Kirkwall Marks 100 Years!
KIRKWALL YOUTH HOSTEL MARKS 100 YEARS OF WORLD
HOSTELLING
This year marks the centenary of world
hostelling, which began in Germany in 1909. To commemorate this
anniversary Kirkwall Youth Hostel celebrated by planting a special
tree. The planting is part of a wider scheme managed by YHA England
& Wales who have been encouraging hostels up and down the
United Kingdom to plant 100 trees for the 100 years.
Frank Alexander, Kirkwall’s Hostel Manager
pictured above with Hostel Assistant Ruth Newhouse, hosted the
planting last Sunday (25th October). ‘Because late
autumn is not the best time to plant a tree on Orkney, we’ve
planted a rowan tree. I have been assured this may be the only
species that has a good chance of surviving the Orcadian winter!”
Frank explains.
Despite wintery forecasts the
day was a surprisingly mild, but wet. The island, having had a
decent bit of rain lately, provided soil that was good and soft so
getting the stakes in and the soil out was an easy job. With strong
winds during the first night hostel staff had feared that
the tree was off to a really bad start, but they assure us that
with a bit of TLC over the winter that it will spring into
life!
The planting date also signified the end of
the hostel season in Orkney for the SYHA Kirkwall hostel. “We
closed the very next day after what has been another great summer,
not just for people who are interested in history and nature, but
especially for bird and wildlife watchers,” Frank says,
referring to the Sandhill Crane which paid Orkney a rare visit
earlier this month – the first one recorded in 20 years.
“Orkney is such a special and educational
destination…” Frank continues “…we’d like to remind everyone that
we are here to provide affordable accommodation to those who like
to spend time outdoors and like a ‘kick back and relax’ atmosphere
to come back to in the evening”
Despite being closed for main season bookings,
the Kirkwall hostel is now available for exclusive use on SYHA’s
RentaHostel scheme. For more information please contact the main
Reservations Team on 0845 293 73 73 or log onto
www.hostellingscotland.com
