Good News, Bad News
Bad news first: The Ridgeway youth hostel is to close at the end of June. The relationship between YHA and the Court Hill Trust (the hostel’s owner) have broken down to such an extent that the Trust has refused to extend the Association’s lease.
Rumour has it that the contention started over YHA’s refusal to cooperate with the Trust’s plans to develop the site as a general tourist attraction, for example by opening a cafe there. Without knowing the full story, it’s impossible to judge the rights and wrongs of it all, but it’s sad that a twenty-year relationship should end like this. On the bright side, it seems quite possible that The Ridgeway could live on as an independent hostel. Who knows, it might even find its way back into the network as an enterprise hostel one day.
STOP PRESS: The Ridgeway will continue to operate as an independent bunkhouse, details can be found on the Court Hill Trust’s new website.
Now the good news. According to the Yorkshire Post, YHA’s relocated hostel at Whitby is all set to reopen in time for the Easter holidays. The Grade 1 listed building sounds like a treasure trove for those with a historical bent:
Key features uncovered included a hand-carved staircase; a 30ft-long Edwardian stained glass lantern; an original wattle and daub wall; a 12th-century stone column; and rare Victorian sash window mechanisms.
Other finds included 200-year-old wallpaper; musket balls, from when Abbey House was used as a garrison; and a 20ft long medieval carved beam, which had been used, decorative side in, as a makeshift window lintel.
When you add in the spectacular location next door to Whitby Abbey it should be a great place to stay.
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