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| Sail Mhor Croft Hostel |
One of the first
independent hostels I remember staying at was Dave and Lynda Neville's now
venerable Sail Mhor Croft Hostel http://www.sailmhor.co.uk/ at
Camusnagaul, Dundonell in Wester Ross.
We had been doing some elementary hill walking with young people on the
Scoraig Peninsula across the waters of Little Loch Broom by which the hostel
sits, pristine white and welcoming.
We're going back some thirty years and I well remember the evening visit
to the local hotel where, to our amazement we were caught up by a wedding
party, invited to sing for them and treated to supper. Just how good can it get? I was reminded of this lately by a 'boy' who
was there, now in his mid forties and a successful author.
It's so easy to go
west in Scotland. There's something
magnetic about crossing the watershed to where the mountains heave themselves
to great heights with less of a footprint than say in the Cairngorms. There in the Grampians the ancient lumps and
scoured corries may have the wildest of all hill weather as friends who run their hostels there will tell
you. Many an experienced hill walker
never mind the novice ones have found themselves pushed hard to get back to the
welcoming warmth of the hostel fire.
However, a night in a hostel in the west can be unrivalled for the
sunset, the symphony of mountain and sea and a hardy breed of resident, many of
them three hours drive from Inverness and its hospital clinics.
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| Rattray Head Eco Hostel |
Last year though we
took time off from the hostel to go east.
In particular we were taking ninety year old mother- in -law back to
Rattray Head http://www.rattrayhead.net/hostel/ a headland on the Buchan coast, just south of the
loch of Strathbeg and close to Peterhead.
Mother in law challenged Rob Keeble who with his wife Val are the
hostelkeepers there with the twinkly question, “ Do you know I haven't been in
here for seventy years?” No Rob didn't
know but was soon to be enlightened.
M.i.L had been based at the next door Crimond, later Rattray, Airfield
during WW2 as a meteorologist. She
recounted not only her flights in flimsy aircraft both to RAF Leuchars and
elsewhere, her life in barracks across the main road and which we discovered amongst
head high weeds and were able to explore, but also her long walks to the
lighthouse and back.
Well not to the
lighthouse itself as that stands well off shore from the eleven miles of sandy
beach and dunes. The cottages, built
1892, housing the keepers and which now
host the hostel and apartments were home to the Principal lighthouse keeper.
And this keeper had a son. We know no
more and must not speculate but the long walks for tea around the keeper's
stove and then back to the barracks before curfew were spelt out for the
benefit of us and an interested Rob. I
loved the flumpy, comfy, faded glory, salt laden feel of the main room on the
upper floor. Signs of Val's clever craft
making work is never far away and she tells me that this year she is opening
her adjacent craft shop and activity centre to test the waters for
interest. Good on the pair of them for
diversity in action.
Meanwhile, Rob is released a wee bit more to
allow him to indulge his second love:- teaching advanced maths to those who can
learn from him. It strikes me now that
his first love might be the hostel. It
will be a close run thing though as those of you, including the countless
university students on field work who have visited will remember. To heat his hostel's newer age boiler Rob
collects discarded wooden pallets. Never in my life have I seen so many in one
place. However, in addition, out of
these he built, wait for it, his baronial Viking hall in which he, Val and
their guests celebrated their wedding in 2013.
That's independent hostel keepers for you. No top down bureaucracy for
them!
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| Cullen Harbour Hostel |
I have had a few
chats over the years with Howard Owens and Ruth Hyde who have created their own
magical eastern seaboard hostel at Cullen on the Moray Firth. http://www.cullenharbourholidays.com/p/welcome.php Put
simply, Howard is a genius in wood. If I
am right it was he who contributed to the remarkable hardwood cabinet making in
John Maclean's hostel on Iona. Cullen
though has virtual tree trunks as bunk uprights and stone walls quite thick
enough to make you feel safe so close to the sometimes heaving salt waters.
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| The ruins at Back Street, Portsoy |
Further along the coast at Portsoy a
remarkable undertaking is now progressing.
A new independent hostel or bunkhouse will be created from the Back
Green ruins which once housed flax, rope and sail making, all at different
periods in history. With handsome
financial support from The Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland and others
The North East Scotland Preservation Trust together with the Scottish
Traditional Boat Festival Committee are taking forward their hard worked at
plan to create not only a hostel for visitors but a venue for teaching
traditional boat building and other maritime crafts. There is a tight time scale for completion
but all parties are confident of success.
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| Coll Bunkhouse |
Malcolm Handoll http://www.hostelhub.co.uk/ in Alyth, appointed in 2001 by IBHS, now SIH
as its first inspecting Hostels' Visitor
and asked to promote and implement the organisation's member evolved
'Essential Standards' is helping with advice and his experience. I am a bit involved with the Portsoy project myself and we have
recently welcomed the major players here to discuss ideas, provision and
strategy.
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| Breakfast at Smugglers Hostel |
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| Findhorn Village Hostel |
Again, with social enterprise in my sights I
was intrigued recently to hear from Cambo Estate in Fife http://www.camboestate.com/ where at a different level the owners whose
forebears have lived there on and off since the seventeenth century have
created both viable holiday accommodation in the house, apartments, cottages
and glamping snowdrop teepees and activities on an impressive scale for the
learning disabled of Dundee, horticultural and craft students and much more for
the general public.
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| Smart City Hostel, Edinburgh |
I heard from Struan
Erskine, Steward of Cambo who wrote asking if we could share the design and
build features of our recent hostel development here. It's great to hear of location appropriate
developments in Edinburgh and Glasgow:-
http://smartcityhostels.com/ and http://www.euro-hostels.co.uk It is also happening in the rural sticks and
Cambo, again with Heritage Lottery Funding support is seeking to extend its educational
and social remit.
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| Euro Hostel, Glasgow |
One day they may even
add a bunkhouse to their portfolio. They
certainly have a beautiful energy.
Well, close enough
to the hostel here we had three pine trees snap off in last night's gale. One is a lodge pole pine so we won't weep
over that. The others though have left a
gap we rather were not there. Carmel and
her walk in party of four staying the week didn't hear a thing. A former hostel keeper herself from Rotorua,
down under http://www.blarneysrock.com/ she must be well used to blanking out
intrusive noise. As the days are getting
longer and we have today taken the snow plough off the quad bike there's much
to celebrate.
Hostelkeeper
Cullen
Harbour Hostel offers a family holiday adventure on the far north east of Scotland. The shores of the Moray Firth have stunningly
beautiful coastlines, a haven for both people and wildlife. The Hostel is located adjacent to Cullen’s small
harbour beach, making it easy for parents to keep an eye on the children as
they play. Coastal walks and the Speyside Way start right at the Hostel door
including Cullen Bay, a beautiful stretch of sandy beach where dolphins are
frequently spotted.
Hostel owner
Ruth Hyde has found that families have naturally gravitated to the hostel
through word of mouth recommendation. Often a family which has had a great stay
will return, forming a larger group with other families who are friends. The
flexible accommodation is perfect for families with two 5-bed dorms (with
interlinking doors) and 4-bed family room.
The bedrooms are roomy with sturdy, comfortable single beds which can be
put together to make a double. Full length
curtains surrounding the beds provide privacy or they can be linked to form 2
to 5-bed ‘cubicles' which children especially enjoy. The on-site self-catering
cottage for 3-4 guests extends the possibilities of flexible accommodation.