YHA Sherwood Forest - A review

This Summer we decided to travel to Stonehenge and back in 2 days. This was a 700+ mile round trip for us from Northumberland! Some say we are mad - however we ended up having a fabulous time (minus a few squabbles in the car and maybe a few frustrated tears from me when the Sat Nav took us into a farmers field!). We were introduced to the YHA concept when I discovered YHA Cholderton which is only a few miles away from Stonehenge and turned out to be the perfect place for our family to stay the evening before our visit. I was looking for somewhere budget friendly to stay in the Midlands for one night on our return journey and decided to book a Youth Hostel again - this time in Sherwood forest which was about 2.5 hours South of our home in Northumberland.

Our experience at YHA Sherwood Forest was just as good but completely different to that of YHA Cholderton. Cholderton is an affiliate Youth Hostel where as Sherwood Forest is a modern, purpose built Youth Hostel for the association. Located on the outskirts of Sherwood Forest, I think it would make a perfect base for a cycling or walking holiday or simply a family base to enjoy some of the fantastic facilities in the area.

Bedrooms

All beds are now made up for arrival at Youth Hostels in the YHA - we had a room for five people which included a double bed for the grown ups and a decent en-suite bathroom. It honestly felt more like a hotel room than a hostel. The rooms were named around Robin Hood characters too which I thought was a nice little touch. The absolute best part however was that we had a door direct from our bedroom onto our own private outdoor terrace. We could come and go as we pleased without using the main entrance and had our own bench where we could sit and watch the children play with others on the grass. Perfect and just what we needed after hours in the car.

 Facilities

We arrived after dinner had been served so decided to pop into the nearby village and pick up a Chinese takeaway. We helped ourselves to plates and cutlery from the communal kitchen and more or less had the dining room to ourselves. There was a bar in the dining room which was open until 10pm too and a couple of cold beers certainly hit the spot!

The indoor facilities were very good with free wifi available in the upstairs lounge, giant connect 4 and jenga plus board games, books and tv.

Out and About

You are on the outskirts of Sherwood forest and it does get VERY dark which is something I really appreciated. We sat on our terrace when the children were sleeping and spotted a toad and a hedgehog! I can't believe how dark it was at 9pm!

Across the road from the hostel you will find lots of forest trails and a children's fairground too. The Sherwood Forest steam railway and Superworm trail are also only a few miles away.

Breakfast

We wanted to get an early get away in the morning so decided to book breakfast in the dining room for the bargain price of £5.25 per adult and £2.99 per child. This was a real bargain - we could help oursleves to cooked items, fresh fruit, croissants fresh from the oven, yoghurts, cereal, toast, tea, coffee and fruit juices. Although I wouldn't go as far as to say breakfast was a taste sensation, it was en-par with wetherspoons/brewers fayre and really set us all up for the journey home. Next time we stay in a Youth Hostel, I will definitely be adding breakfast onto our package as it was more than worth the £20 we paid. You can of course cook/prepare your own breakfast too in the well equipped kitchen but for £5.25 - I much prefer someone doing it for me!

Early morning snuggles!

Overall, we LOVED YHA Sherwood Forest and will certainly stop here again as we travel up and down the Country. In our eyes, it had all of the facilities and convenience of a hotel room, plus a lot more (family games, communal kitchen, lounge, private terrace, bar......). Prices start at just £15 per person per night for a bed in a single sex shared room, or from £69 per room for a private family room for 5 people with a double bed and en-suite like ours. 

You can find out more and book here:- www.yha.org.uk/hostel/sherwood-forest