AIBU to be surprised a youth hostel has no road access?

Oh fond, fond memories of Blacksail and its wine list 30 years ago! We approached in fog and were so grateful when we found it.

You’re asking the wrong question.

Should all Youth Hostels be accessible by road? No. Should your friend have booked somewhere different? Yes.

Youth Hostels are great for walkers, and you used not to be allowed to drive to them. There are some brilliant mountainside ones and such. A great one, for example, in the Pyrenees, up a mountain, accessible along cliff ridge walks and over rope bridges. There’s a slightly easier but longer way up and they use a donkey to take up supplies. No running water or electricity. You wash in a river.

Glorious. But not for everyone. And it would be terribly boring if everything became identical.

So the answer to the question you’ve put - i.e. it’s the venues fault for not accommodating your needs - is YABU.

If you asked if your friend should have booked somewhere more easily accessible for the holiday you are all planning, then YANBU.

The prices will have gone up to reflect no chores or kicking people out. Keswick is sometimes more expensive than b&bs and hotels. We go there off season. I prefer Keswick then tbh.

How many of you have small children now? Do you think the arranger is trying to make this one adult only?

I have a group of university friends and we have about 12 kids between us who are between 16 and 7 and due to breastfeeding it was years where there was always a baby join us we were utterly desperate for an adult only catch up. Could this be similar?

YABU to expect hosels to be accessible by road. Three miles is nothing if you are a hiker. Obviously not ideal with small kids in tow due to the amount of stuff needed, maybe she made an assumption.

Happy memories of sleeping in a barn drunk when young covered in by what looked like horse blankets. It wasn’t a YHA place.

When I first started hosteling it was really looked down on to arrive in a car. They were for walkers, and cyclists . They were cheap, and you had to do a chore such as the washing up ,or sweeping before you left.
They have changed hugely now .
I'm sorry you don't feel comfortable going. A rather strange choice of accomodation by your friend.

and you had to bring a sheet sleeping bag. I assume that's not a thing any more either?

It is your friend who is unreasonable in booking this particular hostel.

The YHA are unreasonable in having, sadly, closed so many hostels YHA allowed proper walkers and young people to have cheap walking holidays, hostel to hostel. I walked all over the Lake District and Peak District using YHA hostels between the ages of 14 and 18.

Only 55 years ago 🤣

Yes. If you read the posts, people have been clearly reminiscing about 'back in the day' when you had to leave by 10am, having done your chores before leaving. Then the opening time varied, but was usually 4pm or 5pm.
It made sense, as they were initiated for people who were out walking all day.

Was that a while ago? I don't think youth hostels boot you out now? Non that I've visited have. We use them a lot mainly Yorkshire dales and the lakes. My ds1 uses lots abroad. They're much more sociable.

I think you should conquer any fears, pluck up the courage and go! Imagine how great you’ll feel! It will boost your confidence massively and you’ll have lots of laughs!

AIBU to think that a hostel should be accessible by road and be surprised it isn’t?

YABU to think that all youth hostels should be accessible by road.
YANBU to think that your friend should not have booked this one, it's not ideal if there are a lot of small kids going.

I get it’s not ideal but you can walk 3 miles surely? If you have a disability or tiny infants in tow then you should have said so in your post?

We were allowed to stay in all day, at Blacksail, when we were there but that was because we were booked for two nights and it pissed down all day 🌧️🌧️ They said is seemed mean to make us walk all the way to 'civilisation' in the pouring rain just to have to walk back again later.

They’re fantastic for long distance walkers.

The problem is that your friend has tried to treat it like a cheap Airbnb, which it’s not. If you want a holiday cottage for a family weekend away, you have to book that (and pay the money for it).

Is the plan to self-cater, OP? A very strange choice from your friend, based on the available info.

Oh there's plenty of drink at Skiddaw house. We filled the recycling and put beer bottles next to it. Plus there's board games.

Are you the only person with a baby or child? If not, I bet you won’t be the only one not able to attend. Walking 3 miles to the hostel is fine if you know that’s what you’ve signed up for but it sounds like your friend just didn’t think of the group attending this reunion and got lost in the romance of the whole thing.

I am glad this type of YHA hostel has survived but odd that your friend thought it would be a good location for families, drinking & board games when it is clearly targeted at walkers etc.
IME many YHA hosels had none or very limited car parking so it must be an advantage that some have managed to provide this facility (not this one though).

That’s right!

Of course the chores, how could I forget 😂

After you'd done your 'chores' (which inevitably had to be redone by the warden)

I also recall they booted you out first thing and didn't open again until late afternoon!!!

This is equivalent to booking accommodation in an inland mountain region and complaining that you can’t get to the beach.

There are plenty of places with road access but the “booker” has chosen not to book one.