Walks with a story in Yorkshire
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Overview
The award-winning Kettlewell Hostel is super friendly with hearty homemade food and great social areas. It is perfect for families, individuals and groups alike. With a range of private rooms or great value dorm beds, it is a wonderful base for exploring the Yorkshire Dales.
The Kettlewell Hostel has been part of the YHA network for over 75 years and is an absolute gem! Set in a charming Yorkshire Dales village with plenty of great walks, friendly pubs, stunning views and some world class cycling routes close by, it is a real home from home, just perfect for an active break.
Why guests love YHA Kettlewell
Accommodation at YHA Kettlewell
The hostel
This award-winning gem of a hostel in the Yorkshire Dales village of Kettlewell is a real treat for those who choose to stay there. 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 42, with a double room, a twin room, 4x 3 bed rooms, 2x 4 bed rooms 1x 5 bed room (contains a double bed, sleeps 6) and 2x 6 bed rooms.
The hostel serves their own fantastic menu of home-made meals using the very best in locally sourced produce, including the now famous 8 hour beef stew! We also bake our own ginger cakes and brownies for dessert, all served with local Yorkshire Dales ice-cream. Wash your delicious food down with great local beers, Yorkshire cider or even some local gin and tonic.
For breakfast we offer our Full Yorkshire Breakfast, with locally sourced ingredients, or a Vegetarian Full English. Alternatively, enjoy a hearty and healthy bowl of porridge. Vegan and gluten free alternatives are always available, just let us know and we will do our best to help.
With a growing reputation for great food, you can eat with us before heading out to try the three friendly pubs in the village or pick up a book from our secondhand bookshop and have a quiet evening in front of the wood-burning stove.
We also have a well-equipped self catering kitchen, so you can cook for yourself and your family or just use it to help yourself to the complimentary tea and coffee whilst you are here!
The Kettlewell Hostel is on the Dales Way and is a really great place to base yourself for a few days' walking. Great Whernside and Buckden Pike are within a few hours' hike, as well as a week's worth of varied walking right from the front door. 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.
Hire the whole place
This hostel is available for hire on an exclusive basis, with or without catering. This means that you can have the place to yourself and choose how many of your friends, family, club mates, etc., join you. You can hire YHA Kettlewell all year round and booking well in advance is advisable, especially at weekends. If you're be interested in our rates and availability please look at our Exclusive Hire website.
Food and drink at YHA Kettlewell
Things to do around YHA Kettlewell
Wensleydale Creamery
The perfect destination for fans of cheese - including Wallace & Gromit! See the cheese being made and then try a sample. Visit the website
Walking and Rambling in Kettlewell
Walkers are in for a treat! With YHA Kettlewell being pretty much at the foot of Great Whernside, a great day's walk is up, round the back of the house and over the top to Starbotton and back in
Mountain biking in Kettlewell
Mountain and cyclocross bikes are welcome on all the bridle ways in the area, have a look at the map (available in reception) as there are so many great routes to chose form.
Cycling in Kettlewell
For Cyclists, we are on the Tour de France route and the area is really popular with road cyclists. We have a large secure bike shed and concreted metal hoops in the floor so make sure that you bri
Climbing in Kettlewell
For climbers we have one of Yorkshire's Big Three limestone crags, Kilnsey Crag (the other two being Gordale and Malham). This is mostly higher grade sport climbing but there are some very good
Running in Kettlewell
This is a simply amazing area for fell running. A popular winter route is night running over Great Whernside, only for the experienced, but with a clear night, there is really nowhere better on
Watersports near Kettlewell
The trout farm and shop down at Kilnsey Park Estate makes for a really good day out for any aspiring fisherman. See the Kilnsey Fishing website
Bolton Abbey
Take the steam train from Embsay or park at the Abbey for a stroll and picnic by the river.
Facilities
General
- Cot available
- Cycle store
- Free wi-fi
- Garden / grounds
Essentials
- Drying room
- Lounge
Entertainment
- Board games
- Library/Quiet room
Accommodation options
- Private rooms available
Food & drink
- Dining room
- Group catering available
- Licensed bar
- Meals available
- Self-catering kitchen
Transportation & parking
- Parking
Other YHA products
- Sole use
- Trade bookings
- YHA Exclusive Hire
- YHA School Trips
Need to know
Reception times: 08:00 - 10:00 16.00 - 22.00
Check in: 16:00 - 22:00
Check out: Up to 10:00
Towels and toiletries: Towels and toiletries are not provided but are available to hire or purchase from reception. Bedding is supplied.
Parking: We have parking for seven cars at the hostel if they all breathe in! There is plenty more parking in the village although this can be a sensitive issue and we ask that parking notices are respected, the £3 car park opposite the garage is often the best choice, pay in the garage and see one of the sets from the film Calendar Girls whilst you are there!
Pets: Pets are not permitted at YHA Kettlewell. Assistance dogs are welcome.
YHA Kettlewell - Access Statement
(PDF download - 150.97 KB)
YHA Exclusive Hire
Invite your friends and family along to YHA Kettlewell and hire the whole property for yourself. With 40 beds over 11 rooms, we have a great range of options when deciding where everyone is to sleep! You can have one of our excellent value group meals and breakfasts whilst you are here or cook for yourself in our self-catering facilities. To hire the whole place please visit our YHA Exclusive Hire website.
We are open for group bookings all year round.
History
YHA Kettlewell was built in 1917 as a guest house and has been home to a bakery, cafe, village shop, post office as well as being taken into the YHA family in the 1940s.
The hostel was sold in 2015 and since has gone from strength to strength as an independent hostel (thought still very much part of the YHA) ever since!
Meet the team
YHA Kettlewell is owned and run by husband and wife team of Saul and Floss Ward, relentlessly enthusiastic and passionate about the area, they work hard to make the place as nice and welcoming as it can be!
Saul is a lifelong outdoor advocate and as a great cook, works hard to make the best food and give the best welcome in the dales!
Manager recommends: There are so many great walks from the hostel. When you arrive, pick up the ‘Walks from Kettlewell’ from our bookshop and plan your stay whilst you are here! Great Whernside is a great hill for a days walk, you can add on Buckden pike for a longer walk or save that for another day!
The walk over to Arncliffe is another family favourite, with some steeper climbs offering some spectacular views in a relatively short distance (and there is a pub to stop off for lunch which is nice!)
For younger visitors, there are some stepping stones which are a nice walk along the river, this makes for a happy mornings walk. The village playground also has a spectacular view down the dale, lovely.
