become a private house? Not without a planning application, the agents say:

It is believed that the use of the building as a youth hostel falls outside scope of the Town Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended). The 1994 amendment to this order (1994 No 724) confirmed that any “hostel” does not fall within any class of use specified by the Order. All “hostels” are considered “sui generic” and require specific Planning Permission for use for any purpose other than a “hostel”.

Whether the new buyer will seek, or get, such permission remains to be seen.

[ADDED] Thanks to Karl for spotting this story and reporting it on uk.rec.youth-hostel.

Worcester and Malvern Outdoor Group (Wamog) are organising the Cadbury Cup this year at Bridges Youth Hostel in Shropshire (see map below) on Sunday 28th September 2008. If you do not know what the Cadbury Cup is, it is an annual orienteering type competition that in the past was open to YHA Groups in the Midlands area but in recent years has been opened up to any affiliated groups who want to enter. The course is approximately 12 miles long and involves locating checkpoints from grid references. Points are gained from reaching the checkpoints and from answering questions there including YHA related ones, natural history, general knowledge etc. Teams usually consist of 2 or 3 people and Groups can enter several teams. The Cup goes to the Group with the most points but there other prizes too.

Hopefully you’ll be able to join them in September. It is a fun day out - competitive but not too serious. You don’t have to be super fit. A lot of people don’t complete the course in the 5 hours but just come along for the experience.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), Scotland’s charity watchdog, has begun a review of SYHA’s charitable status, according to The Herald. This will form part of an ongoing review of all Scotland’s charities following some recent scandals in the sector. Why pick on the SYHA?

The newly created OSCR decided to prioritise its task of vetting all 23,500 charities by concentrating first on those where there was “risk” or uncertainty as to their status.

Independent schools, care homes and universities [and hostel associations too, presumably] could fall foul of the legislation - and therefore lose valuable tax breaks - if their fees are deemed to be “unduly restrictive”.

As it only costs up to £8 per year to join the SYHA, and non-members can stay at their hostels for a mere £1 per night extra, they shouldn’t have too much to worry about on that score. Still, a renewed focus on their charitable status shouldn’t do them any harm.

South of the border, it should be noted, the recent AGM called on “all parts of the  YHA community to renew their commitment to YHA’s charitable object”. Perhaps they ought to make that call more vocal?

A report in Cellular News tells how Skiddaw House, which rejoined the YHA network earlier this year, has managed to overcome the communication problems inherent in its isolated position:

The problem faced by the Skiddaw House Foundation Trust was how to operate a viable and successful hostel given that no one could book accommodation either by phone or by email. British Telecom had quoted a prohibitive sum of £65,000 to install a landline some ten years ago. Satellite phone communication costs are unaffordable.

To make matters worse not even mobile phones are able to work in such a remote location.

Enter a gizmo called the Burnside Desktop Mobile, spotted on the internet by one of the trustees. Essentially, it’s a souped up mobile phone that’s able to pick up a signal where your ordinary hand-held version wouldn’t. It will even work off the hostel’s solar cells.

As a result, Skiddaw has access to the telephone, the internet, email and SMS text messaging. The warden, Martin Webster, says:

I cannot imagine us having to go back to using the Citizens Band radio we tried to use in the past. The Burnside terminal has transformed our lives up here in the mountains enabling visitors to phone or email their bookings and letting us keep in contact with our friends and relatives. This was never possible before.

Maybe there are other remote hostels out there that could follow Skiddaw’s lead?

The latest edition of Discover magazine (pictured left) is winging it’s way towards members’ doormats. Launched as a replacement for Triangle earlier this year, Discover is more like a glossy brochure for YHA properties and services than a conventional magazine. In this issue, the areas of YHA life to get this jazzy treatment include Affiliated Groups!

Continue reading…

YHA have issued their Annual Review in online form as well as the more conventional paper version issued to attendees at the AGM two weeks ago and no doubt available from a hostel near you. There’s lots to read, so I’ll let you get on with it, but feel free to comment about it below.

Lockton Youth Hostel was amongst the winners of the White Rose Awards for Tourism, awarded each year by the Yorkshire Tourist Board and described as the region’s tourism “oscars”. The hostel won first prize in the Sustainable Tourism category. According to the YHA site:

[Lockton] is one of YHA’s first Green Beacon Youth Hostels featuring a rainwater harvesting system, live sedum roof, a compost toilet and photovoltaic cells.

You can read more about the awards in the York Press or on the Yorkshire Tourist Board website.

Head for YHA Ilam on Saturday 8th September, where a series of walks and a day full of activities will be hosted for all of the family.

Show your support for Breaks4Kids and take part in one of the sponsored walks, which all start and finish at YHA Ilam.

Walkers can choose from three different well-marked and marshalled routes through the grounds of the historic property and on into the picturesque surroundings of Dovedale in the White Peak.

There’s a two-mile ‘flat’ walk, suitable for families with small children to tackle on foot or with pushchairs, a five-mile route and, for serious hikers, a more challenging 10-mile trek.

Walk as a family, a group or as an individual.  It will be a fantastic day out and a great way to meet new people. Why not get together a team of 5 - 10 people and walk to win! The fundraising team who pays the highest sponsorship money by 5 October 2007 wins the YHA Team Trophy and a fabulous prize.

Throughout the day, YHA Ilam will host a range of fun activities to suit children of all age groups.  The hall and grounds provide the perfect base for everyone to enjoy the great outdoors!

Visit the sponsored walk web page for information on how to sign up.

Just in case you thought mass hostel closures only happened south of the border, the SYHA have announced the closure of seven of their 53 hostels. The decision follows an 18-month “Hostel Network and Management Review”, and was approved on Sunday. According to the SYHA site (my emphasis):

Hostels marked for closure are: Armadale, Coldingham, Glendevon, Inverey, Killin, Kyleakin and Loch Lochy. In addition a storage facility in Stirling, a plot of land in Cargen, a disused building in Cannich and a former hostel in Whiting Bay will be sold. A review of the Hostel Services and HR functions in the SYHA’s National Office will also take place as part of the restructure.

It is anticipated that the recommendations will be implemented in phases with Phase 1 of the restructure in place by February 2008 and Phase 2 by February 2009.

The closure of Coldingham has already led to a report on the BBC News website. No doubt there’ll be further protests in the press and at the SYHA’s AGM next Saturday.

If any of these hostels is one of your (or your group’s) favourites, it’s time to start plotting a final visit…