HI - YHA Hawkshead Hostel

Esthwaite Lodge, also known as YHA Hawkshead, is a busy little hostel that sits on the shore of little Esthwaite Water, a typical classic Regency Period mansion that was once home to Francis Brett Young, one of England's greatest regional novelists.

The hostel has fourteen 3-4 and eight 6-8 bedded rooms and is reasonably priced. It also has a lounge, TV and games room, self-catering kitchen, toilets, drying rooms, laundry, showers, shop, cycle store, and grounds. The accommodation is split between the main house and an annex. The annex also contains classroom facilities, which makes this a popular hostel for groups and training courses. It is clean and comfortable but feels a bit dated in places.

Full catering is available -- breakfast is served at 8 a.m. and picnic lunches need to be booked the night before. Wine and beer are available from reception.

There is in theory ample parking at the hostel, with parking both at the front of the hostel and an overflow car park. The easiest way to come if you're driving is M6 junction 36 then follow off the A590 towards Barrow Road, turn right at Newby Bridge and follow the road straight following signs for Hawkhead for quite a while. Once you turn off the A590 it seems a very long way, especially if it's dark. It is easy to drive past the entrance -- the hostel is well signed only once you are really already there. You could drive in from the north via Ambleside but this route gets really busy with tourist traffic, and can take a lot longer than coming the other way.

The 505 bus goes from Ambleside to Consiton via Hawkshead about once every hour, you could also get the YHA shuttle bus or the mountain goat -- an independent "backpacker bus." The hostel is walkable from several other hostels in the area and the reception sells illustrated maps of the routes.

The village of Hawkshead, just one mile away, is a beautiful picturesque lakeland village which includes all the facilities you could need -- supermarket, post office, cafes, gift shops, and outdoor pursuit shops. The attractions in the village include the old grammar school that boasts the poet William Wordsworth among its students and the National Trust's Beatrix Potter museum and gallery which can be found in a 17th Century building that was once the office of the Potter's husband, local solicitor William Heelis. The Gallery houses an annually changing exhibition of a selection of Beatrix Potter's original drawings and illustrations. The parish church of St. Michael and All Angels is also worth a look. And be sure try something from the award winning Hawkshead Relish Company and the Hawkshead brewery.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review