Accommodation YHA South West

What makes us a great choice for education

We pride ourselves on our passion and our positioning. Our hostel teams are enthusiastic about what they do and can offer you great advice about the best local places to visit. They?ll be happy to help you in your educational excursion planning. The YHA network is vast and diverse which means that with us you?ll never be very far away from a breathtaking view, a capital of culture or a thrilling outdoor adventure. Please see the YHA School Trips website for details of particular hostels and nearby attractions

Feeling the pressure of having to organize every little detail? Then relax, let us do the hard work and concentrate on having as good a time as your students.

At YHA we're working towards the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge for all our School Trips centres.

Take a look at our venue packages and choose between one or two days of YHA-led activities:

Action Adventure Package - Okehampton/Okehampton Bracken Tor/Cheddar - Get stuck into all manner of exciting outdoor pursuits! What will you get up to? Raft building, kayaking, gorge scrambling, mountain boarding, high ropes, climbing, caving or archery?

Education Package - Science - Okehampton/Okehampton Bracken Tor - Discover plants, learn how to protect wildlife and visit the Eden Project - suitable for KS1, 2 and 3.

Education package - History - Discover Dartmoor's past with visits to its Bronze Age settlements, medieval bridges and deserted tin mines - KS2

Education package - History - Take a journey back to medieval times at St Briavels. Learn how best to keep out pesky invaders and tuck into a banquet to celebrate being king of this castle. - KS2

Group Sizes Catered For

Our hostels range in size. The smallest in the network have approximately 20 beds and the largest well over 100. Whatever your group size we have a destination that's just right.

Photography, Filming & Audio Restrictions

Photography, video and audio recording at hostels is not subject to copyright restrictions although we ask that permission be sought from those being photographed/recorded.

Risk Assessment Details

We want group leaders to know that everything is in place for a successful visit before they arrive with their charges. That's why we offer a free pre-trip hostel visit for two with every provisional full-board school trip booking.

Take the time to meet hostel staff, find out about fire safety arrangements and let us help with your risk assessment. This free night's stay with breakfast gives you a chance to raise any queries that might not have occurred in the initial planning phase.

Education Officer Information

The individual hostels don?t have a designated education officer but for information, help or advice about an educational trip please call free on 0800 0195 465.

Pricing Information

Education base packages cost £45 per child (excl. VAT.)

Action Adventure base packages cost £120 per child (excl. VAT.)

We offer one free group leader place for every ten students booked on a YHA School Trips package.

For up-to-date bed and board prices contact our friendly team of group advisors on 0800 0195 465.

Reduce the cost of your trip with a free groups membership, available to educational and young persons groups. To find out if you qualify call us on 0800 0191 700.

First Aid Information

You?ll find first aid kits at all YHA sites but if you're taking a group out on non-YHA staffed excursions we ask that you bring additional supplies.

The safety and wellbeing of our visitors is very important to us. We log incidents electronically to make sure that any injuries are treated quickly and future accidents avoided. If anything does happen, it's important to let us know as soon as possible so we can respond effectively.

Available Facilities

Hostel facilities typically include:

Board games, cafe bar, classroom/educational meeting room, conference facilities, cycle store, drying room, games room, garden/grounds, laundry, library, parking, restaurant with table license, TV and Wi-Fi.

For hostel-specific details please see http://www.yha.org.uk/school-trips

Many of our hostels offer group catering.

Let us do the hard work?

It's important that groups eat well so that they?ll get the most out of their time with YHA. To this end we take care to source local seasonal produce as much as possible and the meat we serve, with bacon as the only exception, is Red Tractor accredited. So? before, during and after a long day's adventuring you can be sure you're tucking into quality fare.

Our nutritious breakfasts include options such as fresh fruit, cereal and yoghurt. If you prefer a cooked breakfast then treat your taste buds to hot options that include bacon, eggs, sausage and beans. You won?t be disappointed when it comes to the most important meal of the day.

We offer tasty picnic lunches to keep your group energised for their afternoon. Lunches include sandwiches, crisps, cereal bars, mineral water and fruit.

Dinner provides an excellent opportunity to get together and chat about newfound confidence, knowledge or experience. Choose a hot or cold meat or vegetarian main meal, add some veg and some comforting carbohydrate and you have the recipe for a satisfying YHA dinner.

Accessibility & Disabled Facilities

YHA is dedicated to ensuring that as many people as possible have access to our facilities.

Please call 0800 0195 465 to discuss your group's requirements.

Other Information

Now is a great time to plan and book future residentials with YHA due to our Covid-19 Flexibility Guarantee, extra safety measures, and fixed pricing until February 2023. If your school is unable to do overnight residentials at the moment, then how about a YHA Day Stay? They are day activities that are national curriculum-linked for all abilities, delivered in the great outdoors and your school has the choice of what the day will look like. At YHA, we are dedicated to creating unique experiences for young people to explore, grow and enjoy nature in England and Wales’ most spectacular locations. Book now!

Location Information

See above listing for web links to each venue in the South West.

Room Sizes and Facilities

Hostel bedrooms vary in size and are furnished with single and bunk beds. En suite rooms are available in most hostels.