YHA Hawkshead

A bit remote from the Hawkshead bus station(25 minutes walk), enjoyed the view on the way though. Limited sockets in the room. Great kitchen and dining room. Helpful and warm staff.

This was a unique experience of nature with the tent house. As a group of friends we enjoyed our stay here. They provided us with wood to burn as a bonfire and also the tent had a small burning unit. This was our first time with this type of experience.

We have absolutely loved staying in the Arctic Cabin a few times over the years. However, on our recent visit, we could see that the shared facilities have deteriorated. The cabin could do with a blind on the door window to provide privacy from fellow campers seeing in! The toilets ran out of paper in the early evening and was not replaced until later the next morning. The showers are quite mouldy and could do with some maintenance. The kitchen was lacking sufficient equipment for the number of self-caterers. A suggestion... either encourage people to bring their own cooking equipment or offer kitchen sets for hire with a deposit. If the equipment is not returned or is damaged, the deposit is not refunded. That would encourage guests to clean up and to return all equipment. We will come back but better prepared. We love the communal friendly feel and hope that some updating and maintenance will keep this wonderful YHA location thriving.

Myself and my partner stayed in one of the premium bell tents, we were greeted kindly at reception and given all of the handy information needed! The tent itself was really spacious, bed were super comfy and had plenty spare blankets for the cold (as there was only 2 of us in a 5 person tent). There wasn’t WiFi but the data signal was completely fine and would definitely recommend taking a fully charged laptop with films download or a portable DVD player if wanting that kind of entertainment! There were a group of boys in the text next to us that were pretty loud but it didn’t bother us at all, weren’t causing any bother they were just lads having fun. But definitely something to consider if it’s something that would annoy you! Only thing was that the tent itself had no way of locking it (when camping we would usually padlock our zips but for safety) but that didn’t make us feel any less comfortable again just something to consider if that would bother you! The kitchen and toilet area were left super tidy and there are toilets in the building if you’re not wanting to go outside. Would definitely recommend and would definitely stay again!

We have stayed here 5 or 6 times - in the pods and bell tents and this time we were in the hostel. It’s a lovely place and the self-catering facilities are great. The shower was filthy though, and no squeegee mop available so users could clean before using it. Toilets not super either, but it is a youth hostel not a 5-star hotel. We’ll come back here again but I will bring flip-flops, a squeegee and some cif to clean the shower before I use it.