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?

I worked at black sail for several years. There is a big track to the hostel so we brought supplies in a four by four from ennerdale hostel which is a bit further down the track and which you can drive to as a member of the public.

its a lovely place.

I've stayed at Ennerdale. Stunning area. A few people had driven there. We walked past Black sail a couple of times including that hike.

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.

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

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

Of course the chores, how could I forget 😂

That’s right!

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).

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.

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.

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

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).

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.

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?

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 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!

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.

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.

Only 55 years ago 🤣

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.

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

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.

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.

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?

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.