Black Sail YHA Re-opens

© YHA

The remote Black Sail youth hostel at the head of Ennerdale was declared officially re-open on 16 July 2014 following a £325,000 refurbishment.

YHA Black Sail and Gable  © YHA
YHA Black Sail and Gable
© YHA

The refurb, which was made possible thanks to donations from YHA members and organisations, has secured the hostel’s long-term future, say the YHA, and enabled it to open to visitors year round.

A former shepher's bothy, YHA Black Sail is one of the oldest youth hostels in Britain (80 years old in 2013). It is famously among a very small number of hostels only accessible on foot or by bike.

The investment at Black Sail has enabled the YHA to weather-proof the building and reduce running costs through the installation of new energy saving measures and the introduction of energy generation on site.

The hostel has been redecorated, rewired and re-plumbed.

In addition storage has been increased so that more supplies can be kept on site during the winter months when the hostel is sometimes inaccessible. This has the knock on benefit of reducing vehicle movements through Ennerdale.

A new Land Rover has been donated by Lake District brewer Jennings to help transport supplies to the YHA's most out of the way site. For full effect walkers should still aim to get there under their own steam.


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