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thekettlewell

Winner of TGO magazine HOSTEL OF THE YEAR 2026!

It has been another beaut of a day, the boggy bits

It has been another beaut of a day, the boggy bits on the way up great Whernside are all dry and the going is easy, the distant views are clear and a glorious sky that is ever changing.

Back at the hostel, I thought that I would do a post about how I make the ‘8 hour beef stew’ which is a perennial favourite on the menu, but I managed to take a few pictures of some ingredients and then got caught up in the cooking untill it was all in the oven (the small one is a #glutenfree version). Maybe another time…..

In other news, we have the electricians coming back for the final push, we should be connected to our new supply tomorrow fingers crossed, once that is done, we will get a certificate to say that we can get the car charger connected…….

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

To give this story some context, we have been here

To give this story some context, we have been here 11 years, we are pretty thoughtful people and always try to look out for ways to make the place better, today we found a good one.

A guest turned up, tired and hungry as people often do, a long walk, generally in need of a bit of human kindness and a cup of tea. Now, he turned up at 4.30 (we open at 4.00) the door is always closed, but unlocked so you can just push and walk in, the door is also heavy….

He stood outside for 10 minutes, ringing on the doorbell, (which has never been connected to anything), and finally in frustration called us from his mobile to ask what exactly the hell was he meant to do? Calmly, i told him to just push the door and come in.

On entering, he saw how nice it is here, and that he could have a cup of tea and a sit down, there was some good music playing in the dining room. Things were going to be alright. He had been hot and cross, but good vibes prevailed!

The teaching of this story is ‘do not press the button’ the door is open. (From 4.00)

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

The road men came to deliver some tarmac this morn

The road men came to deliver some tarmac this morning! So the road is back open! For fun though there are still signs around the village saying that roads are closed, which people are enjoying!

Talking to one of the workers, they told me about ‘poison pen-sioners’ I shall not go into it, but it is a nice use of words!

I have made a beef stew today, including a batch of gluten free (made with ilkley brewery’s GF IPA).

Lastly, Magnus the fearful cat, was looking fine in the garden this morning, he might run away from you, but he is a good looking boy!

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

We have a delightful wedding group here this weeke

We have a delightful wedding group here this weekend, Kettlewell church is really special and they have done a very good job at making the place feel a bit special for their guests, it is so nice to be a part of these things!

In other news, wild swimming is still a lovely way to spend an hour or so, just along the river towards Starbotton is our preferred spot!

And in Big Hole news, some road workers came today and half filled the road part of the hole in preparation for the tarmac team some time in the future…. The road is still closed, we still don’t have our new electricity supply, but at least we are moving forward…..

It felt this morning that we were about to make so

It felt this morning that we were about to make some real progress, but, when the man came to ‘liven up’ our new connection the the grid, it turns out that the digging team who were here yesterday missed the last 6 inches, meaning that the connection guy couldn’t do his bit, the digging team will have to be called back, then the connections guy will have to come back and so it goes……

We still have our electricity supply and they might be able to get the road back open, which is not bad.

Meanwhile, we have just added a new vegetarian burger to our menu! The ‘Crunchy, Crispy, Spicy Smoked Tofu Burger’ I think that it is really good and a couple of people who had them tonight really enjoyed them. So off to a good start! We only managed to get a pic of the #glutenfree version, we will try to get a pic of the regular one soon….

The electrical work hasn’t quite gone as quickly a

The electrical work hasn’t quite gone as quickly as we would have hoped, yesterday the diggers only arrived at 12 meaning today they had to come back today to finish the hole…

Meaning that the jointer who could only come after the hole was dug, didn’t come, as the hole wasn’t ready for him,

Meaning that the man who was to move the meters couldn’t do his part….. so it all goes into another day with our electricians finished for now……

Still, inside the hostel is still really nice, it is still so beautiful in our part of the world and we still have electricity (just a big hole outside the building!)

In the end however we will be able to have a car charger, and batteries, and in the future we will have capacity for more chargers when the time comes, it is all a bit painful now but we try to tell ourselves that we are still working towards something positive!

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

Work is continuing to get the new electricity supp

Work is continuing to get the new electricity supply into the hostel, I think that if we had known quite what this job would entail, we might have closed for a couple of days longer!

That said, we often hear tales from guests that they stayed in some hostel or other when the power went off/the roof caved in/the ground floor flooded, which makes ours seem quite benign in comparison!

More work tomorrow!

In preparation for our electrical work in the next

In preparation for our electrical work in the next few days, we took the rare decision to close for a Saturday night! We have a whole bunch of stuff to move so that the work can start on Monday without getting rubble into the food etc….

This has also meant that Floss had a moment to finish the baking that she has been doing for the @kettlewellscarecrowfestival she has produced;
24 trays of Chocolate Brownies
8 trays of Yorkshire Parkin
240 of the most beautiful cheese scones!

If you do get to come to kettlewell during the festival, pop into the village hall, there are so many very good bakers in the village working to produce delicious treats for you!

Meanwhile I managed to disappear for a longer run, it has been hot recently and I haven’t been out for a few weeks, this was a real wake up call…..

Also, we went to see David Byrne last night in Halifax! It is amazing what you can do with a couple of days off!
@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

As Kermit the frog told us, it isn’t easy being gr

As Kermit the frog told us, it isn’t easy being green.
A couple of years ago, we started our transition to reduce our environmental impact, the plan was to include the electric car, car charger, solar panels and house batteries, and finally after a lot of work, we are nearly there…

The major stumbling block has been that our electricity supply needs to be De-looped, apparently, our supply is shared with our house, the hostel, our neighbours farm, and maybe the 5 houses opposite, so addling a car charger might just overload the system. So next week @northernpowergrid will be coming to dig a trench for the new supply across the road, @octopusenergy will be here to move our meters, and electricians from @bgreenn_limited will be connecting everything back up, and preparing the way for our batteries which have been ordered!
We are not experts, but I think that we are nearly there!

In other news, it is still really nice here!

@yhaofficial
@indiehostelsuk

Whilst it has been hot, we (Saul and Billy, the do

Whilst it has been hot, we (Saul and Billy, the dog) have been running along the river a bit more. This morning was particularly beautiful with a quiet breeze and no-one around. Now that the stretch of river at Burnsall has been closed to visitors, maybe that more folk will be coming up-dale to see our little bit of paradise….

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

Thanks to @yorkshiredales for fixing the stepping stones, very nice indeed.

As a business we do our best for all of our guests

As a business we do our best for all of our guests to have a nice time. We talk to people when they are here, often saying positive things, but we are always listening for opportunities for improvements.

We also really appreciate 5* online reviews, typically on @tripadvisor or google, which are genuinely helpful in showing new people that this would be a safe, wholesome place to come and stay….

But, but far the most preferred form of feedback, the absolute gold standard, is an A4 envelope of handwritten letters from a school group who stayed here a couple of weeks ago, we had a very fun lunch reading excerpts out to each other.

Although it isn’t cool to say online which school it was, if you are seeing this, we appreciate you too!

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

Nothing says that we have been busier this year th

Nothing says that we have been busier this year than, when I look back through my pictures of the last few weeks, there are a lot of pictures of cooking large quantities of food rather than pictures of being out on the hills! Although, I do wonder what it was that I found interesting enough to take a picture of boiled eggs, although there were a lot of them, maybe we were still a little sleepy….

Anyway, now that we have gotten to the summer holidays, it quietens down a little, generally less school groups, so a bit more space for normal people, if you know what I mean….

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

We have had a real busy time recently with @dofeuk

We have had a real busy time recently with @dofeuk groups coming and going, schools having their little residential trips and a bit of time for some ‘normal folk’ to come for a walking holiday in the sunshine! Altogether a very happy sort of a hostel I think, slightly quieter before another busy weekend……..

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

We are always looking for improvements where we ca

We are always looking for improvements where we can, we have recently moved over to using @theseepcompany dish sponges, we have tried them in our big kitchen and have now put them in our self catering kitchen too. Reducing the amount of non-recyclable plastic waste is a small step in the right direction.

We have had a lovely school here all week, tonight we are cooking fish and chips, tasty peas with homemade tartar sauce, Eton Mess and a fresh fruit salad for a couple of the teachers who have opted for a lighter cuisine…

It is the @uwfra_official_ 3 peaks challenge this weekend! So we will have a whole bunch of runners here all ready to run or walk in support of the life saving work that they do! If it is too late for you to get in training for this weekend, we are taking bookings for the same weekend next year and already have a few people who are committed to the event in ‘27!

Keep cool.

@yhaofficial
@indiehostelsuk

Unsurprisingly, it is nice and warm here too! We h

Unsurprisingly, it is nice and warm here too! We have been doing our best keeping the windows and curtains closed during the days, and open doors in the evening which has been actually pretty good for keeping the place cool! We also invested in a pile of fans for the rooms which have been doing their bit…

Anyway, it is really nice here and sitting in a shady spot by the river is as delightful a way to spend a day as you could wish for!

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

We are delighted to say that we have just recieved

We are delighted to say that we have just recieved a @tripadvisor travellers choice award for 2026!

There aren’t many awards in life, but this one which comes from having consistantly good reviews on Tripadvisor is a very welcome one! Thanks to everyone who stayed and left a kind review, we really appreciate the support!

In other news, it has been really showery! Some lovely moments between the downpours, I expect that the drying room will be put to good use when everyone arrives…

And they have been filming down in Grassington, which is pretty cool to see (although it is harder to pick up a bread order from the bakery)

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

We had a busy sort of week, Varied with lots of di

We had a busy sort of week, Varied with lots of different sorts of people!

We started the week with some nice walkers and families, then came a really great school for a few days who coped incredibly well with some lousy weather, we cooked them huge quantities of delicious food to warm them up!

Then a quick turnaround for the @outdooradventuregirlsuk who were here for a really well organised social weekend, it is always a pleasure to have them here!

Also today in the village, there was some fell runners competing in a BOFRA fell race, which we could see from our top floor…

Let’s see what this week will bring!

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

Here is a throwback to a simpler time, when the el

Here is a throwback to a simpler time, when the elders of the village would put on an event for the delight of the youngsters, visitors and residents alike, for the joy of being together doing something slightly silly for the pleasure of it.
Happy days in Kettlewell

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

When it is warm our #freewater outside tap gets so

When it is warm our #freewater outside tap gets some good business! Cycling groups gather round after riding up the dale, we have a dog bowl for our four legged friends. Carrying enough fluid for a hot day can be a challenge, fill your bottles when you can!
It is so beautiful to be outside, topping off the vitamin D, getting a little colour in our cheeks, getting the sun hats out of the wardrobe, very nice!
@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk #freetapwater #reduceplasticwaste #refillyorkshire

Over the years I have managed to persuade my runni

Over the years I have managed to persuade my running partner, Billy not to pick up and eat all of the lamb tails that are on the trails at the moment - which is a real improvement!

Honestly, I should probably set off on my run this morning a little earlier, it was so nice to be out and there a goo few folks out on the hills, which is always good to see!

Let’s hope that there will be enough water in the beck tomorrow for the duck race, it is quite exciting when there isn’t a lot of water as more ducks get stuck, it’s like when there are a lot of crashes at the beginning of a sports game (please insert your own sports analogy here, they are really not my metier)

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

On Monday, we have the annual Kettlewell Duck Race

On Monday, we have the annual Kettlewell Duck Race!

At 3.00pm 1000 Rubber ducks will be will be released into the beck, you can buy a numbered ticket and if your duck comes in the top three you’ll win a cash prize!

You can come for a lovely day out, go for a walk, watch the race, maybe have a meal in one of the pubs, the weather is going to be amazing, it is a really nice day out!

#kettlewell

One of the nice ladies, Rhona, who hosts the coffe

One of the nice ladies, Rhona, who hosts the coffee morning every Tuesday here at the hostel gave us a new bell that she picked up in the Himalayas!

Having a bell at reception when we are around the place busy working away means that we don’t have just be at reception, we are always happy to come and grab you a beer, a towel, or to help with walk planning, or just to have a nice chat!

#ringmybell @yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

We have had a really busy week! This week we have

We have had a really busy week!

This week we have had a lovely school group here on a whistle stop tour of all of the fun things in the north of England! (Beamish, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Bizzy Lizzies fish and chips, pony trekking and fishing in Kilnsey, football in the village….) fantastic. The teachers were amazing, working really hard to give their pupils a memorable trip!

They left this morning, a quick (but thorough) tidy up and and back ready for a weekend with a really nice group who came last year for a 70th birthday party, liked it so much that they booked to come again the following year!

Anyway. It’s dead nice here!

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

Now, how many mugs do you think you could get away

Now, how many mugs do you think you could get away with, as a 40 bed hostel (we can sleep up to 42 people as a couple of the beds are doubles).

Not one person has had to go without coffee, no one has noticed that we were running low.

For further context, we bought 60 of the orange mugs maybe 7 years ago….

24 mugs, that is how many.

We have been looking at new mugs for months, and finally we pulled the trigger!

We have just received a delivery of 100 new, yellow (maybe ochre, with a black rim) mugs, no one will be without a stylish drinking vessel for at least the next 10 years, maybe ever!

#newmugday #newmugsmakemehappy #outwiththeoldinwiththenew

@yhaofficial @indiehostelsuk

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The Kettlewell Hostel
Whernside House, Kettlewell, North Yorkshire, BD235QU
01756 760232
hello@thekettlewellhostel.co.uk

OS Grid Ref: SD970724
Lat: 54.1472ºN Long: 2.0475ºW
w3w: stow.chuckling.hobbit

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