It was quite a creative game of Scrabble: Lesley had two sets
of Scrabble dice with her, so we played with both, which creates a possibility
of 14-letter words – not that we achieved any of those!
I’d found Lesley sitting on one of the lower bunks
Gotta love that 1930s architecture! The Youth Hostel at Holmbury St Marys in Surrey, opened in 1935, was the first purpose-built YHA hostel in the UK. |
I’d holed up in the Hostel for two nights in order to enjoy
some hill walking. I'd never before thought of Surrey, the genteel county
adjoining London and the former haunt of Jane Austen, as a place for hill walking,
so I was delighted and astounded to discover the footpaths and bridle ways of
the Surrey Hills, especially the Hurtwood, which was the area I explored in this brief foray.
Staying at the Youth Hostel was a little cheaper than a regular
B&B, and it was situated so that I could leave the car there, and walk straight
out onto the footpaths.
I had one full day of walking, 9am to 5pm, during which I covered
maybe ten miles, admired several spectacular views obscured by mist, traversed fields, negotiated woodlands, crossed heaths, followed
country roads and got thoroughly lost at
least six times. My kind rescuers included the staff of a Boy Scout campground, the
Italian landlord of a country pub, and a charming young man on a beautifully
groomed bay horse. I expect he was some sort of dressage champion.
Footpaths often lead through remote areas of heath and woodland . . . |
. . . or through agricultural land |
"Who's that walking past my field?" |
I finally found my way back to the Youth Hostel just as it re-opened for the evening - oh, did I mention that you cannot remain there during the day, you have to leave by 10am and not return until 5pm.
Youth Hostels abound in the UK – they’re part of the YHA, or Youth Hostel Association (yha.org.uk), founded in 1931 to accommodate people enjoying the countryside on foot. They provided dormitory accommodation and kitchen facilities for you to prepare your own meals. They still do, although they now also offer private or semi-private rooms (but don’t even begin to think about en-suite bathrooms) and prepared meals, which were a bit pricey at Holmbury.
And they offer a community ethos – hence the lack of evening
entertainment, you’re supposed to mix with other hostellers and make you own fun.
I expect this happens in all sorts of ways: for me it was Scrabble with Lesley on my first evening,
and, the second evening, Lesley having hostelled on, “Pointless” trivia questions posed by 10-year-old
Aidan and answered with varying and somewhat hilarious success by his parents, myself and an elderly
mother-and-daughter who lived at either end of England and were meeting for a few
days here in the middle of the country.
The best thing about the YHA is the location of its hostels:
they tend to be either in gloriously remote places, giving access to amazing
countryside for walking, horseback riding and cycling, or bang slap in the
middle of the major cities of England and Wales, giving cheap and cheerful
access to metropolitan delights. I, for
one, am grateful for their existence.
It's hard to say what the best thing about the Surrey Hills is! Here are a few suggestions:
It's hard to say what the best thing about the Surrey Hills is! Here are a few suggestions:
Primrose paths. |
Amazing trees. |
Human stories: this protected larch tree on Reynard's Hill is a memorial to David Charlick who died aged 19 |
History: Iron Age hill forts like this one on Holmbury Hill. Can't see it? That's because all that's left are a few gorse-covered banks and ditches. After all, it's been there for 3,000 years. |
Quirky churches like St Mary's . . . |
. . . with an outdoor tomb in its back wall |
Country pubs: there has to be at least one on every walk, not, I hope, disappointingly closed, like the Windmill! |