Scotland's Youth Hostels

A VisitScotland survey showed that over 80 per cent of travellers to Scotland would be willing to pay extra to stay in accommodation with a responsible environmental policy. The Scottish Youth Hostels Association (SYHA) has always emphasised the 'greenness' of its operation, especially in environmentally sensitive areas such as Loch Ossian where their hostel has been completely refurbished. There they use a system of reed beds where loch water is recycled. Used water is recycled through a grey-water filtration tank, then through gradually finer layers of compost, gravel and sand into a natural-reed bed before the water goes back into the loch. The hostel generates its own electricity from a small wind turbine, and dry composting toilets produce benign compost for the garden. It supports sustainable transport as guests must walk to it (no car access and the railway is one mile away!). And rubbish, except food scraps, is removed by the guest. All very green, even on a grey day.

Loch Ossian is not the oldest of the hostels. That honour falls to Broadmeadows in the Scottish Borders and the SYHA will soon be celebrating its 75th birthday. To mark this special anniversary, we reproduce part of a feature from the latest edition of the Scottish Hosteller, which looks at some of the smaller hostels on the Western Isles. In this, John Humphries, editor of the Gatliff Hebridean Hostels trust newsletter traces the roots of these island hostels, now "adopted by SYHA", and mentions a new and unusual renewable energy source being used in one. Photographs are courtesy of Jason Clark.

"Last Summer stunning aerial photographs appeared in Richard Cooke's book, Coastline UK – Amazing Views from the Air. When Richard Cooke was asked about his favourite places along the Scottish coastline, he responded, 'I think Loch Shawbost in Lewis and Luskentyre in Harris were two of the most enchanting places – craggy summits, razor sharp outcrops, gauzy pools of turquoise.'

"This type of enthusiastic response has been common amongst visitors to the Outer Hebrides for many generations. One of the consequences of falling for a place is the desire to share it with the next generation and so the islands host many family groups in which the parents have that mission.

"A man who not only had a 'passion for landscape' but the desire to enable others to see such things for themselves was Herbert Gatliff (1897-1977). He was a high-ranking London Civil Servant with a maverick personality, generous instincts and a compulsion to achieve his aims. The 1920s and 30s was the time when the 'Outdoor Movement' had popular appeal and the foundations were laid for permanent British institutions such as youth hostels, cycling clubs, rambling associations and the National Trust. Gatliff was at the forefront of establishing the Youth Hostels Association.

"After the Second World War he was introduced to the Outer Hebrides by John Cadbury, of the chocolate dynasty, and became hooked on the landscape and life of the north-western extremities. Not only did he become a frequent visitor, but he wanted others to be able to follow in his footsteps. Projects, together with funding, were assigned by Herbert Gatliff to keen young people who would research aspects of the cultures and environment of these distant islands and their Gaelic-speaking residents. He set himself a particularly ambitious project to create small hostels in isolated communities.

"From 1962 until his death 15 years later, five 'crofters' hostels' were established and then in 1991 the sixth was opened. Two have closed – the one on Scarp, an island that is no longer permanently inhabited, and one on North Uist. The four that remain are thriving and attract between them, over 6000 bed nights each year. They are administered by the Gatliff Hebridean Hostels Trust, part of the charitable foundation, the Gatliff Trust, which continues to support causes that reflect the enthusiasms of its founder. Come see these distinctive hostels for yourself and rejoice that the vision of one man has led to the creation of permanent places where like-minded people can stay at reasonable cost (the current fee is £8 per night and £5.50 for Under 18s) in settings that are glorious.

"The first Gatliff hostel at the North Harris settlement of Rhenigidale originally had no road access and could be reached only by sea or a footpath. Now a metalled road gives visitors easy access to a hostel that has fine views across the Minch and a certain 'end-of-the-line' feel. The hostel at Howmore on South Uist is different, for this is on a flat coastal strip with the mountains to the east and the machair on the Atlantic shore some hundred yards away to the west. The beach is wide, inviting and the variations in the weather can be sensational.

"The hostels are fully equipped for self catering; all have heating and lighting and offer a comfortable bed. But they are run on the same principles as mountain bothies in that it is a matter of first-come, first-served. There is no reservation system apart from the time-honoured method of 'bagging-a-bed'.

"The most recent of the Gatliff hostels has become a focal centre in the village of Garenin on Lewis. A community of blackhouses has been rebuilt by a well-funded local initiative within yards of the Atlantic. One is now used as the hostel. This 'historical re-creation' attracts tourists throughout the year and although the claim – 'We Never Close' – is correctly used, the hostel at Garenin had to shut last January while a thermal heating system drawing energy from the ancient rocks 200 feet below was being installed. An eco friendly and welcome addition that will make the accommodation particularly warm and inviting in the literal sense."