Sunday 10 December 2017

In praise of Youth Hostels.

Hello. What's the weather doing where you are? Parts of Britain have ground to a halt, people are either stuck in snow or are out enjoying it, or are huddled at home with no wish to venture out. There is no snow here which I am pleased about. I did my walk this morning, I need to do three miles every day now for the rest of the month, to reach my target. No slacking, no excuses, just do it. 
I'll just finish off the last of the photo's of my break last week. A few of the hostel. Hartington Hall is between Buxton and Ashbourne, just off the A515. The village is lovely, shops, pub, church, and school, and lots of farms all around it. 
This is the view from the car park, it's just starting to get dark and the pathway lights are on. 
If you have bags to unload you can drive right up to the building. Disabled badge holders can park in the small courtyard, they don't need to move their car to the car park. 


It looks very welcoming with the glowing interior lights. This is the front door, but it is just as easy to access the building through the side door.

The Christmas tree is up, with lights around the wood burner. They will light a fire if you ask, but to be honest, the whole building was hot enough with the central heating.

One of the two dining rooms. These get very full when there are school parties booked in. While I was there I was the only person in the dining room for the first day, then two other ladies had their meals there the second day. It is fully licensed for alcohol, I had a cider which was a bit pricey but hey hoe, I like a treat. The staff were great and couldn't do enough for me. The two ladies on the evening shift were really nice.

This is the quiet lounge, there are books and magazines available to read. I was lucky, and found several Embroidery Guild magazines, I read them all while I was there.

My room was in the Coach House across the courtyard. I had a shower and wash basin en suite, with the toilet across the corridor, shared only by two other rooms. There was a members kitchen, and a dining table downstairs for those who self cater, and a cosy sofa and television set if you don't want to go across to the main building. I used the kitchen to make my first mug of coffee in the morning.

My first evening meal was three bean chili, and this pizza was served the second night. Dinner is from 5.30pm, which is good, because I was back by 4pm, and I don't like eating too late, too close to bed time. I could only eat half this pizza, and to be honest, I very rarely have pizza at home. I didn't bother to ask for something else from the menu, they had prepared this so I ate what I could and wrapped the other half up for lunch the next day. .


Now is a good time to stay at a Youth Hostel because it can be quite cheap out of season. Even cheaper if you are a member. Check out the web site for vacancies. Some of the hostels will be closed for the winter, but some remain open.

For instance, if you fancy visiting Penzance next week there is a newly refurbished hostel there, which has beds in a dorm for £13 non members, £10 members. Private room for two people £29. Fancy Keswick in the Lake District next week. Even cheaper, £10 non members, £7 members, in a dorm, per night. Some hostels are open all over the Christmas period, so if you are sick of it already why not get away for a couple of nights.

If you want to see more pics of Hartington Hall, here is a link to the post from December 2011.

Dinner time. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

16 comments:

  1. We've been pretty much snowbound since Friday morning here in Wrexham (NE Wales) with up to a foot in places. Walks have been picturesque but challenging, my 3.5 miles this morning felt like 6. Thanks for the info on hostelling, might give it a go next year. Odette

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  2. Harrington Hall lool<s a beautiful place-grand but cosy.I would love to stay there with my dogs-but I imagine dogs not allowed.Lots of snow here in the midlands.Such a icy road where I live I didn't risl< venturing out.I never neglect the dogs wall<s unless it's icy.We played with snowballs instead.This was after another mindless attacl< on my fence at midnight by idiots nearby & a police visit.Sadly there was no snow last night as I would have done my Miss Marple & followed their footprints to their home x

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    1. Sorry-I meant that Hartington Hall is very impressive x

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  3. Really pleased you had such a lovely break. Hartington Hall looks like an absolute gem of a place to stay. Youth hostels really do offer great value for money and many seem to offer private rooms now not just dorms. Just wondered how much you paid for the meals? Kristel

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    1. Hi. I booked on the phone and can't remember what the exact breakdown was. Total £75 for two nights B & B + evening meals. Breakfast is about £6.

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    2. This is really good value for money and would be even cheaper if you stayed in a dorm. Kristel

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  4. Snow in Leicester has been really bad as far is driving any where.Cause cant get out the close where we live.It is up hill and hasnt been this bad for about 4 years.And more snow due tonight.This is where frugal living really kicks in!!Because,i am prepared,in my freezer with bits and bobs that can make a warm meal for about 6 of us for the next few days.After that,Ive got my £1 walking boots,and i will walk to the shops.Stay safe all,cause i nearly went on my bum at 7 this morning!!,Take care,Debi,xx

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  5. It is very grey and around 0C here in Toronto with a chilly wind. We are expecting 5 to 10 inches of snow over the next few days but the worst should be a few fender benders from folks who haven't put their snow tires on as yet. We have an army of sanders and salters and they are out as soon as possible so traffic shouldn't be too bad. I live right across the street from a subway (Tube) station so I'll still be able to travel about without much of a problem.
    I'm watching the football game from Buffalo on the TV right now - Buffalo is directly south of Toronto across the lake which makes a huge difference. We're sitting here with barely a flurry at the moment while the teams are playing in about 6 to inches of snow on the field at the moment - and it's still coming down! But Buffalo fans know how to dress for the weather and the stands are full of thousands of people and we're in overtime at the moment.

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  6. Here's what it looks like in Buffalo right now!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHhEUNJUD-E

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  7. You have some wonderful youth hostels in England and this one looks like a great place.

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  8. glad you had a lovely time to share with us

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  9. Looks lovely. Thanks once again, for sharing photos of your walks and travels. I truly love looking them over.

    Just curious. I seem to recall that you don't eat meat. Would you eat meat if you were at one of these places, and it was in one of the dishes (pizza say) served?

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    1. Hi. I never eat meat, or fish. I specify this at the time of booking. I would turn down a meal if they served either.

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  10. Love the look of that hostel. Hurrah for hostels. I recently had 5 weeks traveling around Ireland and stayed at hostels most of the time. If I had to pay for hotels the trip would have been over in a week. There are usually a few other older guests staying there as well...not just for the youth and if you are traveling off season there will be way less people in the dorm rooms.

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  11. Gosh, wonderful hostel building and great service too. It makes me rather nostalgic. I went to England at the end of 1978 and worked in the youth hostel at Edale, Peak National Park, not far away from this one. That winter was called the "winter of disconnect". Very cold, lots of snow and strikes on. I remember the oil tanker bringing fuel for the heating system getting stuck on the snowy, uphill winding drive in. It was a beautiful area. An interesting building too which I think had been the home of an industrialist. There was a lovely view over to Mam Tor (and Kinder Scout?) Great area for walking. I hope to see the area again some day soon.
    Lynda, Christchurch, N.Z.

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