Accommodation, Support Services & Visitor Information
This section provides useful contacts and websites for walkers seeking accommodation and visitor information. We do not list individually managed accommodation on this site: if you provide accommodation please see our FAQ's - Accommodation Providers: I offer accommodation to walkers on or near an LDP. Can you list this for me with a link on your site? for more information.
On this website we list independent hostels related to specific LDPs, walking support providers catering for walkers' needs on LDPs for baggage support, guided and non-guided holidays on LDPs and hostel and camping barn accommodation. These services are listed on each path information page so you can select by supplier.
If you are walking Long Distance Paths, some route publications include accommodation information, and the route entries indicate where a dedicated accommodation list is published. Local Tourist Information Centres (TIC’s), that have extensive accommodation lists online or that they will send out, are a good source. Visitmap provides contact details of UK TIC’s as does VisitBritain.com - follow the links to Practical Information/Advice. Telephone numbers can also be found in Yellow Pages. An Internet search can also lead quickly to accommodation in many areas. There are many other rural ‘bed and breakfasts’ (B&Bs) that simply display a sign or rely on word of mouth.
DiscoverNorthernIreland.com has searchable online accommodation information (info@nitb.com). This site is operated by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board that covers the province.
The website of the Ramblers' Association (020 7339 8500 and ramblers@ramblers.org.uk) is a valuable source for long distance walkers and includes B&Bs, camping barns, bunkhouses and hostels, and information on a selection of LDPs. You can search for the listed accommodation along many of Britain's favourite long distance paths or search by national park, county, town, place or postcode. The annual ‘walk Britain’ Ramblers Yearbook and Accommodation Guide, ISBN13 978-1901184921 and ISBN10 1901184927 (2007) at £5.99 + p&p/shipping from their bookshop but distributed free to members, has similar information with maps showing locations of B&Bs.
The traditional Youth Hostels Associations maintain networks of youth hostels and camping barns, and in some cases provide a booking service online, while independent hostels are increasing in numbers and provide an alternative network:
England and Wales: The Youth Hostels Association Online hostel finder. Reservations: 0870 770 6113 and reservations@yha.org.uk. YHA is one of the leading budget accommodation providers in the UK. It aims to help all, especially young people of limited means, to travel and discover England and Wales by providing cheap, safe and secure Youth Hostels in coastal, countryside and city locations in over 200 locations. It is no longer necessary to be member of YHA to stay but membership provides substantial hostel discounts as well as a passport to a worldwide network.
Scotland: Scottish Youth Hostels Association Central bookings 0870 1553255. Online hostel finder. Objective is to help all, but especially young people, to experience and appreciate the Scottish countryside and places of historic and cultural interest in Scotland, and to promote their health, recreation and education, particularly by providing low cost accommodation for them on their travels.
Northern Ireland: Hostelling International Northern Ireland (HINI) - Enquiries 028 9032 4733 and info@hini.org.uk. HINI is part of the International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF) that provides holiday accommodation all over the province. Youth Hostels are located in Armagh, Belfast, Bushmills, Enniskillen, Newcastle, and Whitepark Bay. Almost all bedrooms are en-suite, and come in a range of sizes, from twin, up to six bedded, which are ideal for family breaks.
Independent Hostels UK (www.IndependentHostelsUK.co.uk) is a network of 350 bunkhouses, hostels and camping barns. The networks handbook The Independent Hostel Guide is available online (www.IndependentHostelGuide.co.uk) as a UK-wide hostel finder with maps, descriptions and contact details of all the hostels freely available. The printed handbook, Independent Hostel Guide by Sam Dalley, ISBN 978-0-9536185-9-0, £4.95 (2010), can be purchased on (www.independenthostelguide.co.uk/buy-a-copy-of-the-guide.php), from the hostels, bookshops or Amazon. This 464 page guide provides the ultimate reference to commercial hostels in the UK plus useful information on the worldwide hostel scene. These hostels are linked from each path page on this site, where they are on or near a route.
Hostels.com includes hostels in the UK and Ireland (enquiry form online). Hostel accommodation in over 100 holiday hostels across Ireland is listed by Independent Holiday Hostels of Ireland (00 353 1 836 4700 and info@hostels-ireland.com).