Chelmsford YHA Group

CYHA News

The Monthly Newsletter of Chelmsford YHA Local Group

December 2011

The Secret Hostel

Approach to Hindhead hostel

Hindhead: a hostel so brilliant, it has to be kept a secret. Tucked down at the bottom of the Devil’s Punchbowl surrounded by trees, it is hidden from view and only a very select few have the privilege of staying there. In order to maintain this secrecy, the National Trust have had the A3 removed down to its foundations and the access road to the hostel is coned off. To gain access you have to request passage from the Scotsman guarding the gate, who will only allow you past the fence once an escort has been arranged.

Our car had the advantage of arriving in daylight, which made locating the Scotsman a whole lot easier, but after dinner at the pub we had the challenge of finding our way back to the hostel in the dark. Even with a torch this was far from straight forward, stumbling along through the trees and down an unmade track. Luckily we made it back just in time to find Louise, who’d made it all the way down to the parking area, but with the lights off couldn’t see which way the hostel was (I told you it was well hidden!).

Autumn in the Devil's Punchbowl

On Saturday morning, after one of Dave’s excellent breakfasts, we set off from the hostel and walked up out of the Punchbowl and along to the Sailor’s Stone. This stone marks the spot where an unknown sailor was done to death by three assailants in 1786. The sailor in question had been drinking at the Red Lion in nearby Thursley and had generously treated three fellow travellers to food and drink in the pub before heading back to his ship in Portsmouth. Unfortunately his generosity was not rewarded and the men slit his throat, stealing his money and his clothes. They were apprehended a few hours later trying to sell his clothes in another pub a few miles away. Our next stop was the cross which marks the spot where the villains bodies were hung from a gibbet as a lesson to others.

Further on. at the tunnel view point, we got a prime view of the new route of the A3 plunging its way through the hillside, virtually under our feet. This bit of the forest also proved a prime hunting ground for sweet chestnuts, so we kicked the leaves around whilst filling our pockets with these glossy little gems.

The route back to the hostel went through the autumn foliage, taking in the fabulous views across the Punchbowl and a brief stop at the National Trust tearooms at Hindhead - brief, as there was only a limited amount of daylight and we already knew how hard the hostel was to find in the dark!

Group at Hindhead hostel

Safely back at the hostel, Tom cooked us a scrumptious meal while we sat round the real fire toasting marshmallows and snacking on roasted chestnuts. A perfect evening.

Sunday had us on another walk from the hostel, this time out to some of the neighbouring villages, including Thursley where the anonymous sailor is buried. En route we coincided with a Halloween fun run, whose participants (in spite of the costumes) looked like they were having anything but fun. We might not have been in wigs and tutus, and the day may have seen a little light rain towards the end, but ours was definitely the better option. This walk was a bit longer than Saturday’s & the night had pretty much drawn in by the time we stumbled back to the hostel for a parting cup of tea – maximising all the possible fun from the weekend!

Ali


 


 


Autumn in Epping Forest

Autumn in Epping Forest

After a week of grey weather, Sunday dawned bright and sunny. We headed out to Connaught Water for the start of our walk, only to find the car park one month through a three month refurbishment. With the parking closed, we had to quickly develop a plan B in the form of the Royal Forest hotel a little further down the road. It was at this point we noticed that Butlers Retreat, where we had planned to take our afternoon tea, was also closed for a refurb. With blue skies above there was no way we were going to let these little set backs spoil our day, so off we set through the forest along with half the population of London. A beautiful day had all the dog walkers, horse riders, mountain bikers and motorcyclists out in force. Plenty of room in the forest for everyone, but it did mean a bit of a queue at all the tea huts. Still it was worth queuing for possibly the biggest slab of bread pudding I’ve seen in years.

Lunch was an alfresco picnic, sitting in a sunlit glade on a pile of golden autumn leaves. An idyllic scene, so naturally our conversation turned to suicide and ultimately the death penalty. Such a good job we had Doug with us to lighten the mood.

We finished the walk with a visit to Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge, and, as most of us had parked at the pub, it was pretty much a given that we’d round off our day with drink or two.

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