If you’ve never been to a Youth Hostel, you should.
Across the cites, towns, rolling hills, moorland, dense woodland and craggy coastlines of England and Wales there is a network of 150 Youth Hostel Association (YHA) hostels that provide a warm space, a bed and cooking facilities for an impossibly small fee.
What they also deliver is a feeling of temporary community I’ve not discovered elsewhere. Across the years I’ve found myself in many YHA communal areas chatting with people passing through. Whether they’re from the UK or further afield, without fail they have been friendly and with an interesting story to tell.
In a world of increased holiday atomization, where comfortable Airbnbs remove you from hotel staff and apps like Uber Eats cut out local interactions, this is a rarer and more precious thing than it once was.
With that in mind I decided to head up to the beautiful Hope Valley in Derbyshire, where I spent a day in YHA Castleton, a restored Victorian Gothic mansion in 27 acres of lush parkland. My goal? To speak to everyone I could.
Despite having to bug people for a living, as a British person, this is not something that comes naturally to me. But happily, YHAs seem to operate under different cosmic rules. These are places where you cook side-by-side with three women on a hiking holiday, enjoy a pint with a couple down from Scotland for a long weekend, and sit by the fireplace with a woman whose New Year’s resolution is to go hiking by herself.
“Norfolk isn’t very hilly, so I’ve got to come up here. It’s pretty beautiful,” she explained while drying her barefoot walking shoes on the hearth.
Throughout my stay, there is a noise in the background. The faint thumping of children’s feet somewhere in the distance.
Much of the YHA’s income is made through housing Britain’s primary schoolers who descend on the refurbed stately homes in legion, filling them up during the otherwise quieter Monday to Thursday slots.
Perhaps some will find the banging of closing doors and excited scurrying annoying. Others will take second-hand joy from their joy. It feels like being in an Italian piazza after dinner, the parents sitting and soaking in the atmosphere, the children reveling in the late hour. It is reminiscent of a Year 7 school trip to the Isle of Wight, frustrating teachers by opting for an all-night dormitory pac-a-mac war rather than sleep.
In March, YHAs are about to come alive. The bulk of visitors come in the summer months, although I found a growing number taking a chance with the early spring weather. “I can’t stop thinking about whether my pipes are going to burst,” another hiking woman tells me as we sit by the living room fire. It’s a clear but cold night, the mercury dipping to -5C.
Most are here to experience the sweeping beauty of the Hope Valley, which cuts through the Peak District to deliver walks, including Mam Tor and Winnats Pass. “I’m going up on the Great Ridge tomorrow,” a serious crime unit police officer explains. A paved path runs along the crest for 3km, providing a breathtaking aspect of the valleys on either side.
This proximity to British beauty is what draws people to YHAs. Many are tucked away in inaccessible parts of the countryside, acting like bothies—albeit with seemingly perpetually on, roasting hot radiators—for those who want to tread lesser-trod paths. Black Sail in the Lake District is the most remote and one of the most famous. Getting there requires a 9km walk or cycle, but the experience of being in a traffic-free valley of the utmost beauty is well worth it.
Black Sail may be among the better-known, but there are many affordable YHA treasures across the UK. A group of YHA workers who were down from HQ in Matlock for the day told me of their favourites.
Among the flurry of suggestions is York, which sits on the banks of the Ouse and is just a short walk away from the Minster. Jessie is a fan of YHA Thameside in London’s Rotherhithe, having spent a lovely few hours at the Mayflower pub that sits on its doorstep and on the bank of the Thames. Charlotte recommends a visit to Boggle Hole on the outskirts of Whitby for its views out to sea.
One of my personal favourites is Ennerdale in the Lake District, where the 15th-century barn can be rented in its entirety for a very reasonable sum. It is perfect for a group walking holiday or, in the darkness of the night that surrounds it and the way wind-buffeted branches tap the windows, as a place to tell ghost stories.
Lianne helps people book the 50 private hires available during the low season. As we watch a few dozen eight-year-olds dig around in the garden outside through the window, she explains how the YHA lets in unaccompanied teenagers over 16, while most private hostels only allow over 18s.
Whatever the name may suggest, they are welcoming of all ages. In fact, 65% of visitors are over 25. Yet this misconception and the fact many people wrongly think YHA isn’t for them, along with a hefty Covid closure bill, has left large parts of the YHA estate under threat.
I met with CEO James Blake in one of the charity’s most impressive properties, metres away from the front door of St Paul’s Cathedral. Amazingly, beds there can be booked during the week for less than the price of a large Domino’s pizza. Beds in some YHA go for as cheap as £15 a night, and cheaper still for members.
The hostel was one of many used to house rough sleepers during Covid, a long period when paying customers had to stay away. James explains that 90% of the YHA’s revenue comes from those people.
“It has been the most difficult crisis in our history. We lost £40million in income in the first year of Covid and about £70million in total. Our energy costs went up from about £1million to £4million. One of our hostels is a medieval castle, so we’re very exposed to that. We pay the National Living Wage. I am hugely supportive of that, but that’s 50% of our costs,” James explained.
In a bid to dig the YHA out of its current debt hole, the CEO embarked on a three-year recovery plan. They are “on track two years in,” despite the fact that annual customers are down to 857,922 from 1,024,964 in 2019.
As the charity is committed to keeping customer to costs low, the money has had to come from leasing out about a third of its properties. Many of these are now run by franchisees who are not required to offer the same excellent rates.
YHA went to market with 20 hostels in 2023 with a target of converting 50 per cent of them to franchises. Currently 14 have been sold, and eight will remain as hostels under franchise, while 12 in total are partner hostels.
One of the best examples of these is owned Colin Trigg, who bought YHA Youlgreave in Derbyshire in 2021 and loved it so much he purchased a second hostel, YHA Clun Mill, last year. At YHA Youlgreave Colin has installed on-site artisan bakery and café, the Fountain View Bakery.
James is clearly passionate about getting the organisation back into good financial shape and continuing its work well into the future. He also wants young people to enjoy the hostels as he did as a child. “When I was younger I walked around the Lake District. I ran a uni walking club where we would stay in hostels on trips. They’re also really good for families. If your baby wakes up you can feed them in the middle of the night in the kitchen,” he says.
“My first trip away independently was to youth hostels, my parents said ‘they’re safe, affordable places to stay’. I found like minded people there. You stop and natter with people making beans on toast in the kitchen.”
What more could you want?
