Broadford Youth Hostel, Isle of Skye

Accordingly, we came to the forth 'pit stop' of our adventure in Scotland- Isle of Skye, after Edinburgh, Callander and Onich/For William.

My search for accommodation led me to one of the YHA(Youth Hostels Association)'s hostel in Isle of Skye.

This was the first youth hostel we had been to, after becoming parents of ourselves. Well, we had been to backpackers' hostel with the girls, not YHA's kind of hostel. (There is slight difference between both)

The location of the hostel was not difficult to find, though it was not sited along main street of Broadford. The youth hostel had an unrivalled coastal setting with views over Broadford Bay, and yet not too far from the amenities such as supermarket, petrol station and cafeteria/restaurants.

"The youth hostel offers excellent budget accommodation for individuals and groups. It is well equipped for all hostellers with a bike shed, laundry and drying room, small shop on site, internet access and Wi-Fi available. The fantastic self-catering kitchen and communal areas offer beautiful views over Broadford Bay and our helpful staff have lots of local information." - extracted from SYHA

Ahem, about the internet... charges apply.

The hostel is actually sited on a hillock, hence the unrivalled bay view...

Once I filled up the detail for registration, paid the bill, gotten the key and the verbal direction to our room upstairs from the staff, the girls were very eager to climb the stairs to find our room- two floors above. Initially, we were assigned to another room that was with two set of bunk-beds, but another staff saw our little girl and concerning her safety, we had a better arrangement, in term of the beds- one bunk bed and two single beds in a quadruple room.

However, the girls insisted to sleep on the bunk bed. We managed to coax Little Bomber to take the lower bed though.

It was an attic room, and we like it! We had the spectacular bay view, through a small window though. The shared bathroom was just next to our room, and few steps further for the toilet. Everything were kept to the simplest and we were given the pillow cases, bed sheets and duvet covers- all in 4 sets. We were required to put on the bedding sheets ourselves. By the end of our stay, we were required to clear the room, removed all the bedding sets and put it all into the designed big laundry basket for the staff to wash. 

For the first time, the girls needed to do up their bed outside their comfortable home.

After we settled with our room, I brought the girls down for teatime and also tour the dining hall, the lounge and the big kitchen. (Daddy needed some sleep after few hours of driving.)

Quiet. Everyone must had gone out for hiking.

Not very long after a mug of hot chocolate, the girls dashed out for some outdoor fun with Milly, the dog. I reckon the girls were attracted by the dog at the lawn. I let them went out while I was still inside writing my postcards and sipping my coffee. With such a great sunlight and breeze, and maybe Hannah encouraged them, soon they were part of the "Milly, get the ball" fun.

I had to go out too.

I am not a dog person, but Milly was peculiarly gentle to young children, and me. 

When it came to dinner-preparation time, kitchen was the busiest place in the hostel. Well, I had to be early. Others may only cooked for one or two. I had to cook for four!

SYHA- Pretty eco-friendly place to be. Look at the classification of used materials and composting container. People I met in the kitchen were friendly bunch, we often smile and said "hello", we helped each other when one failed to turn on the fire on the stove; everyone spoke little but orderly kept the kitchen running smoothly, waited patiently for one's turn when chopping boards or cooking pans were all occupied. I borrowed salt once or twice from the youngster(s) when I finished mine- those that I 'smuggled' from the airplane. I also looped in the girls' help for getting the utensils ready and set-up the table for our meal and what not. They were very enthusiastic to come in and out of the kitchen compare to back in when I ask for help. 

Incredibly, vegetables that I bought from the supermarket (here in Skye or Edinburgh) were all fresh and juicy. Be it zucchini, cucumber, broccoli, corns, carrot, asparagus, all I needed was just some salt and butter and simply fried them on the pan. 

It was not just me love staying here in Broadford Youth Hostel. So were the girls. It gave them unique experience of travelling, and "mummy, everyone cooks here?"- for the first time, such a huge kitchen with vast kitchenette. Nothing fancy, things were back to basic- you make up your own bed, you cook your own meal. Through the shared space, we met new friends and shared some good joy and laughs. The girls got to play with an Indian girl whose family is now residing in Perthshire. 

The best part of this, they had such a intimate play with Milly and it led them to chat with Hannah, the very friendly girl of YHA. 

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Address of Broadford Youth Hostel: Broadford, Isle of Skye IV49 9AA Scotland

T. +44 1471 822442

E. broadford@syha.org.uk

What I like about this youth hostel:

1. The laundry and drying room. Of course, charge applies. I paid approximately £3.5 for 1.5 loads of washing and drying.
2. Again, no deposit or payment was required prior to our arrival.
3. The muteness of the digital devices. Internet access and Wi-fi connection are pay-per-use. Guest were mostly out for hiking, or on book when they were back into the hostel. No one bothered to turn on the television as well.
4. Family-orientated, there were shelves keeping young children's toys and boardgames for bigger kids at the lounge.
5. The location is not that bad- ideal base to explore the Island. 
6. There is a huge notice board for informing the weather for the day and the next few days, very helpful for those who came to Isle of Skye for outdoor fun.

Our quadruple room was charged £198 for two nights stay, through booking.com.

Photo credit: Hannah, SYHA

We exchanged emails with Hannah, she shared with us more pictures of Milly. The girls ask about Hannah and Milly from time to time. Certainly hope they are doing well. 

Linking up with Travel Tuesday and the last Wednesday Wanderlust for the year;).