YHA Ambleside

After a long walk with a large pack I was extremely grateful to see the signpost for this Youth Hostel on the outskirts of Ambleside. The location is a little bit of a mixed bag as it is a ten minute walk from the town, but it is right on the side of Lake Windermere, with fantastic views of the Lake and the surrounding hills. It is also ideally located for a boat trip around the Lake as the jetties for these are less than thirty metres from the front door. There is also a wide range of facilities close by, with restaurants, coffee shops and ice cream parlours all within stone throwing distance of even the smallest child!

Check-in is relatively painless and quick, I was required to fill in a short form, listen to a quick brief on the facilities of the hostel and that was that. I seem to be very lucky with receptionists, I was again moved to a room on my own, bonus. It was a great room, which had about twelve empty beds and a view across the lake from the window, another bonus! There is folded and wrapped bedding on the bed which for those who have not stayed at a Youth Hostel before requires you to make your own bed. The dirty bedding is then dropped off at reception in the morning before check-out.

Toilets and showers are separate, but that is usual in most hostels, there are plenty of them, a couple of them for every few rooms and I only had to wait once for the ‘little boy’s room’. The other facilities are pretty good with various communal areas. There is a bar and restaurant both of which were fairly reasonable, although both closed a bit early especially the bar, which closed at 10.30pm, this was a bit of a let-down. There are a couple of internet terminals and wireless access is available, but was not any less expensive than availability elsewhere, and in fact there were at least a couple of places in the town where free wireless access was available. The main lounge area is quite large with television, although I am not sure if this included satellite as I did not come to watch the ‘box’.

There is also a washing facility, I did not make use of this but I think you hand in your washing and collect the next day, obviously there is a charge for this service. There are a number of foreign accents to be heard within the staff and this gives the hostel a more ‘cosmopolitan’ feel, the friendly receptionist was eastern European and the barman is antipodean, so cool, that they are an equal opportunities employer. Reception is manned twenty four hours.

Breakfast is ‘included’ for a small extra charge, and is served between 8.00 and 9.30am, but was not the most appetising and next time I will opt for breakfast in the town where there are many slightly more expensive but much tastier options. There is plenty of space though and maybe it was because it was a weekday but there were not many people enjoying breakfast when I was giving the muesli a try. You receive a coupon at reception when you check-in and this is handed in the next day, there is a choice of full English or continental style breakfast.

Check-out is by 10.00am, but a later check-out can be booked for a small charge, though the time is dependent on whether you have a shared or private room. There is also a left luggage room where you can leave your bags for a few hours after checking-out whilst ‘checking-out’ the town. The room is locked and access is arranged through reception.

The hostel is great value, with friendly and helpful staff. The location is superb for a view of the lake and not too inconvenient for the town and well worth that walk for the proximity to the lake. Try it for yourself next time you are visiting the Lake District, and maybe I will bump into you there and we can enjoy a coffee together.