Sunday 15 February 2015

AT THE HOSTEL DOOR: in memory of Gerry Howkins





This week's news from Margaret at SIH that the legendary Gerry Howkins of Gerry's Hostel, Achnashellach has passed on will make hundreds and hundreds of folk who knew him or had met him at his hostel or in the pub reflect awhile.  Gerry epitomised the values he held on to and boisterously, convincingly waved in front of us all.  Others, I hope will write more intimate and well informed appreciations of Gerry and his half century as host and so much more.  I have stayed only fleetingly with him in Glen Carron twenty five years ago and spoken with him several times as a fellow hostel keeper.  My then teenage son and I were exploring in the hills above Craig and happily immersed ourselves in the evening craic around the fire. Gerry, certainly a not to be forgotten character and I sense I am the richer for having him cross my path.

In these columns back in March, 2013 I wrote of an incident that could well be Gerry to the tee.  Of course, it is Gerry and now seems the right time to appreciate the man and his values.

“Hostel Keepers or 'Hosteliers', I like that one, are a funny breed.  Many are ferociously independent, full of scary stories or even practices.  You may remember the legendary tale reported in the press at the time with incredulity where a single female hostel guest had arrived to find no hostel keeper but doors open and welcoming.  The open fireplace greeted her along with records and record player, bits and pieces of food and tell tale ex forces swaying and creaking two tier bunks.  I know this to be true because I too stayed there most happily many, many years ago.  It was a chilly October afternoon so she presumed to light the fire.  Enter later the Hostel Keeper with bucket of water which he throws on the growing  fire.  “There's no fires here until November at the earliest!”  His comment to the press ran something like, “ Weel I'm full every weekend; I must be doing something right !”



Hostel Keeper”

We could speculate:-    Is that right St. Peter, there's definitely no smokin' here?  Fine, I'm in.

Hostel Keeper

(The image shows Gerry playing petanque in the garden of Ashnashellach Hostel - a favourite pastime of his)

Further thoughts from SIH members and Gerry's guests:

That's very sad news.We have fond memories of Gerry - he was certainly a character. Dave & Lynda, Sail Mhor Croft Hostel Dundonnel.
I remember Gerry as a great stalwart of the independent hostel association.  He was one of a kind;a character whose like will not pass this way again. Gavin, Dun Flodigarry Hostel, Skye 

Sad news indeed. I've never met Gerry, or stayed at his hostel, but his reputation as a pioneer of independent hostelling and a provider of accommodation with real character went well before him. We've had lots of people stay with us who had fantastic tales to tell of staying at Achnashellach. I didn't know that he opened Gerry's in 1964! And just look at what he started: the independent hostel scene in Scotland is thriving and the group he helped found has over 120 member hostels. Nice one Gerry. RIP. Andrew Donaldson Comrie Croft

I did not know Gerry, but my thoughts go out to the family. RIP Gerry.  yours aye Jock & Gwen Cousin, Balmaha House Bunkhouse



Very sad ! Stayed there once and had happy times Clive Siddal 

Sad to hear about the news of Gerry Howkins from Gerry's Hostel. Although I did not know Gerry personally, I can see that this really is the end of a hostelling era.  Thoughts are with his family and friends
Best wishes Jayne, Smart City Hostels

Very sad news his knowledge and experience played had a positive influence on SIH Paul Allan Ayres Rock Hostel



Sorry to hear about Gerry. Please include my condolences should this be possible.Kind regards, Irene Drummond, Helmsdale Hostel
 
Sorry to hear the sad news. Gerry was a legend. David Nelson

We're very sad to note that Mr Gerry Howkins of Gerry's Hostel in Achnashellach passed away last Wednesday, 11th February. Gerry established the first independent hostel in Scotland and was a founding member of Scottish Independent Hostels, of which we're proud to be members.
Tales abound online about the character of the man, as well as the hostel itself which could be described as one for the purists and certainly distinct from the 'new breed' of hostels opening up nowadays. Founded in 1964, Gerry's was very much a walker's hostel and it's testament to Gerry's commitment to hostelling that it survived for over 50 years.
We hope that, like us, you'll pause for a moment to mark the passing of this hostelling pioneer. We particularly liked the following remark we found online, one of the many vivid recollections of guests-gone-by:
"There is no other hostel I've been to that has the same atmosphere as Gerry's on a wild winter night, with the superb fire & the ancient old records. Just don't take him down the pub to play pool & expect to win against "Gerry's Rules"."  George McConnachie, Coll Bunkhouse
 
 

13 comments:

  1. Sad to hear of Gerry's Death, a real character, my first encounter was in the winter of 2010, we drove up in heavy snow, turned into his drive to find us up to 2ft of snow and it took over an hour to dig the car out, when we came in he wouldn't let us touch the FIRE we were freezing, shouted at us for having our ice axes and we had to get them back out,however he did thaw over the weekend and we had a great weekend drinking his and our wine, we have been back but not for two years and he remembered us from the wine????

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment Jim - Gerry was a proper character and we're glad your story had a happy ending!
      SIH

      Delete
  2. Gerry actually opened his hostel in early 1968 not 1964. He was a friend of Dave Goulder who was warden of the SYHA hostel at Achnashellach (about 1 mile down the road) in the early 1960s. Gerry and his then wife Jane moved up from the Nottingham area to Craig about 1964 where he got a job as a lengthman on the railway. BR gave them a tenancy of one of the cottages in the terrace, the other 2 were empty. In late 1967 the railway put the terrace up for sale and Gerry and Jane bought it and started the hostel.
    I was warden of the SYHA Achnashellach hostel for its final season in 1966 and knew them well. When the SYHA said it would close, Gerry foresaw an opportunity and, as the SYHA wanted the old pots and pans etc put out, they were "liberated" in anticipation of Gerry staring up when an opportunity arose. Probably some of them are still around.

    Ray Walder

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks Ray for providing us with the correct historical facts - its good to have it on record,
      SIH

      Delete
  3. Arrgh, happy days for sure. My memories of Gerry's are mixed with so many others, all good. Gerry and his hostel, or simply Gerry's Hostel hold a place in history and is legend. I wonder how many people he has met and accomodated over the years, Hamish Imlach for one. Dave Goulder dedicated a song to him, 'I'd like to be a lengthman' "Dedicated to Gerry Howkins, lengthman extraordinary on the Achnashellach section of the Inverness-Kyle Line in north-west Scotland". RIP Gerry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Andrew - thanks so much for adding your memories. I just had a look at the website of Dave Goulder and discovered he was himself involved in managing Hostels in his younger years, I assume they were SYHA in those days. It was good to catch up with Dave Goulders music - www.davegoulder.co.uk for anyone who is interested.
      SIH

      Delete
  4. It is the end of an era! I have stayed at Gerry's Hostel many times since the late 70's. He was a great character and consistent in his expectations of his guests. Generally people either loved him and his rules or did not return. On my last visit I collected him from the pub in Loch Carron where he had had a meal after playing golf. As was his way, we left after a short altercation, when he told the bar staff what he thought of their catering abilities. At the hostel we spent a quiet evening in front of the unlit fire, Gerry joined me for a drink and a chat. I will remember him and the hostel with much affection. My life is richer for having known Gerry and staying at his amazing hostel in such a superb location. Warwick Riley.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Warwick - many thanks for your contribution to the story of the life of Gerry - this means a lot to his family and the hostellers who knew him.
    SIH

    ReplyDelete
  6. Further to Ray Walder's post. I first met Gerry fifty years ago in July 1965 on the day I also met his friend Dave Goulder whom I later married. It is hard to convey the sense of triumph we had when Gerry acquired the cottages and opened the hostel in 1968. It had all been a bit of an epic, beginning with attempts to save the old hostel as a private concern. Ray hosted a wake on the last night in 1966 and it was then that Dave and I and Bill Wallace (former warden of Strome) decided to approach the Forestry Commission for a lease on the hostel site and buildings. Three months later, as we awaited their reply the hillside collapsed catastrophically, demolishing the house opposite and filling the hostel with trees, rocks and mud. Dave and I moved into the old dormitory hut which had escaped damage and spent the winter digging out the hostel with two spades and a wheelbarrow. We made a good job of it and even restored the drains to working order, but the FC were having none of it and we were ordered to leave. By some miracle we got a 5 yr lease on Glen Cottage in Torridon and opened our hostel on August 4th 1967. Meanwhile ...

    Gerry was in fact single when he came to the Highlands and got his job and railway cottage. His girlfriend had just joined him when I met him and they were married on 5th November 1965. Their son was born the following year, and when BR put the cottages up for sale it was as a single lot and Gerry was the sitting tenant. The rest is history. He stayed on with BR for a while after the hostel opened but left once it was well established. The SYHA were not amused, but he owned the building. He could do as he pleased. Hence our jubilation. So although Gerry's isn't quite the first independant hostel it is certainly the longest lasting, and I hope there is some way it can continue. Could someone pass my love and condolences to S who was probably too little to remember me, but has been in my thoughts these many years.
    Liz Dyer

    ReplyDelete
  7. In life's journey, when you encounter someone like Gerry you have to appreciate he is an off-beat character. It's places like Gerry's, The Crask, The Old Forge etc that give the Highlands that rich seam of quirkiness that makes us want to keep going back for more. We stayed at Gerry's in Feb '14. I gave him favorable mention in my blog, www.mark-yell.blogspot.co.uk. On reflection I'm so pleased I stayed their now and am also pleased he never noticed my friends ice axe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mark - many thanks for your comments and the link to your blog which is a great read. There are very few images of Gerry's Hostel so yours are particularly welcome although your comment "Gerry's is legend, go before it is too late!!!" is particularly poignant.

      Delete
  8. Myself & some friends stayed at Gerry's Hostel almost 8 years ago and once he warmed to us we were made to feel very welcome by Gerry. Gerry's excellent drying room managed to get even our sodden walking boots bone dry by the morning. A great place after our 3 nights on the hills.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have only just found out that out that Gerry has passed away. I moved to the Julian alps a few years ago and by chance, having a nostalgic trawl through the internet, came across the sad news. I first stayed at his Hostel in Feb 1970, very cold weather with lots of snow. I went up to Torridon with a Hamish MacInnes winter course party under the charge of Ian Clough. We stayed at Gerry's hostel for a couple of nights on the way back to Glencoe after a week at Glen Cottage run by Dave Goulder and Liz Dyer. Gerry hadn't seen anyone for weeks and his job at that time on the railway, walking the line to check the nuts and bolts so to speak, could be pretty solitary too. At first he was a little withdrawn in the face of our sudden invasion, but we soon cheered him up. He had quite an eclectic collection of vinyl in those years from Deep Purple, the Stones Let it Bleed to Vivaldi's four Seasons which was a big favourite, i think we nearly wore the grooves off that disc, plus I am sure there must have been a copy of Dave Goulders January Man too. We stayed with Gerry quite a few times on and off over the next twenty years, the last being at the end of July 1991. I spent two weeks of a long service sabbatical climbing old favourites in the Highlands with my dog. Being on my own, it was nice to stop off for a few days with a friendly face and company. On my last day in Achnashellach the weather was looking less good so Gerry persuaded me to go up to the Achnasheen Hotel, another favourite now long departed, to play pool until closing time. I was drinking almost zero alcohol Kaliber. One or two are ok but matching Gerry bottle for pint, I was heartily sick of the stuff by closing time but drinking and driving was not an option.I cannot remember who won at pool now, though I might have had a sober advantage, but at least he enjoyed his trip out for the afternoon.
    We always looked forward to stopping off, going to to or from the North of Scotland. My sincere, if belated, condolences to Simon. I am glad the Hostel has remained with Gerry's immediate family.

    ReplyDelete