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Castleton Youth Hostel has received a grant of £950,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, reports the Buxton Advertiser. The money will be used to repair and refurbish the Grade II listed building and produce a fully accessible centre of educational excellence.

YHA property director Jake Chalmers said:

Thanks to the award of this substantial grant we will now hopefully be able to ensure the future of this hostel, providing top-notch facilities and rewarding experiences for all young people, including those of limited means and with disabilities

Heard at Saturday’s Central Region AGM: It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, and fans of two north western hostels look set to profit from the credit crunch, for now at least.

The hostels at Bangor and Chester had both been earmarked for closure this year, but falling property prices and the turmoil in the mortgage market have made it very difficult for YHA to sell them. So, rather than mothball the two buildings until a suitable buyer can be found, they’re to remain open for business instead.

Admittedly, it’s (currently) a stay of execution rather than a full reprieve, but if you want a chance to visit one of these hostels, it’s good news.

On a related note, members will be relieved to know that what cash reserves YHA has were not invested in Iceland, or anywhere else where they might be under threat.

If the plan to reopen Coldingham Youth Hostel gets off the ground, you should expect a really warm welcome from the locals. The results of the local ballot are in, and a massive 411 out of 433 votes were in favour.

The next task for the community company is to raise £22,500 - 5% of the purchase price - by January 2009. If you want to make your own contribution, you can do so via the village web site. You can read more about the vote in the Berwickshire News.

While we’re waiting to hear the result of the Coldingham hostel ballot, there’s good news emerging a few miles down the road in Berwick. The Berwick Preservation Trust’s plan to convert a former granary into an exhibition space and youth hostel, reported on this site nearly a year ago, has attracted a £1 million grant from the Government’s Sea Change programme.

The grant comes on top of a £100,000 funding boost agreed by Berwick’s Borough Council at the beginning of the month, bringing the project within sight of its £5 million funding target.

Just how soon we might be checking in to Berwick Youth Hostel remains to be seen, but that day has just got substantially closer.

Locals’ attempts to save Coldingham YH are approaching a critical stage, according to a BBC report. Their plan to establish a community company to purchase and operate the company must be approved in a ballot of local people later this month.

If given the green light in the vote, they’ll still have to raise £27,000 towards the purchase price, and (apparently) a further half million pounds for repairs and refurbishment.If you want to help out, you can make a donation at the Coldingham Village Website.

Whatever happened to Youth Hostels? asks an article in monday’s Times. One of their reporters has visited the new London Central hostel and found, instead of the drafty dormitories and cold showers that she appears to have expected, something more suitable for the 21st century:

While YHA hasn’t abandoned it’s principles of dorm bedrooms, bunk beds, a kitchen, and long tables for communal dining; it’s the internet cafe and bar that’s now the hub of the hostel, not the stove and the kitchen sink.

Bright furniture, bold artwork, big screens playing music videos and a vast back-lit map of the Underground decorate the walls of the open-plan reception and cafe.

I’m sure there are readers of this site who will blanch at the thought of music videos blasting away full time, but this is supposed to be a youth organisation, and I don’t think it’s inappropriate in this type of hostel. I wouldn’t expect to see such things in a countryside hostel (not great for our carbon footprint, is it?) .

It’s only a short article, but more postive press for the Association can’t be bad. Anybody here stayed at London Central?

Saffron Walden YH is the oldest inhabited building in the picturesque Essex town, but also (apparently) its most haunted one. Just what form this haunting might take is unclear, but hostellers have been offered the chance to find out.

According to a story in the Saffron Walden Reporter, an outfit called London Paranormal will be investigating spooky goings on at the hostel, and inviting members of the public to join them - provided they can materialise a fee of £59 each!

The succession of horrific news stories from Jersey have been giving YHA’s name some unwanted exposure in recent weeks, so it’s good to see some more positive associations. A double review of Whitby and Hartington has appeared in the Daily Telegraph, assessing the hostels’ potential for family holidays.

Continue reading…

Coldingham Sands YH, one of the seven earmaked for closure by the SYHA last year, could be saved if the local community have their way. According to a report in the Berwickshire News, the sale of the hostel has been suspended whilst local people attempt a buy-out under Community Right to Buy legislation. Residents have 21 days to convince Scottish ministers of their case.

If given the go-ahead, they’ll then have about six months to fully develop their business case and raise the necessary funding. Either way, the hostel will be closed for the 2008 season.

Leading the new community company is Ged Hearn, who already has big plans:

The hostel is already heavily used in summer and we know that with careful adaptation its use can be extended throughout the year [...] The plan is to run it as a hostel and we hope to affiliate to the YHA and advertise with them.

Mr Hearn doesn’t have to look far across the border for inspiration. Both Wooler and Greenhead are thriving under private ownership after having been written off by the YHA. Let’s see if Coldingham can follow suit.

Up at Black Sail YH, the current hostel managers are putting together a history of the hostel and a list of its previous wardens. If you’re a former staff member, volunteer or visitor to the hostel able to contribute names, dates, photos or other information, they’d like to hear from you at blacksailmanager@yha.org.uk

Meanwhile, at the other end of the country, the new owners of what was once Steps Bridge YH (now known as Blytheswood) have a similar request:

Hello,

We are the new owners of Blytheswood and are interested in finding out more about its history. We are keen to contact anyone who knows it, visited it or lived there as warden or volunteer. It would be fanatastic to see any old photos, hear stories etc.

Thanks

Tracey and Patrick,

PS: We intend to carry on running it as a hostel after a little upgrading.

Send any info you have to blytheswood@blueyonder.co.uk (I’m sure many will be pleased to hear they’re keeping it as a hostel).

I think it’s a good thing that hostels are looking to their history. An appreciation of times past, perhaps illustrated with some well presented wall displays, can add to the character of a hostel. If room can be found amongst the wooden moose heads that is…