Post by naughtyfox on Sept 24, 2017 13:42:26 GMT
I could have posted this in the Sabrina thread but kris and moegreen have turned that into an alley-cat fisticuffs so I'll start a new thread.
This is in The Pit so don't moan about it being non-boat related!
Mrs Tabby and Donkey expressed an interest in seeing my old Youth Hostel stamps so I have been photographing them today. I thought putting them ’on display’ via imgur would be a bit flashy, so I have put them onto my Google Photos account and they can be accessed by clicking on the link.
My dad and mum had been hostelling, so it was from them that I got started. Youth hostels were an accepted way of getting around the country under one’s own steam, such as cycling or walking, and gaining an appreciation of the countryside. Some hostels offered a garden to camp in for 50% of the dormitory price.
My first four hostels came in 1976 when I was 15 years old. I had been used to cycling in Essex and East Hertfordshire, my usual route being Harlow – Much Hadham – the Pelhams – Clavering, so the 77 miles from Harlow to Canterbury weren’t too strenuous on a hot, sunny day. It felt odd to be walking over Tower Bridge in London! After Canterbury it was Beachy Head (Eastbourne), Holmbury St Mary and then Windsor. A five-day trip and all went well.
The next Spring, 1977, saw me do my longest ever ride from 4am to 7.30pm with just half-an-hour stop for a pint in a pub near Trowbridge – from Reading to Crowcombe in the Quantock Hills, Somerset: 140 miles. First time with panniers and a fairly heavy load. That was to Dorset (Beer) and back across Hampshire, an 8-day jaunt.
In 1980 and 81 I lived in Cologne and spent weekends travelling and collecting youth hostel stamps, and in 82-85 travelled a lot around England, Wales and Scotland gathering more stamps.
Youth hostels began to change as people became more wealthy, introduced Space Invader game machines and began to accept motorists as a source of income. The cost of accommodation rose so much in hostels that were becoming increasingly dirty that sleeping in my nice clean tent began to become preferable, or even B&Bs.
Youth hostels have still been handy for me/us since the 1980s, on long trips they may be in the right place at the right time, such as in 2008 when we drove to the Lofoten islands in northern Norway and stayed at Karesuando, Kabelvåg, Å and Stamsund hostels.
Four years ago driving to England I stopped at Kongsberg hostel (southern Norway), Gluckstadt hostel on the River Weser (northern Germany), and Malung hostel (central Sweden).
Hostels stayed at in the past, say 12, years (apart from those just mentioned) are: Bath (disgustingly filthy), Whitby, Honister Pass, Östersund (Sweden), Manchester, Holland Park (London), Braemar, Loch Lomond, Carbisdale Castle, Tongue, Durness, Ullapool, Pitlochry, Paris, New York (three times during one year), Kettlewell, Dufton, Kirkby Stephen, Boscastle, Arnside, Welsh Bicknor, Clun, Bruges (Belgium), Cuxhaven (Germany), Blankenheim (Germany), Exford, Troutbeck-Windermere, Elterwater, Langdale-High Close, Vancouver (Canada British Columbia), Banff (Canada Alberta).
I still like the spirit of Youth Hostelling and would recomend hostelling, although they are fairly expensive nowadays. You get to meet all kinds of weird travellers. Having to listen to snoring and coughing in dormitories can be offputting, as with the stench of other peoples’ sweaty feet in the dorms. But I have had many a pleasant night just by myself in an empty dormitory or own room in hostels. One advantage over a Bed & Breakfast, where you soon get fed up with a ’Full English’ breakfast, is that youth hostels have kitchens where you can make your own meals. Another being that you can slip away from a hostel early in the morning.
Here's the link: photos.app.goo.gl/7hCkkSN2khiZzLE22 (the Isaac Newton + apple stamp is from Grantham)
This is in The Pit so don't moan about it being non-boat related!
Mrs Tabby and Donkey expressed an interest in seeing my old Youth Hostel stamps so I have been photographing them today. I thought putting them ’on display’ via imgur would be a bit flashy, so I have put them onto my Google Photos account and they can be accessed by clicking on the link.
My dad and mum had been hostelling, so it was from them that I got started. Youth hostels were an accepted way of getting around the country under one’s own steam, such as cycling or walking, and gaining an appreciation of the countryside. Some hostels offered a garden to camp in for 50% of the dormitory price.
My first four hostels came in 1976 when I was 15 years old. I had been used to cycling in Essex and East Hertfordshire, my usual route being Harlow – Much Hadham – the Pelhams – Clavering, so the 77 miles from Harlow to Canterbury weren’t too strenuous on a hot, sunny day. It felt odd to be walking over Tower Bridge in London! After Canterbury it was Beachy Head (Eastbourne), Holmbury St Mary and then Windsor. A five-day trip and all went well.
The next Spring, 1977, saw me do my longest ever ride from 4am to 7.30pm with just half-an-hour stop for a pint in a pub near Trowbridge – from Reading to Crowcombe in the Quantock Hills, Somerset: 140 miles. First time with panniers and a fairly heavy load. That was to Dorset (Beer) and back across Hampshire, an 8-day jaunt.
In 1980 and 81 I lived in Cologne and spent weekends travelling and collecting youth hostel stamps, and in 82-85 travelled a lot around England, Wales and Scotland gathering more stamps.
Youth hostels began to change as people became more wealthy, introduced Space Invader game machines and began to accept motorists as a source of income. The cost of accommodation rose so much in hostels that were becoming increasingly dirty that sleeping in my nice clean tent began to become preferable, or even B&Bs.
Youth hostels have still been handy for me/us since the 1980s, on long trips they may be in the right place at the right time, such as in 2008 when we drove to the Lofoten islands in northern Norway and stayed at Karesuando, Kabelvåg, Å and Stamsund hostels.
Four years ago driving to England I stopped at Kongsberg hostel (southern Norway), Gluckstadt hostel on the River Weser (northern Germany), and Malung hostel (central Sweden).
Hostels stayed at in the past, say 12, years (apart from those just mentioned) are: Bath (disgustingly filthy), Whitby, Honister Pass, Östersund (Sweden), Manchester, Holland Park (London), Braemar, Loch Lomond, Carbisdale Castle, Tongue, Durness, Ullapool, Pitlochry, Paris, New York (three times during one year), Kettlewell, Dufton, Kirkby Stephen, Boscastle, Arnside, Welsh Bicknor, Clun, Bruges (Belgium), Cuxhaven (Germany), Blankenheim (Germany), Exford, Troutbeck-Windermere, Elterwater, Langdale-High Close, Vancouver (Canada British Columbia), Banff (Canada Alberta).
I still like the spirit of Youth Hostelling and would recomend hostelling, although they are fairly expensive nowadays. You get to meet all kinds of weird travellers. Having to listen to snoring and coughing in dormitories can be offputting, as with the stench of other peoples’ sweaty feet in the dorms. But I have had many a pleasant night just by myself in an empty dormitory or own room in hostels. One advantage over a Bed & Breakfast, where you soon get fed up with a ’Full English’ breakfast, is that youth hostels have kitchens where you can make your own meals. Another being that you can slip away from a hostel early in the morning.
Here's the link: photos.app.goo.gl/7hCkkSN2khiZzLE22 (the Isaac Newton + apple stamp is from Grantham)