Friday 7 October 2011

Wizard Fun in Ilam Hall, Derbyshire.




This is Ilam Hall. on a later summer evening,



These pictures were taken when the light was fading and the lamps of the hall shine out.    It's a most impressive experience to walk up that long path and into the long, 200-year-old building with its coats of arms and leaded windows.



Actually, Ilam Hall is a youth hostel.   When I've stayed there, I've found it comfortable, in a stone-flagged, echoey corridor, high-ceilinged sort of way.  It's ideal for groups or families (although if you have very young children, the general Gothicky vastness of the place can pose a slight problem, just because it takes five minutes to go right up and downstairs, for instance... .)

There's lots of open space around, including a gigantic lawn at the front where there are often organised games. Families can roam in the many acres of truly gorgeous National Trust countryside all around.   My pictures were taken in July, so it will look more autumnal now.








One of hte nice things about the YHA is that it is truly child-centred. Kids staying there can run around and play and get to know each other, and the staff are mostly young and energetic.   Another nice thing is that it's not expensive. Sure, there are bunk beds (with duvets - and quite comfortable) But kids don't mind bunk beds - in fact, they like them.  A does, anyway (sorry about the blurry picture).

Most of the rooms are en-suite, and there are also the usual single sex dorms in some of the larger rooms.
You can cook for yourself, but most people eat in the cafeteria style dining hall, an impressive place indeed.
Now I've had a newsletter from Ilam Hall which describes some really bargain priced and good fun activities for families at Ilam over the coming winter.   They've thought of all kinds of things to fill this great big place over the winter months, including Elf weekends and spooky Halloween activities, but I was particularly taken by the Harry Potter weekend on 27 and 28 January 2012.

From fanpop.com


It costs the bargain price of  £45 per child and £50 per adult, including bed, breakfast & evening meal on both days and lunch on Saturday. Wand-making, games of quidditc, potion-making, a party, a banquet  and of course lots of hot chocolate, biscuits and stories.   The programme's too long to print here, but contact ilamdeputy@yha.org.uk or phone 01335 350212 for more details. (+44) 1335 350212 outside the UK).

As Ilam Hall is part of the YHA, they're stuck with a corporate website, which doesn't seem to allow space to put in hostel activites. But if you have kids (or grandkids) and want a short unusual break this autumn, winter, Christmas or New Year, then some of this might be for you.

(By the way, I didn't get a free stay at Ilam, we paid for ourselves. I took out life membership of the YHA when I was 20 and, although some of its recent changes bug me a bit,  I think it's one of the few holiday organisations that really deals with kids well, and offers fun activities they can join in). 

30 comments:

  1. This sounds like so much fun! What a wonderful place to go. I think I'd have to try all of the special weekends. I could never choose!

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  2. A real nice place.

    I would love to visit places like this someday and pretend I'm back to medieval ages. ^^

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  3. places like this feed our imagination & dreams. thanks for kindly sharing it with us.

    Aloha from Honolulu;

    Comfort Spiral

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  4. Lovely photos Jenny. What a fabulous venue for family fun. I might give the quidditch a miss though, my broom handling is too unpredictable.
    Isabel x

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  5. It never ceases to please and amaze me how people (in this and many other cases, the National Trust) in England manage to make good use of old buildings and at the same time preserving their beauty! Only too often, in Germany, you have the most beautiful places either turned into boring offices where no-one but those who work there gain entry, or they are open to the public but in the form of rather stiff, dusty museums.
    And while I like museums, I much prefer a place to be lived in, and this one certainly looks it!

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  6. That looks like a great place to stay and the prices are very reasonable. Any ghosts? ;-) xo

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  7. What a beautiful building! It is also a good tip that you gave us a the accommodation is not expensive at all and you have the privilege of staying in such a dream place. I'll mark the address on my books, thanks!

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  8. I have happy memories of staying here around 30 years ago! Lovely to see your photos, thanks.

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  9. My brother used to be a YHA warden many years ago and in his time looked after a couple of beauties - in Mankinholes near Todmorden and in Kings' Lynne. Wonderful photographs Jenny.

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  10. That would be a magical place to stay! Great pictures. Love the windows and the vast expanses. Nice! :)

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  11. Lovely photographs and indeed llam hall appears a magical place to stay, steeped in history, lovely.

    Anna :o]

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  12. great photos! :) congratulations!

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  13. In your country, there are so many interesting activities that are targeted at children and parents spending time together. Not just to be entertained, but to have an interesting and educational experience. Great post!

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  14. Oh, Jenny, you've made me feel all nostalgic now! What a lovely blog you have.

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  15. Thank you for visiting my blog.

    I was surprised to see such an interesting and spacious YHA. I only stayed in a youth hostel once when I was 16 and have never wished to repeat the experience. Perhaps if I had stayed at IIam Hall I would have felt differently.

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  16. "Wizard" is the ideal word to describe this magical setting. Rare to find such a perfect holiday place to please adults and children alike that doesn't involve midways with death-defying, lunch-regurgitating rides and poorly paid adults sweating in cartoon character costumes.

    louciao (posting under Anonymous because that's the only way Blogger/Google will let me in here)

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  17. That must be the grandest youth hostel around! And I love those huge ancient trees on the grounds too.

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  18. I've never stayed in a youth hostel but then I never did regular travelling.
    The idea of a youth hostel for families doesn't appeal, it's bound to be child-centred (of course, nothing wrong with that), which would make it less interesting for the child-free grandparent.

    We have a YH here, which is in an old mill, a really interesting place. I've been on a tour of it. Too many cramped and steep stairs to be safe for children, I would think, although they'd probably find it fascinating.

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  19. That looks like the kind of place to fill a child with happy memories. Nothing better than giggles and whispers before bed.

    Lorraine

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  20. Jenny you may enjoy taking a look at my Dodo I just put up on my blog ... you being a Lewis Carroll fan! Lorraine :-}

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  21. I would love to go there sometime and see the hobbits. Is that the one where Bilbo lives?

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  22. What a cool place for kids. Bet they had a ball

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  23. Strange looking creation. I suppose bits were added as the years past. Worth a visit.

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  24. i am simply amazed by the neat and clean picture of the castle...i cannot beleive it is real...seems like a 3d animation in a movie...wonderful...lucky you stayed there :)

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  25. Well, that's my idea of a great place. I can imagine all kinds of fun taking place there!

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  26. Hi Jenny, I popped across to say thanks for visiting my blog. Your post is really interesting and it took me back a good many years to the time when I went youth hostelling. One occasion was in wartime when I went with the school. In those days we ate artificial potatoes called POM (not Pomme) which us kids used to chuck out of the window for the pigs in their sty. Horrible stuff but happy days.

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  27. Great place for a family vacation.

    Darla

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  28. Thanks so much Jenny for your kind words, really appreciate your visit... The butterflies you asked about, the photos were taken in the cemetery of the town Sainte Enimie, in the Gorges du Tarn, Lozère, France. There was a simply huge lavender plant growing on a grave, which I stopped to look at, and I realized it was covered in butterflies... so out came the camera, and the rest is there for all to behold now. Are you any relation to Virginia ?

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  29. Thanks for the comments, everyone, I do appreciate them! @Mlle Poirot - no, no ghosts! @Valerie, yes hostels are less spartan than they were! @Friko, yes, I know Clun Mill, stayed in it before it was converted it used to have a lovely warden but I don't know what it's like now!

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  30. this is so interesting. the Mr and i would love this place and we used to be YHA members... but i had no idea they catered for young children??

    so do families tend to go to this Hall then? is it warm?

    i'm particularly interested because Derbyshire is a stone's throw away from where we visit in uk in January.

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