Hostel Review

Initially we were a little put off by the statement on the YHA website
that "Gradbach Mill is predominantly a group visit only hostel ". Would
we be turned away for not turning up with a coachload? In the event
there was no problem booking for two adults and two children. It was
noticeable however that our fellow hostellers were all families apart
from one small group of adults. We visited during half term week,
possibly there might be school parties during term time?

Judging from the picture of the hostel building (an old textile mill)
you might expect it to be near habitation. In fact it is in a remote
setting, all the workers cottages having been demolished long ago. I had
never visited this part of the Peak District and was surprised to find
the "highest village in England" here, who would have thought that would
be near Stoke-on-Trent?

The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground
floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it
was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building,
the old manager's house, but is of a good size.

The food provided for evening meals was absolutely excellent, the best I
have encountered in a hostel. I was less impressed by the breakfast,
which is the new "continental" system. There was little choice of cereal
and the other options were various bread rolls (warmed), slices of ham
and salami and hard boiled eggs. No toast or cooked breakfast option. On
the plus side a coffee percolator was regularly refilled, not just at
meal times. I realise that the continental breakfast has been imposed
from above, and it means less work for busy staff, but it was definitely
not as good as traditional hostel breakfasts.

A must visit from Gradbach is Lud's Church, a natural chasm. Imagine a
narrow cave passage, but with no roof so you are effectively at the
bottom of a deep crack in the ground. It can be hard to find as it is
not signed. Follow the path past the manager's house. After crossing a
footbridge and entering a wood you need to briefly scramble up a steep
slope which puts you on a well-defined path leading upwards which will
eventually bring you to the chasm. Hostel staff told us there is a "fact
file" about it in the hostel, but it couldn't be found while we were
there.

We had a very enjoyable stay and will definitely return to this hostel.

(also posted to www.yhagroup.org.uk)

--
**** john@evenlode.demon.co.uk ****
http://www.evenlode.demon.co.uk
John Mann -- Hook Norton -- Oxfordshire -- UK

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:01:46 +0000, John Mann
<john@evenlode.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>
>The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground
>floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it
>was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building,
>the old manager's house, but is of a good size.
>
did they still have the stuffed wallaby in the common room?

Nigel
replace SPAMHATER with n and t*sc*li with totalise

In article <roknn2p9si4hgvmk4inua5up6klufj7667@4ax.com>,
SPAMHATERepper@tiscali.co.uk writes
>On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:01:46 +0000, John Mann
><john@evenlode.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
>>
>>The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground
>>floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it
>>was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building,
>>the old manager's house, but is of a good size.
>>
>did they still have the stuffed wallaby in the common room?
>

Yes.
--
**** john@evenlode.demon.co.uk ****
http://www.evenlode.demon.co.uk
John Mann -- Hook Norton -- Oxfordshire -- UK

John Mann said...
> In article <roknn2p9si4hgvmk4inua5up6klufj7667@4ax.com>,
> SPAMHATERepper@tiscali.co.uk writes
> >On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:01:46 +0000, John Mann
> ><john@evenlode.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> >
> >>
> >>The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground
> >>floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it
> >>was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building,
> >>the old manager's house, but is of a good size.
> >>
> >did they still have the stuffed wallaby in the common room?
> >
>
> Yes.
>
*Boggle*

--
To reply see 'from' in headers; lose the domain, and insert dots and @
where common sense dictates.

"Fran" <arjfatcymoeddorguk@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:MPG.1fe6286eb64e3c8398c418@news.individual.ne t...
> John Mann said...
>> In article <roknn2p9si4hgvmk4inua5up6klufj7667@4ax.com>,
>> SPAMHATERepper@tiscali.co.uk writes
>> >On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:01:46 +0000, John Mann
>> ><john@evenlode.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> >>
>> >>The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground
>> >>floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it
>> >>was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building,
>> >>the old manager's house, but is of a good size.
>> >>
>> >did they still have the stuffed wallaby in the common room?
>> >
>>
>> Yes.
>>
> *Boggle*
>

The wallabies were a famous feature of that area of the Peak District; they
escaped from a private zoo in the '30's and had surprising success as a
colony.

Helped lead a school trip to the mill back in about 1984-5, and on one of
our rambles we saw one from a distance of about 200 metres. It is possible
that the colony has died out in recent years.

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 18:10:13 -0000, "OG" <owen@gwynnefamily.org.uk>
wrote:

>
>"Fran" <arjfatcymoeddorguk@privacy.net> wrote in message
>news:MPG.1fe6286eb64e3c8398c418@news.individual.n et...
>> John Mann said...
>>> In article <roknn2p9si4hgvmk4inua5up6klufj7667@4ax.com>,
>>> SPAMHATERepper@tiscali.co.uk writes
>>> >On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:01:46 +0000, John Mann
>>> ><john@evenlode.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >>
>>> >>The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground
>>> >>floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it
>>> >>was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building,
>>> >>the old manager's house, but is of a good size.
>>> >>
>>> >did they still have the stuffed wallaby in the common room?
>>> >
>>>
>>> Yes.
>>>
>> *Boggle*
>>
>
>The wallabies were a famous feature of that area of the Peak District; they
>escaped from a private zoo in the '30's and had surprising success as a
>colony.
>
>Helped lead a school trip to the mill back in about 1984-5, and on one of
>our rambles we saw one from a distance of about 200 metres. It is possible
>that the colony has died out in recent years.
>

Sadly true. I believe the last one died in about 1996 or so the Peak
Park reckon.

My father was bought up in the area and until the mid 50s there was
also a yak in the area, having escaped from the same zoo. The escape
was in 1939 when the army took the house over.

Somewhere I have picture of wallaby tracks in the snow. those date
from 1991 and when I took them were very recent as I had walked the
same path 30 minutes earlier and they weren't there. That was enroute
to Lud's Church
replace SPAMHATER with n and t*sc*li with totalise

Fran wrote:
> John Mann said...
>> In article <roknn2p9si4hgvmk4inua5up6klufj7667@4ax.com>,
>> SPAMHATERepper@tiscali.co.uk writes
>>> On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:01:46 +0000, John Mann
>>> <john@evenlode.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground
>>>> floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it
>>>> was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building,
>>>> the old manager's house, but is of a good size.
>>>>
>>> did they still have the stuffed wallaby in the common room?
>>>
>> Yes.
>>
> *Boggle*

Wallabies used to roam wild in this area - notably around the Roaches.
Escapees a small private zoo in the grounds of Roaches House. They are
believed to have died out now.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_79796.html

--
Brian

	#1
John Mann	Hostel Review - Gradbach Mill Initially we were a little put off by the statement on the YHA website that "Gradbach Mill is predominantly a group visit only hostel ". Would we be turned away for not turning up with a coachload? In the event there was no problem booking for two adults and two children. It was noticeable however that our fellow hostellers were all families apart from one small group of adults. We visited during half term week, possibly there might be school parties during term time? Judging from the picture of the hostel building (an old textile mill) you might expect it to be near habitation. In fact it is in a remote setting, all the workers cottages having been demolished long ago. I had never visited this part of the Peak District and was surprised to find the "highest village in England" here, who would have thought that would be near Stoke-on-Trent? The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building, the old manager's house, but is of a good size. The food provided for evening meals was absolutely excellent, the best I have encountered in a hostel. I was less impressed by the breakfast, which is the new "continental" system. There was little choice of cereal and the other options were various bread rolls (warmed), slices of ham and salami and hard boiled eggs. No toast or cooked breakfast option. On the plus side a coffee percolator was regularly refilled, not just at meal times. I realise that the continental breakfast has been imposed from above, and it means less work for busy staff, but it was definitely not as good as traditional hostel breakfasts. A must visit from Gradbach is Lud's Church, a natural chasm. Imagine a narrow cave passage, but with no roof so you are effectively at the bottom of a deep crack in the ground. It can be hard to find as it is not signed. Follow the path past the manager's house. After crossing a footbridge and entering a wood you need to briefly scramble up a steep slope which puts you on a well-defined path leading upwards which will eventually bring you to the chasm. Hostel staff told us there is a "fact file" about it in the hostel, but it couldn't be found while we were there. We had a very enjoyable stay and will definitely return to this hostel. (also posted to www.yhagroup.org.uk) -- ** john@evenlode.demon.co.uk ** http://www.evenlode.demon.co.uk John Mann -- Hook Norton -- Oxfordshire -- UK

	#2
SPAMHATERepper@tiscali.co.uk	Re: Hostel Review - Gradbach Mill On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:01:46 +0000, John Mann <john@evenlode.demon.co.uk> wrote: > >The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground >floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it >was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building, >the old manager's house, but is of a good size. > did they still have the stuffed wallaby in the common room? Nigel replace SPAMHATER with n and tscli with totalise

	#3
John Mann	Re: Hostel Review - Gradbach Mill In article <roknn2p9si4hgvmk4inua5up6klufj7667@4ax.com>, SPAMHATERepper@tiscali.co.uk writes >On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:01:46 +0000, John Mann ><john@evenlode.demon.co.uk> wrote: > > >> >>The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground >>floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it >>was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building, >>the old manager's house, but is of a good size. >> >did they still have the stuffed wallaby in the common room? > Yes. -- ** john@evenlode.demon.co.uk ** http://www.evenlode.demon.co.uk John Mann -- Hook Norton -- Oxfordshire -- UK

	#4
Fran	Re: Hostel Review - Gradbach Mill John Mann said... > In article <roknn2p9si4hgvmk4inua5up6klufj7667@4ax.com>, > SPAMHATERepper@tiscali.co.uk writes > >On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:01:46 +0000, John Mann > ><john@evenlode.demon.co.uk> wrote: > > > > > >> > >>The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground > >>floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it > >>was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building, > >>the old manager's house, but is of a good size. > >> > >did they still have the stuffed wallaby in the common room? > > > > Yes. > Boggle -- To reply see 'from' in headers; lose the domain, and insert dots and @ where common sense dictates.

	#5
OG	Re: Hostel Review - Gradbach Mill "Fran" <arjfatcymoeddorguk@privacy.net> wrote in message news:MPG.1fe6286eb64e3c8398c418@news.individual.ne t... > John Mann said... >> In article <roknn2p9si4hgvmk4inua5up6klufj7667@4ax.com>, >> SPAMHATERepper@tiscali.co.uk writes >> >On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:01:46 +0000, John Mann >> ><john@evenlode.demon.co.uk> wrote: >> > >> > >> >> >> >>The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground >> >>floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it >> >>was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building, >> >>the old manager's house, but is of a good size. >> >> >> >did they still have the stuffed wallaby in the common room? >> > >> >> Yes. >> > Boggle > The wallabies were a famous feature of that area of the Peak District; they escaped from a private zoo in the '30's and had surprising success as a colony. Helped lead a school trip to the mill back in about 1984-5, and on one of our rambles we saw one from a distance of about 200 metres. It is possible that the colony has died out in recent years.

	#7
BrianW	Re: Hostel Review - Gradbach Mill Fran wrote: > John Mann said... >> In article <roknn2p9si4hgvmk4inua5up6klufj7667@4ax.com>, >> SPAMHATERepper@tiscali.co.uk writes >>> On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:01:46 +0000, John Mann >>> <john@evenlode.demon.co.uk> wrote: >>> >>> >>>> The main hostel building contains a large dining room on the ground >>>> floor and a long narrow common room above. There is a TV but luckily it >>>> was not too intrusive. The member's kitchen is in a separate building, >>>> the old manager's house, but is of a good size. >>>> >>> did they still have the stuffed wallaby in the common room? >>> >> Yes. >> > Boggle Wallabies used to roam wild in this area - notably around the Roaches. Escapees a small private zoo in the grounds of Roaches House. They are believed to have died out now. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_79796.html -- Brian