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

[Chocolateapot]

My friend has arranged a yearly tradition birthday weekend in a youth hostel in England. All good fun, we usually all pile in (some with babies/young kids) and catch up, drink and play board games. All very wholesome and I look forward to it.
This year I’ve found out that the hostel has no access by road for 3 miles so I won’t be able to go. I feel like a bad friend bailing on it but they have been understanding of it. AIBU to think that a hostel should be accessible by road and be surprised it isn’t?

How do you get to this hostel? Is it literally in the middle of a field?

Yabu isolated hostels are awesome.there are so few left. They should be treasured. But your friend is more unreasonable booking it for a group who are not hikers.

So everybody has to walk 3 miles with all their stuff and a bunchnof kids/babies? That seems quite full on! I bet the remoteness is amazing though. You need a donkey to ride in on.

I love a good hiking place. Not for everyone but that makes it special. There should be places away from roads.

It is sad your friend arranged something you couldn't attend.

Is it Blacksail in the Lake District?

Yes it can be walked to. I can see the appeal but also my anxiety wouldn’t cope with the remoteness (& logistically very tricky!)

Yes it can be walked to. I can see the appeal but also my anxiety wouldn’t cope with the remoteness (& logistically very tricky!)

It’s not their fault, it’s absolutely a me problem. I honestly just didn’t realise they existed!

I was going to ask this!

OP they're not common but hikers do like a remote stay sometimes & they can be really popular.

But you have to know your audience. There's some people I would invite to this sort of weekend and some I wouldn't. It wouldn't be somewhere i would invite people with young children. I think your friend is thoughtless.

How do they get supplies in? Is there a quad or off road vehicle or something? Emergency access?

That was the original point of YHs, as hiking spaces. So Yabu to think they should be road-accessible, but YANBU to think that if most people are bringing kids and more stuff than they can comfortably carry, it was an odd choice.

I can assume they wanted a change to adults and older children only this year?

3 miles is nothing. Google Margherita Hut in Italy.

So have you got children/pram?

The best kind of youth hostels.

It was inconsiderate of the person booking, if you have small children or lots of stuff to carry.

YABU to suggest that they “should” be accessible by road. Loads are so the ones that aren’t should be cherished not criticised. FWIW my favourite place to stay is only accessible by boat!

YANBU not to go if you don’t fancy it. I would hope that the person booking next year would bear this in mind. Are you absolutely sure you can’t go though? 3 miles isn’t far at all even if you’ve got a baby in a sling and in a genuine emergency the emergency services would get to you. If you ask the hostel they might even have some sort of a buggy they can use (I bet they have some sort of off road transport to get supplies there).

Back in the day you weren't allowed to drive to youth hostels. The whole point was to encourage cheap holidays with walking or cycling

Tricky to vote, as YANBU to be surprised by anything you haven't come across before
BUT there have always been YHs that are remote. They were originally built so that people enjoying the countryside could walk during the day and have somewhere inside to sleep at night. I used to love the remote Hostels when we did this. You got the real walkers and countryside buffs more than people who were just looking for somewhere cheap to stay.

What is bizarre here is your friend booking this particular hostel for your particular party with babies and small children, rather than choosing a more accessible one. Or, at the very least, talking it through with all the people she wanted to get together before booking it.

YANBU to think it is going to be too difficult to get there for you though.

I imagine its either Black Sail or Skiddaw House

How do they get supplies in? Is there a quad or off road vehicle or something? Emergency access? 4x4 vehicle. Staff have access but only use it a couple of times a week from what I remember, its years since I've been to them.
In an absolute emergency I would imagine a medical helicopter would be gliwn in.

I think it's a completely ridiculous place to book for such an event with young kids, when there are enough secluded but accessible places very similar.

As an adult, 3 miles with a rucksack on my back is absolutely nothing. Most people do a lot more just walking the dog.

With young children or babies? yes, it's possible but stupid unless you REALLY love it and I would never have bothered.

It's something you book for yourself, not for a group of friends.

Remote hostels for hikers aren’t a totally unusual concept. I wonder if your friend wanted to put an end to the babies and toddlers in attendance and chose it deliberately to try to ensure it’ll be adults only?

Yes I was thinking these 2. I've stayed at Skiddaw house a few times and visited Black sail when hiking the coast to coast.

Seems odd to book for small dcs? Are your friends dcs going @Chocolateapot ?

They are very special places but I can see if you have toddlers or babies it might be tricky. I imagine kids who are slightly older (4+) would love it. It's a great chance for them to explore without the risk of traffic.

I am not sure why not having road access would make anyone nervous - what are you expecting to happen?

To answer your question YABU to be surprised that youth hostels like this exist. You never used to be allowed to arrive at a hostel by car. You could only arrive on foot or by bike or canoe. I’m sorry you’re disappointed about your trip though. Could you arrange another get together in a few months?

Black Sail is more like a 5 mile walk iirc. So guessing Skiddaw. It’s a shame you don’t feel able to go OP.

Yes, I’d assume so.