Scotland’s largest youth hostelling association increased its membership by a third in May, taking the roll from 20,000 to nearly 26,500. The SYHA also reported it is receiving more bookings from within Scotland, suggesting that exchange rates, recession and flight disruption are influencing people’s holiday choices.

They’d already seen a similar effect last year, but this really is startling – membership up by a third in a single month? What I don’t understand is why have we not seen anything like the same effect south of the border? I know people will say that SYHA is cheaper, both to join and to stay at, but the difference isn’t really all that marked. Could it be that the alternative – flying to mainland Europe – is sufficiently more expensive when you start from Scotland to form a tipping point? No doubt the truth is more complicated than that. What do you think YHA could learn from its northern neighbours?

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Well, the news is in, but it’s not good for those hoping to see this hostel reopen. The Berwickshire News reports:

Community efforts to buy Coldingham Youth Hostel and keep it running as a low budget tourism facility were thwarted when they failed to secure lottery funding to help them purchase the building, and now there are plans to turn it into two houses and two flats.

Read the full story to find out more.

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A mix-up among holiday guests sparked a major search and rescue operation in the middle of the night, with the coastguard helicopter, Lerwick lifeboat and a coastal search team called out to look for a woman who had been declared missing.

However the 72-year-old, from Yorkshire, was simply in a different room at the Islesburgh Youth Hostel from the one her companions thought she was in. A police spokesman blamed a “break down in communication between travelling companions” for the hunt being launched.

You can read the full story in the Shetland Times.

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Having met with many locals and community representatives on site, I have no doubt that a solution must be found to the current problem surrounding access to the private road between the main road and the youth hostel.

The area has become a hotspot for some unruly visitors, who are unfortunately responsible for causing serious damage to the environment by sawing down trees to make wood for campfires and leaving vast amounts of litter, including beer bottles and the like, for others to clear up.

One solution proposed by some locals is to lock the gate on this private road, leading to obvious problems for the hostel and its visitors. SYHA are not keen on this, but have offered their support in finding an answer to the problem.

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Their zig-zag route across the country took in a cross-section of SYHA hostels: Carbisdale Castle, Edinburgh Central and Tongue. Carbisdale seems to have been a big hit:

Carbisdale Castle near Culrain is a jewel in the glittering crown of breathtakingly diverse hostels the SYHA has managed to bring under its wing since inception in 1931. Once you’ve feasted on the imposing exterior and convinced wide-eyed children that, yes, they really are going to sleep here tonight, it’s time to get to grips with the ghost…

What castle isn’t haunted, right? The SYHA blurb does nothing to discourage the legend — and nor does the collection of ghostly Italian marble statues lining the main gallery as you enter. There’s a spooky, otherworldly feel about the sprawling castle whose chequered history only adds to the experience.

Meanwhile, across the pond, the San Diego News Network have been sampling some historic YHA hostels. Their itinerary included Hartington, Whitby and YHA’s own castle: St Briavels. They come away impressed by how cheaply you can stay in some truly impressive buildings. They’re also pleasantly surprised to discover that you don’t have to be a youth to go hostelling. Indeed, as a perceptive hostel staffer points out:

“Without the over-40s, there would be no hostels,” said Anthony Rees, a YHA volunteer.  “Families, middle-aged and older travelers are some of our most enthusiastic guests.”

I do wish YHA’s marketing people would grasp this fact. Just about all the publicity material emanating from Matlock is dominated by pictures of children, young people and maybe the occaional parent. The age profile of people actually staying in hostels is much more diverse, and there’s a huge market of older people out there who don’t know that hostels are available to them as well as to youngsters.

I also hope that press coverage like this will encourage YHA to continue to look for and operate historic buildings as youth hostels. Purpose-built places may be easier and cheaper to run, but they just don’t have the “wow factor” of sleeping in a genuine castle!

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Something I find interesting is that they brand themselves as “Hostelling Scotland” rather than anything to do with youth hostels. Is this a new thing?

Personally, I think it’s a good idea and reflects the age profile of the people you meet in hostels better than the Y word does. Maybe we can come up with something similar south of the border.

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Louise Nowell, head of sales and marketing at the Scottish Youth Hostels Association, said: “Our advance bookings are up 7% compared to the same time last year.

In an ordinary year I wouldn’t have expected the figures to go up as they have. There’s a reason for it – the economic situation.

The exchange rate is keeping Brits at home, foreign visitors are getting more value for money, and people are becoming more value-conscious due to the credit crunch. Suddenly we’re being seen as an affordable destination.”

It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good!

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The former Loch Lochy YH is now operating independently as The Great Glen Hostel, having been refurbished to include such 21st century essentials as free wifi internet access alongside the usual hostel facilities. Prices are on a par with the nearest SYHA alternatives, though discounts for under-18s are less generous (not that SYHA always have one!).

All in all, if you’re planning on doing the Great Glen Way, or just heading for that part of the highlands, it looks well worth considering.

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Already hit hard when the Skye Bridge by-passed the village, replacing the ferry which used to land there, the loss of the hostel has been a blow to local businesses. It’s also been a blow to anybody arriving late at Kyle of Lochalsh railway station – they now have to get themselves to Broadford, nine miles away.

Speaking on Radio Scotland last year, SYHA Chief Executive Keith Legge said that two Skye hostels (Kyleakin and Armadale) were closing “not because of lack of visitors, it’s to do with the fabric of the buildings”. If the people of Kyleakin are faced with a purchase and refurbishment bill like Coldingham’s (nearly a million pounds, all told), they’ll have quite a job on their hands.

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