Youth hostels offer cheap accomodation for all ages Published June 13, 2006 By Maggie Cotner 100th Air Refueling Wing Community Relations RAF MILDENHALL, England -- Youth hostels acquired their name because they used to have an upper age limit of 30. That limit has long been abolished, but the name “Youth Hostel Association” had by then become so famous that the original name has stuck. Many Americans are, I know, a little anxious about the word “hostel’’, perhaps visualizing accommodation for down-and-outs and expecting it to be both shabby and dirty. The European youth hostels are about as far from that description as you can get. The YHA has 5,000 hostels abroad and 260 in England and Wales. They’re located in major cities, deep in the countryside, and beside the sea. Their charges are very low, and they give excellent value for money. Hostels are very often located in spectacular surroundings, many of them in historic or unusual buildings. One of London’s hostels is in the shadow of St. Paul’s Cathedral, while the York hostel is the former home of the famous chocolate-making Rowntree family, just outside the city. The hostel in Winchester is an old water-mill, and St. Briavel’s hostel in Gloucestershire is a Norman castle, used by King John at the time of the Crusades. Hostellers enjoy their medieval banquets. The hostel at nearby Saffron Walden was built in 1404. It’s half-timbered, with oak panelling, and was once famous for the saffron crocuses which grew in its gardens. Staying at youth hostels has two very big advantages; they don’t charge much for accommodation, and you’ll meet a wide variety of people from all over the world. Traditional accommodation has always been in single-sex dormitories, but since the age limit has been abolished most hostels have smaller units, including family rooms. Annual membership is cheap. Current charges are £15.95 for an adult, and that includes free membership for all children under the age of 18 travelling with them. The membership charge for an entire single parent family is therefore only £15.95. Family membership is a particularly good deal –– two adults living at the same address can purchase joint membership for only £22.95, after which all children under the age of 18 automatically become members without having to pay anything. Once you have your YHA membership card, you can stay in any of the 5,000 youth hostels that form part of the organization all over the world, including hostels in the USA. Overnight charges at each hostel are staggered according to the quality of the accommodation offered. For example, a family staying in a basic converted farmhouse on the Yorkshire moors because they love hill walking, will pay only £5 for each parent and £3 for each child. At the other end of the scale is the most expensive hostel in England –– the new, London Thameside hostel, close to Tower Bridge in London, where adults pay £17.50 per night including breakfast. If you’re interested in trying the youth hostel system but aren’t sure that you’ll like it, you can stay at any hostel overnight without being a member by simply paying a couple of pounds extra on top of the overnight charge. Should you then wish to join later, that sum will be deducted from your membership fee, so keep the accommodation receipt. Although this is the quiet period for all hostels, do call first to check that they have room, especially if you’re heading for a popular city like London or York. The YHA also puts on an excellent range of special activity breaks all year long. You can undertake special training with a view to gaining a qualification as an expedition leader, or a kayak coach, or join in canoeing, archery, mountaineering or cave exploring weekends. Family multi-activity weekends are hugely popular, and make a splendid complete break from the base. The “Wild ‘n Wet Weekend” incorporates caving, kayaking and canyon and ghyll (watery ravine) climbing, and you won’t have to answer a phone for two whole days. Surfers need not suffer withdrawal symptoms while they’re here. The long coastline of Cornwall has consistent swells and sandy beaches necessary for the sport. The water is much colder than in California, but six-foot waves are common. Newquay, on the county’s north coast, is the main surfing centre, but many places around the coastline hire out wet suits and boards, starting at around £10 a day or £15 pounds for a weekend. If you’re looking for an all-in deal, the YHA does an inexpensive two-night break. Based at Treyarnon Bay hostel near Padstow, the breaks operate in conjunction with a local surfing school run by qualified expert Chris Rea, who has surfed his way around the world for 23 years. The sessions run from May until October and cost from £115, depending on your length of stay. The price includes accommodation, all meals, instruction, use of the equipment, and a year’s free membership of the YHA. Hostelling is a great way to meet other like-minded people in your own age group, whatever that may be.