Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival Hostel Weekend
We're back in the Yorkshire Dales in the height of Summer for a weekend in the beautiful village of Kettlewell.
We're back in the Yorkshire Dales in the height of Summer for a weekend in the beautiful village of Kettlewell.
We have timed our visit to coincide with the annual Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival now in its 28th year. The village residents seem to outdo themselves each year and the festival has become the highlight of the local calendar. You will find scarecrows in every corner of the village. Our break is during the first weekend of the festival.
We have exclusive use of the hostel which has great facilities and is right in the heart of the village giving us lots of opportunity to enjoy all that Kettlewell has to offer.
The price includes a two course dinner at the hostel on the Friday, a buffet dinner on the Saturday and breakfasts each morning.
We'll also have led walks on both Saturday and Sunday for those that want to get out into the breath-taking beauty of the Yorkshire Dales.
These weekends are very laid back and a great chance to have a weekend away and get to meet like-minded Spice members. It’s a great starter weekend if you’ve not been away with us before - you can do as much or as little as you choose; it’s your weekend away. Be warned that our weekend breaks do often sell out so so get your booking in now to avoid being disappointed.
Includes
- Two nights' hostel accommodation
- One cooked breakfast
- One continental breakfast
- Two-course Friday dinner
- Saturday buffet
- Saturday packed lunch
- Led walks
- Scarecrow Trail
- Spice Host throughout
Extras
- All Drinks and Treats
These weekends are very laid back and a great chance to have a weekend away and get to meet like-minded Spice members. It’s a great starter weekend if you’ve not been away with us before - you can do as much or as little as you choose; it’s your weekend away. Be warned that our weekend breaks do often sell out so so get your booking in now to avoid being disappointed.
Location & Itinerary
Kettlewell is a typical dales village in Upper Wharfedale. It has three lovely pubs, a tearoom, a village store and an ice cream parlour!
Once a year, it is host to a scarecrow festival, with a scarecrow trail throughout the village, with tea and cakes available at the village hall, and our break coincides with the first weekend of the festival.
You can arrive from 4pm on Friday but please try to be there for dinner at 7:30pm.
Saturday will be time to scarecrow hunt as well enjoy a local walk.
We need to pack up and leave by 10am on Sunday, but there will be a walk to Starbotton and back departing at about 10:45am.
On Friday evening we have a two course dinner at the hostel.
On Saturday we have a cooked breakfast and there will be a buffet dinner on the Saturday evening.
On Sunday there will be a continental breakfast but with hot sandwiches available too.
We will also bring items for packed lunch on Saturday.
As always we will appreciate your help in preparing food or cleaning up afterwards.
Travel & Stay
This award-winning gem of a hostel in the Yorkshire Dales village of Kettlewell is a real treat for a Spice weekend. There is a lovely stylish dining room, a separate comfortable lounge with a wood-burning stove and a beautiful garden for sitting out in the sunshine! As well as the spacious communal areas there are 11 bedrooms sleeping up to 40, with a double room, a twin room, 4 x 3 bed rooms, 2 x 4 bed rooms 1 x 5 bed room and 2 x 6 bed rooms.
The hostel will serves us a fantastic home-made meal on our arrival evening using the very best in locally sourced produce.
The hostel has its own secondhand bookshop so you can read a book over the weekend and if you don't finish it then just buy it to take home.
We also have a well-equipped self catering kitchen, so we will cook breakfasts and a Saturday evening buffet for everyone.
The Kettlewell Hostel is on the Dales Way and is a really great place for walking. Great Whernside and Buckden Pike are within a few hours' hike. If cycling is more your thing, we are on Tour de France and Tour de Yorkshire routes and provide the perfect base for those looking to get some big climbs under their belts! We also have a great bike shed for storing your equipment too.
We can't guarantee which room you will have but we will make an effort of keeping local Spice members together and room dorm share requests where possible. To guarantee a lower bunk you will need to book early. Bring some ear plugs if you're a light sleeper too.
Kettlewell is located in Upper Wharfedale, approximately 14 miles north of Skipton and 17 miles south west of Leyburn, on the B6160.
The nearest train station is Skipton, with connecting bus services as follows:
Keighley Bus Company operates the 72 and 72R service from Skipton Bus Station and Skipton Rail Station to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Centre in Grassington, Monday to Saturday. From Grassington the Upper Wharfedale Venturer and NYCC run the 72A and 72B services to Kettlewell and beyond, Monday to Saturday. On Sundays and Bank Holidays, a direct service is operated by Dales Bus from Ilkley, via Grassington to Kettlewell and Hawes. Full details are available at http://www.vetch.co.uk/uw_bus/
The village car park costs £8 for 48 hours so please car share where possible.(correct at the time of writing this).
Kettlewell is signed from the A59 / A65 north of Skipton. Follow the B6265, which becomes the B6160 for around 13½ miles. As soon as you have crossed over the river bridge into the village you will see the 30mph sign. Turn immediately left here into the Pay and Display car park. Alternatively turn right into the fields and there is a private car park charged at £3 per day. You will need cash for this one as you pay at the honesty box at the garage across the road.
From here follow the road on foot into the village and turn right before The Blue Bell Inn (brown sign says Youth Hostel 240yds), then turn left at the Village Store and the building is on your right.
| Type | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Member Bunk | £140.00 | Sold Out |
| Member Female Bunk | £140.00 | Available |
| Member Male Bunk | £140.00 | Available |
| Guest Bunk | £176.00 | Sold Out |
Not enough spaces left for you? Join the waitlist
Host & Everything Else
Enjoyed the Yorkshire hospitality and thanks to Jonathan and Jill for everything especially the super food!
Fantastic weekend and special thanks to Jonathan and Jill for their hosting skills and fab food!
Really enjoyed the weekend and getting to know everyone.special thanks to Jonathan and Jill for your superb hosting and food, it was brilliant 👏 xxx
What a brilliant place. My first time in a YHA hostel. I will deffo be looking out for this weekend venue in the future. Thanks Jill & Jonathan for being brilliant hosts. Great walks, fun times and amazing food. Great to meet all you lovely people. Thanks for making it a really enjoyable weekend break xx
Fabulous weekend, the town, the hostel, the food, the great group of Spicers, John and Jill's wonderful hosting, the walks, the scenery, the beer. The opportunity to wash the greasy pots was like a dream come true. Thank you everybody.
This was my first bunk barn weekend and l loved every minute of it, yesterday's walk, the food, the company...... One of the highlights for me was Jonathans cheesecake, absolutely to die for! Looking forward to many more weekends and the opportunity to meet many more wonderful fun people 🍰🥂🍾🎉
I would like to just echo what all the above have said, it was my first spice overnight event and the hosts and all the lovely people i met have guaranteed it wont be my last. Thank you all.
I had to dash this morning so didn’t get chance to say goodbye and wanted to say a big thank you for the weekend, it was fab. Thank you for all your hard work, the food was amazing and a big thank you for the vegan contribution I/we really appreciated it.
Fab weekend, fab walking, fab food, (especially the cheesecake) fab company.
Thank you so much for a most enjoyable weekend at Kettlewell. You and Jill did a brilliant job with the walks, food and activities. I had a wonderful time, as did everybody else. The location and hostel were amazing too!
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