BOGGLE HOLE

My Mother is a Yorkshire woman. She met my Father whilst staying on the North Yorkshire Coast. Where better to take her for a family break than Boggle Hole North Yorkshire. Well almost perfect venue. My Mother is in her 80’s and Boggle Hole is not a luxury hotel but a Youth Hostel. Turns out that Boggle Hole has family rooms that sleep five. My Mother was keen both to revisit North Yorkshire and to visit a Youth Hostel for the first time since the 1950s

BOGGLE HOLE YOUTH HOSTEL

Yorkshire was the venue for all my holidays until I was nine. More than forty years down the line I have travelled all over the world but the siren call of the North Yorkshire coast remains strong. So it was that we packed our bags and my Mother into the car and headed for Robin Hoods Bay.

Boggle Hole Youth Hostel nestles in a ravine tucked in behind Robin Hoods Bay. There is no space for parking or turning at bottom of the cliff so you park at the top and carry your bags down 500 very steep metres. We checked in only to discover that our room was in the Crow’s Nest which required a steep assent up the opposite side of the valley.

Deep in the mists of time, before I was born, my Mother and a chum ventured forth on a tour of the Rhine staying in Youth Hostels (rumour has it that she was a youth at the time). She therefore found that many things have changed since then. Chores are no longer a required part of staying in a Youth Hostel and whilst all have self-catering kitchens, many have restaurants and licenced bars. Curfews and having to be out of the hostel by a certain time are also a thing of the past.

EATING AT BOGGLE HOLE

Boggle Hole has two self catering kitchens. One down in the main buildings and the other in the Crow’s Nest Building which is where most of the family rooms are. The main building has the advantage of bing next to the bar. If self catering is not your thing delicious meals are served in the bar in the main building. We did a mixture of the two, which has the advantage of keeping costs down but not always having to source food and wash up.

WALKING THE CLEVELAND WAY

Boggle Hole, Yorkshire is on the Cleveland Way. You can follow it North to Robin Hoods Bay or south to Ravenscar. If you go south the Ravenscar Hotel makes for a good pitstop and was a childhood favourite of mine, we used to come here for afternoon tea and dip in the outdoor pool.

Heading north to Robins Hoods Bay itself is best done one way along the beach and the other along the cliffs. Consult the tide tables carefully as the tide comes right up and cuts the bay off. We went via the beach and came back along the cliff. Robin Hoods Bay is not large but has sufficient places of interest to poke around in for our visit to allow for the consumption of both Fish and Chips and Afternoon Tea!

WHAT IS A BOGGLE?

A Boggle is a creature who lives caves and cracks in the rocks. You might also know them by the name of Boggart. Some call them mythical creatures but others are convinced that you will see the little folk at dusk. Boggle Hole was used by smugglers for bringing contraband ashore, they may or not have been helped by the Boggles.

LEAVING IN STYLE

Our departure coincided with the Youth Hostel Landrover making a trip up the hill. We pushed my Mother forward and emphasised her advancing years (no matter that the day before she had been skipping downhill and up dale along the coast path) she was offered a lift up. Bags and children could go in the back; departure in style! Mr CW and I got to walk up but at least we didn’t have the bags to carry!

BOGGLE HOLE: NEED TO KNOW

• Boggle Hole Youth Hostel in Fylingthorpe, 6 miles south of Whitby
• Parking in 500m away along a very steep path
• Getting there by car is deeply confusing. The road through Fylingthorpe takes you through what look to be gates leading to private land of Fyling Hall School. Have faith, go through these gates and you will find yourself on the right road.

We are big fans of youth hostels both in the UK and abroad. You read about our stays in Colditz Castle, a Dutch Castle and a cool family friendly hostel in Amsterdam.