Life-long youth hostel fan laments closures

A man who "fell in love" with youth hostelling in the 1970s has condemned the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) for closing locations.

Victor Ient and his friends were on a cycle tour in Devon last month when they discovered two hostels were about to close.

YHA Dartmoor, near Bellever forest, which has since closed, and YHA Beer in East Devon, which is expected to close later this year, are among nine properties in England and Wales being sold or not having their leases renewed.

The charity said the closure decision was taken after a difficult few years which included Covid pandemic lockdowns and the cost-of-living crisis.

"I'm so desperately upset about it," said Victor, who first went hostelling in the 1970s when his eldest son wanted to do some exploring.

He said: "It's being out in the countryside... you can hear the birds singing, that's one part about it.

"The second part is the camaraderie, the people you meet."

The 78-year-old from Sussex said the YHA, which formed in 1930 to give young people access to the countryside, was closing too many of its hostels.

"There are only 73 youth hostels left whereas in the late 1980s there were 240 and they are going to close nine more - this is ridiculous."

At the former YHA Dartmoor hostel near Postbridge, workers have been removing fixtures which can be used in other YHA locations.

Phil Maddock, head of transition and franchise for the YHA, said he understood the concerns people had over the closures but they were necessary to secure the charity's future.

"This isn't the YHA trying to reduce the impactful work that it does. In fact this is our way of trying to make sure that impact is there to be achieved in years to come." said Maddock.

He said the organisation still had a "massive estate" with hostels in a lot of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and National Parks.

Maddock said the YHA currently owned and ran 72 properties and had 26 partner sites.

"We've developed a very successful franchise model and we are really keen to talk to independent entrepreneurs and operators out there who might want to take on sites like this (Dartmoor) to operate them alongside YHA - to make sure that we can still have as big a footprint on the map as we've had for years," he said.

Back at YHA Beer, which has been put up for sale, Victor and his 56 year-old son James reflected on the closures.

"It is sad, we should use hostels more," said James.

"It's that atmosphere of freedom that you get here," said Victor, who said he preferred hostel accommodation over an air-conditioned hotel room.

"You really gain so much and enjoy the outdoors. It's the real world."

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.