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| Two years at Black Sail - England's loneliest youth hostel | Two years at Black Sail - England's loneliest youth hostel |
| (4 months later) | |
| Black Sail youth hostel - venue for the Guardian Northerner's first Bloggers Weekend - is the place I have been fortunate enough to call home for the last two years. My partner, Martin, and I have recently come to the end of our second season as wardens there. Having cycled away from Ennerdale for the last time, we can now reflect on our time in this remote corner of Cumbria. | Black Sail youth hostel - venue for the Guardian Northerner's first Bloggers Weekend - is the place I have been fortunate enough to call home for the last two years. My partner, Martin, and I have recently come to the end of our second season as wardens there. Having cycled away from Ennerdale for the last time, we can now reflect on our time in this remote corner of Cumbria. |
| Being off the grid, and without internet, television or convenient mobile phone reception, Black Sail is popular amongst those who like to escape from it all once in a while. It's accessible only by walking over a mountain pass, or along a 6-mile track up Ennerdale from Bowness Knott, and has no neighbours in this valley for 4 miles. | Being off the grid, and without internet, television or convenient mobile phone reception, Black Sail is popular amongst those who like to escape from it all once in a while. It's accessible only by walking over a mountain pass, or along a 6-mile track up Ennerdale from Bowness Knott, and has no neighbours in this valley for 4 miles. |
| Upon arriving at the hostel, our guests usually had a reasonable, if fairly predictable, range of questions for us. Most commonly: "How did you end up here?", or: "So, are you posted here by the YHA?". I find the idea of taking someone from a city hostel and dropping them in the middle of Ennerdale quite amusing, but can appreciate the first question; it is after all, quite a unique place to live and work. | Upon arriving at the hostel, our guests usually had a reasonable, if fairly predictable, range of questions for us. Most commonly: "How did you end up here?", or: "So, are you posted here by the YHA?". I find the idea of taking someone from a city hostel and dropping them in the middle of Ennerdale quite amusing, but can appreciate the first question; it is after all, quite a unique place to live and work. |
| We sometimes recounted our telephone interview from Syria, where we were cycle-touring at the time of recruitment. But quite simply, we chose to come to Black Sail because we'd both stayed as guests and loved it. Although it is remote, it is only so if you actually want to be anywhere near a town. If mountains are what you are after, Black Sail's proximity is hard to rival. Being the first on the summit of Great Gable at dawn, or the last to leave Pillar at sunset, drinking tea outside the hut, accompanied only by the sounds of the river Liza rushing by, and the occasional Herdwick shuffling around, seeing the Milky Way when nipping out to the loo in the night; these are experiences that become commonplace at Black Sail, but make a season there something special. | We sometimes recounted our telephone interview from Syria, where we were cycle-touring at the time of recruitment. But quite simply, we chose to come to Black Sail because we'd both stayed as guests and loved it. Although it is remote, it is only so if you actually want to be anywhere near a town. If mountains are what you are after, Black Sail's proximity is hard to rival. Being the first on the summit of Great Gable at dawn, or the last to leave Pillar at sunset, drinking tea outside the hut, accompanied only by the sounds of the river Liza rushing by, and the occasional Herdwick shuffling around, seeing the Milky Way when nipping out to the loo in the night; these are experiences that become commonplace at Black Sail, but make a season there something special. |
| Another comment we became accustomed to hearing, followed the lines of: "Ooh, you must meet all sorts up here". There have been a few eccentric guests, and although the inaccessibility of the place does narrow down the clientele somewhat, it is true to say that every night at the hut is different. | Another comment we became accustomed to hearing, followed the lines of: "Ooh, you must meet all sorts up here". There have been a few eccentric guests, and although the inaccessibility of the place does narrow down the clientele somewhat, it is true to say that every night at the hut is different. |
| We've seen guests of all ages; from toddlers bounced up the track by parents peddling trailers, to an octogenarian walking the Coast-to-Coast path. For some, Black Sail is an 'experience', a night of 'roughing it', and 'rustic'. For those who are more familiar with camping or bothying, it provides a night of comparative luxury. But for that night, all have the shared experience of having walked through the wild Cumbrian fells to reach the hut. All are united by arriving sodden and sorry-looking (including ourselves sometimes), and drying off around the fire. On a typical night, this is followed by everyone eating together, helping out with the pot-washing afterwards, and sharing wine and navigation tips, before finding their way through the (still) wet night to their rooms. | We've seen guests of all ages; from toddlers bounced up the track by parents peddling trailers, to an octogenarian walking the Coast-to-Coast path. For some, Black Sail is an 'experience', a night of 'roughing it', and 'rustic'. For those who are more familiar with camping or bothying, it provides a night of comparative luxury. But for that night, all have the shared experience of having walked through the wild Cumbrian fells to reach the hut. All are united by arriving sodden and sorry-looking (including ourselves sometimes), and drying off around the fire. On a typical night, this is followed by everyone eating together, helping out with the pot-washing afterwards, and sharing wine and navigation tips, before finding their way through the (still) wet night to their rooms. |
| Between cooking, cleaning, and the twice-weekly trips ferrying supplies in and rubbish out of the valley, time is in surprisingly scant supply for a Black Sail warden. However, we left each other in charge for two days a week, to give ourselves a couple of days off. These days, for my part, were spent fell-running; to other youth hostels for a night, or in the races held weekly over summer. Martin usually attempted to climb a - normally rather wet - crag, or upon admitting defeat to the weather gods, devised cycle tours that handily incorporated his favourite West Cumbrian pubs. We will look back on these days fondly, and are sure to return as guests. Best of luck to the wardens of 2013. | Between cooking, cleaning, and the twice-weekly trips ferrying supplies in and rubbish out of the valley, time is in surprisingly scant supply for a Black Sail warden. However, we left each other in charge for two days a week, to give ourselves a couple of days off. These days, for my part, were spent fell-running; to other youth hostels for a night, or in the races held weekly over summer. Martin usually attempted to climb a - normally rather wet - crag, or upon admitting defeat to the weather gods, devised cycle tours that handily incorporated his favourite West Cumbrian pubs. We will look back on these days fondly, and are sure to return as guests. Best of luck to the wardens of 2013. |
| Suzanna Brett and her partner Martin Lyne have welcomed thousands of walkers at Black Sail over the past two years. Have you got a northern job you'd like to tell us about? Please email us at northerner @guardian.co.uk or Tweet @mswainwright | Suzanna Brett and her partner Martin Lyne have welcomed thousands of walkers at Black Sail over the past two years. Have you got a northern job you'd like to tell us about? Please email us at northerner @guardian.co.uk or Tweet @mswainwright |
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