GUIDE TO HOSTELS IN MIDLANDS, STRATFORD, PEAK DISTRICT

• West Midlands -- A pleasant region with attractive cities Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Warwick and Lichfield.
• Peak District -- Excellent walking country
• Birmingham -- Transport hub, interesting city
• Stratford-on-Avon -- Pleasant town with Shakespeare connections
• Warwick -- Pleasant city with large castle

The West Midlands is a varied area of pleasant rural countryside, with some modest hills, some more definite hills such as the Malverns, villages, small towns and a few cities. You should enjoy passing through on your way to more scenic areas, but if you want a break or have time to stay a night or two, here are a few suggestions.

The best cities in the area, with fine cathedrals and some pleasant walks, are Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford. Warwick has an outstanding castle, Stratford-on-Avon is pleasant but crowded and, except for its Shakespeare connections, unimpressive. Good towns to stop in are Tewkesbury, Evesham, Malvern, Lichfield and Stafford.

STRATFORD-ON-AVON

Stratford is a pleasant town with lots of nice buildings, and if you are a real Shakespeare fan and want to see a performance it is a must. But it is overrun with tourists, so if you just want to see attractive towns, there are plenty more English towns equally or more attractive, such as Ludlow and Shrewsbury.

Trains to Stratford from London (6 per day) cost about £21 day return or 1-way. Buses (2 per day) are much cheaper for a one-way trip, but also slower (3 hour journey).

STRATFORD UPON AVON Backpackers has closed.

The YHA hostel is 1.5 miles from the town centre, so don't stay here for nightlife, but it is an impressive building and very pleasant with very good facilities; hourly buses from both Stratford and Warwick pass the door:

Warwick is a pleasant city. It has a fine castle that is full of interest but very expensive to visit. There's no known hostel here, so come for the day from Stratford, Oxford or London.

MALVERN

is an interesting town, a former spa with many fine Victorian buildings, on a steep hillside. It is a steep slog to the crest of the Malvern Hills but the walks along the sharp ridge are superb. But the YHA hostel is now closed.

At the southern end of the Malvern Hills is an activity centre with hostel accommodation, ideally placed for walks. Ledbury rail station is 3 miles away.

If you have a railpass and are touring the country, then when travelling from South Wales to the north a convenient place to stop is Leominster where, in a peaceful corner of the town, you will find a pleasant new self-catering hostel. There is nothing special about Leominster, but the next station stop northwards is Ludlow which is well worth a visit.

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GLOUCESTER & FOREST OF DEAN

In the southwest of the area is Gloucester, which has no known hostel.

From Gloucester, on the way to Bristol, is a hostel at Slimbridge, in an uninspiring area but ideal for bird lovers with a famous reserve nearby. Transport is not great; frequent trains from Bristol, Gloucester and Cheltenham to a station 3 miles away, or 4 buses a day to within 1.5 miles.

Hostels

The Forest of Dean is a traditional English forest of oak, ash and silver birch, by-passed by main roads. You may wish to come here just to have a chance to stay in a castle, and an old one at that. There are 5 buses a day from Chepstow (with frequent trains from London) then a 2-mile walk to St Briavels hostel which is a real old castle. Welsh Bicknor hostel (5 buses a day then 1.5 mile walk) is in an impressive gorge by the River Wye.

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BIRMINGHAM

is England's second largest city in England, so you'd think it would be worth visiting. Though not lacking in attractions, it is a rough and ready city, populated by straightforward and helpful people including many ethnic communities.

Birmingham is a main transport hub. Buses to London are frequent and much cheaper than to other places (eg it costs twice as much to go to Heathrow as to Central London). If your main reason for visiting Birmingham is to change between coaches and/or trains, you will be pleased to hear that the very grim coach station has been replaced by a more agreeable one. Even so, it's a boring place to sit and wait for a connection. You could spend a pleasant hour or two visiting the nearby market and shopping streets, except that there's nowhere to store your luggage!! But help is at hand, because the newly-altered hostel only a block away will let you drop your luggage there for a short while, and will serve you a tea or beer while you wait, or take a walk round the nearby large new indoor market, or walk to the excellent pedestrianised shopping centre.

If you come by train, New Street station (most trains stop there, but some use other stations within 500 metres) is depressing but you are close to shops and can stock up on food relatively cheaply. The walk from the train station to the coach station is about 15 minutes, the route is a bit confusing but there are little signposts that sometimes help you.

On a cheerier note, some parts of Birmingham including the university area are quite attractive.

The Backpackers hostel is very conveniently placed just one block from the bus station, and has a comfortable laid-back atmosphere, so you can stay for a night and see what Birmingham has to offer, or use it as a base for rail or bus trips.

WOLVERHAMPTON

has quite a good centre to wander round for an hour if you have to wait for a train.

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The Peak District is misnamed, as there are no peaks as such. It includes a large area of high plateau comprising variously peat bogs, grassland and rocky outcrops. Interleaved between the stretches of moorland are delightful valleys, some with white limestone crags and clear flowing streams. Around Castleton there are caves, including safe electrically-lit caverns for the average visitor. It is ideal country for varied hikes and walking tours, with numerous hostels within a day's walk of each other. The area is bordered on all sides by large cities, which makes it easy to get to, and so a lot of people do get to it. An advantage is that it has a good transport system; the disadvantage is that it is pretty crowded.

Peak District Information

If you are touring Britain in a few days, the Peak District will not be your top choice -- you will prefer the Lake District or North Wales. But if you are working in Britain, especially in one of the Midland or Northern cities, the Peaks is the ideal area for a weekend break, and a hostel is a very good place to stay. Indeed most of the hostels are reasonably priced and of excellent standard. Some are in towns (Matlock, Bakewell), others in smaller centres (Hathersage, Castleton), and others are in really delightful quiet country locations. There are footpaths everywhere. Many hikers, gentle walkers and cyclists are always about, but tour buses are concentrated in a few 'honeypot' sites with a special attraction (eg caves at Castleton) or exquisite little valleys and gorges with rivers (numerous). Public transport is good, with frequent trains to Buxton and Matlock, and buses at useful times on many routes. There are several good-value bus-and-train passes, but strangely, each county and the Peak Park itself all seem to have produced different passes which are valid for different parts of the area, so enquire at your hostel or a Tourist Info Centre. For take-out food, the pies and pasties are excellent -- just don't allow the shop to microwave it!!

Hostels

In our listing, almost all the hostels are YHA, and they are almost all of an impressively high standard. Many of them are in buildings that are beatiful or have an interesting history (an old school, a former grocery store, a mill etc). In order to keep them running, the YHA give priority to groups during various periods, so do be prepared to have a limited choice.

Let us first look at the towns. These are all fairly bustling centres, but small enough that you can enjoy short country walks with good views. Do stop at one of these places for an hour or two, or stay at the hostel for a night or two.

BUXTON

In a hollow within the high moorlands, Buxton has some attractive buidings recalling its former glory as a spa in Victorian times. In keeping with its genteel feel, restaurants are expensive. (Trains hourly from Manchester, incl late eve & Sun.) This town is NOT typical of either England or the Peak District, but it makes a nice outing from Manchester, or you can start a walking tour here. But unfortunately it now has no hostel.

MATLOCK

is a spa town, with cliffs. Trains from Derby are frequent (5 per day on Sun). It has a good hostel in the centre of town:

BAKEWELL

is a smaller, attractive town famous for 'Bakewell Tart'. Buy some cakes and meat pies, they're good! Buses 6 per day from Sheffield, 3 per day from Buxton, hourly from Derby. It has a pleasant sociable hostel in a quiet corner of town on the hill:

Northern Peak District

Edale village is at the start of the Pennine Way and has a station (trains every 2 hours from Manchester & Sheffield). Edale hostel is a place to stay if you are walking the northern moors; it is a mile along a footpath from village & station and is largely occupied by groups on pre-booked activity courses:

Castleton (5 buses a day from Bakewell) is a neat village thronged with tourists but among good scenery and with plenty of attractions (walks, caves) and a good hostel:

Hathersage (frequent buses from Sheffield, trains every 2 hours from Sheffield & Manchester) is a large village with good walking country around. There is a good YHA hostel in the village, and a low- cost bunkhouse 2 km away down a rough track. The bunkhouse takes individuals in a separate building from groups, but solo travellers could be rather lonely.

Bretton hostel is perched on a ridge 370m high with stupendous open views of plateau and valleys; it is a small, homely, low-cost hostel with a superb kitchen:

In the delightful Millers Dale, one of the most scenic spots, lies Ravenstor hostel, a character building in a serene setting in large grounds. (Buses scarce.) It is good for catered meals or self- catering. It caters for groups more than individuals, but not on the same night, so you are unlikely to meet a school group but conversely you might find it fully booked because of a group:

Southern Peak District

Youlgreave is a small town not on any main route, (buses hourly daytime from Bakewell, fewer Sun), but with an excellent hostel that makes it a good centre for walking in pleasant countryside:

In the southwest:

The West of the Peak District

This area is much less touristy but has some good scenery and some really delectable spots. Gradbach is a little hard to get to, but is a fabulous spot for a 2-night stay in a quiet wooded valley with hill and valley walks, and historical interest. The hostel caters for all meals or you can cook your own, it serves organic wine and beer, and it is open to individuals Apr-Oct. Because there are 2 separate buildings, there is less disturbance from school groups, and also the hostel is unlikely to turn away individual travellers through being occupied by groups. Buses (4 per day) run within 4 km.

For a short break, Meerbrook is a delightful small self-catering hostel in the centre of a small village with easy local walks and interesting longer ones. Buses (4 per day) 2 km away:

The Far South Peak District

Between Stoke and Ashbourne, Dimmingsdale is a small hostel 3 km from Oakamoor village (6 buses per day), and not easy without a car. In its field and woodland setting it feels very remote, but there are many walks, and it is within 4 km of Alton Towers theme park, so makes a good base if you want a full day at the park:

The Far North Peak District

In this rather austere country there is lots of hill walking with good views and easy transport access. Crowden is on the Pennine Way and has 3 buses daily from Manchester and Sheffield. The hostel is near the main road in wild moorland:

There are buses every 2 hours (also eve and Sun) from Barnsley to Langsett:

There are hostels at Ilam and Eyam, we were unable to get information from them when we visited.

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