YHA Dufton

Simon and Alistair were brilliant with the children and made us feel at home. The food was amazing, the location was perfect, and the rooms were comfortable and had everything we needed. Our school residential didn’t disappoint. We hope to come back soon, both with the school and with family. Well done, guys, you’ve made 25 people very happy.

The common room even has a fireplace, and the rooms are cosy. The beds are comfortable by YHA standards. I stayed for two nights in October while hiking in Northern England. There were at most three guests, but Simon did a wonderful job making everyone feel welcome and making sure we had what we needed. It’s a good, very affordable base for hiking trips.

The dining room and lounge were really comfortable, especially with the open fire. Our group booked the whole hostel, so I can’t rate the service. It’s a great base for walking in the Pennines, very close to the Pennine way path. We did High Cup Nick.

We stayed one night as a base for our very soggy walk up Cross Fell, and it worked perfectly. A good, basic hostel with a shower in the room, though no toilet in there. There’s a small self-catering kitchen that was okay, but I imagine it could get crowded when the hostel is busy.