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YHA announced today a £13.5 million spending plan for hostels across the country.

Work is already nearing completion on improvements to eleven hostels, including Manchester, St Pancras and Pwll Deri, whilst next month will see the opening of a new £4.3 million hostel in central London. Brand new hostels are scheduled to open next year in Eastbourne and Lewes.

A wide range of improvements will be made to hostels across the country:

Major schemes approved include a £2million revamp at YHA Ilam in the Peak District, £1million at YHA Bristol and almost another £1million to be spent at YHA Pen y Pass, in Snowdonia.

There will be £820,000 spent at YHA Penzance, in Cornwall, nearly £730,000 at YHA Conwy, in north Wales and £600,000 at YHA Ambleside in the Lake District.

YHA St David’s, in South Wales, YHA Grinton, in North Yorkshire, YHA Treyarnon Bay, in Cornwall, YHA Windermere, in the Lake District and YHA Exeter, in Devon, will each benefit from improvement projects costing around £½ million.

While schemes in excess of £250,000 are scheduled for YHA Arundel, in Sussex, YHA Coalport, in Shropshire, YHA Coverack, in Cornwall, YHA Haworth, in West Yorkshire, YHA Port Eynon, in South Wales, YHA Salcombe, in Devon and YHA St Briavel’s Castle, in Gloucesterhire.

A total of 37 building improvement schemes have been approved for this year, with a further 77 to follow over the next two years.

The announcement does include some bad news too: the hostels at Bangor, Great Yarmouth and Slimbridge will close at the end of the year.

Coming pretty much on the second anniversary of the announcement of the closure of 39 hostels, it’s nice to be able to report (mostly) good news coming from Matlock this time!

A Walk Designed to Test Endurance and Map Reading Skills

The Three Peaks Challenge is an organised challenge walk arranged each year in March by the Cardiff Outdoor Group. Over the years the event has been modified so in 2008 there is a choice of four routes:

Platinum Route

This is a linear walk of about 17 miles and 5000′ of ascent from Llanthony to Abergavenny over Bal Mawr, Pen Cerrig Calch and Sugar Loaf. Entry to the Platinum Route is limited to 50. Although shorter than the Gold Route, the Platinum Route is more demanding both physically and in map reading skills as the area is more remote.

Gold Route

This is the original challenge, a circular walk of about 20 miles and 5000′ of ascent, which crosses over three prominent peaks around Abergavenny in Monmouthshire Skirrid, Sugar Loaf and Blorenge. This route is never far from civilisation yet there is no obvious route so that concentration on map reading is essential to keep to the best route.

Silver route

This is a route introduced in 2007 which proved to be popular. It is a circular walk of about 15 miles and 4000′ of ascent. It follows the Gold Route from Abergavenny over Blorenge and Sugar Loaf, then descends back to Abergavenny.

Bronze Route

This is a new route, a circular walk of about 10 miles and 2000′ of ascent. The route goes from Abergavenny to Sugar Loaf, then descends by a different path.

Visit Cardiff group’s website for further information, including entry forms.

If you have any questions, please email 3pt@cardiffoutdoorgroup.org.uk or phone 029 2023 8576.

A new youth hostel has opened in the welsh town of Abergavenny. According to the South Wales Argus it’s the first YHA hostel to open in Gwent. If true, that’s a most surprising fact - given the (former) county encompasses the eastern edge of the Brecons and the lower reaches of the Wye valley. Surely there used to be a hostel in Chepstow?

Maybe they mean it’s the first affiliated hostel, rather than a fully in-house YHA one. The hostel’s been hosting school parties for thirty years under the name of the Mulberry House Environmental Studies Centre. A deal with the YHA has made it available to the rest of us.

First in the county or not, Abergavenny’s a great place for a hostel. Good road and rail links make it relatively easy to get to, and the town is surrounded with mountains and other things to do. The opening of this hostel also goes some way to make up for the closing of nearby (but next county!) Capel-y-Ffin last year.

You can find out more about Abergavenny YH on the YHA’s hostel page or from the Mulberry House website.

Taking a welcome break from the licensing saga, The Guardian published a lengthy review of National Forest YH in Saturday’s travel section. The reporter, who visited the hostel with her teenage children, makes some interesting points about the experience.

Continue reading…

The furore surrounding YHA’s application for 24-hour drinks licences for 118 of its hostels has persisted into the new year. Last week stories appeared in The Guardian, The Times and on BBC News, together with a somewhat tongue-in-cheek leader in The Independent. Whilst the nationals have generally passed on message about YHA not actually wanting to set up 24-hour drinking dens, local papers have been less measured:

• Youth Hostels in Sussex given 24-hour Booze Licences
• 24-hour drinking at the last bastion of clean-living
• Hostel Licence Must be Fought

YHA have, at least, published a press release about its licensing plans. Curiously, it was issued the day after I posted my previous article on the subject on this website. I don’t think the two facts are related!

We’ve already seen the re-opening of Skiddaw House, could Carrock Fell be set to join it one day? According to the Times & Star, one Brian Thompson has been labouring mightily on behalf of the Maryport Boys’ Club:

Mr Thompson has spent the winter doing up the old youth hostel at Carrick Fell[sic], which will be used by his members this summer.

If Carrock Fell has not become a private house (as I’d always assumed it would have done by now), but is actually still set up for group accommodation, maybe the MBC could be persuaded to open it to other groups? Well, it’s just a thought…

John Annett, Chair of YHA Southern Regional Council and stalwart of Croydon Local Group and of groups generally, has fallen seriously ill whilst travelling in Africa. He is currently in a coma and arrangements are being put in place to fly him home.

I know that everybody in the movement who knows John will be thinking of him and his family at this time, and wishing him a speedy recovery.