View all hostels & bunkhouses
There are lots of hostels and bunkhouses run by independent businesses and charities.
Independent Hostels UK (IHUK) is a network, a community that brings these hostels together and provides a place where you can find and book them.
Independent hostels are unique, no two are the same. Lots are very involved in their local community and 20% are run by small charities or community interest companies.
There are over 340 independent hostels on this website, but that is not all of them. Because some hostels are so independent they don’t want to be part of any network.
And that’s OK, because an independent hostel is a place not a trademark.
The IHUK Network
IHUK is the largest network of hostels and bunkhouses in the UK. With accommodation in over 340 locations, the IHUK network is larger then the Youth Hostel Association and Hosteling Scotland added together.
IHUK Community
The History of Hostels and IHUK
The concept of holidaying in hostels – youth hostels – was created by a German school teacher who saw the need for older children to have safe, affordable overnight accommodation so they could travel independently. The first youth hostel – or Jugendherberge – was established in 1912 and the principle was soon taken up in the UK.
Youth hostel regional groups quickly formed across the UK, each taking up the challenge of providing basic accommodation within reach of the UK’s industrial cites. The purpose was to allow working people to experience travel (often on foot or by bike) and to enjoy the countryside. These were the first hostels in the UK and the regional groups soon came together to form a youth hostel association. Some of these first youth hostels are members of the Independent Hostels ( IHUK ) community today.
Other charities, such as the Scouts, small trusts founded by philanthropists, and movements like the Clarion movement, established facilities to encourage young people and the working population to enjoy the benefits of the countryside. Some of these offered basic accommodation with shared cooking areas in rural locations. Many of these hostels still exist today, operated by the same trusts and charities.
By the late 1900’s the term YHA had become a brand, owned by one organisation. Independent businesses and charities were not always welcome in this brand, and so many more bunkhouses and hostels formed outside of the YHA and SYHA. The Independent Hostel Guide, the foundation of the IHUK community, started to provide marketing for these hostels in 1993.
In the early 2000’s the YHA closed down some of it rural locations, selling properties, releasing leases and removing most simple hostels from their brand. Many of these hostels became houses and hotels but some continued to provide hostel accommodation and joined the community of hostels in the IHUK network.
The hostels in IHUK vary greatly: all are independently run and owned and some (around 5%) operate as franchises to the Youth Hostels Association or Hostelling Scotland.
The Independent Hostel community embraces many styles of accommodation like bunkhouses, backpackers and camping barns. What the hostels in the IHUK have in common, is that they provide low-cost self catering accommodation in a shared sociable environment.
Many IHUK hostels are run by independent travellers for fellow travellers
Many of the people who run independent hostels are independent travellers or outdoor enthusiasts themselves. They create an environment they would appreciate themselves, and share the love of their location.
Enjoy the welcome at IHUK Hostels
One of the many enjoyable aspects about travel is meeting new and different people.
It’s a common misconception that hostels are only for those who can’t afford a hotel. How wrong that is. Hostels provide so much more than a hotel or a B&B. They provide drying rooms, cycle sheds, gardens, libraries, lounges, and an opportunity to get to know fellow guests over a cup of tea in the self-catering kitchen.
A great place to chat at Edens Yard Hostel
IHUK Hostels are found all over the UK
From large city centre hostels to small hostels in remote locations you can find independent hostels in most places in the UK. These hostels reflect their surrounding and the interests of their owners. They offer a whole host of activities from star gazing to caving, mountain biking to wildlife watching.
Many are quirky; you can stay in a railway carriage on a country station, in a Victorian gothic mansion on the Jurassic Coast, in a nurses block at a Welsh castle, or in the middle of a wood with wheel barrows to transport your luggage.
Hostels are for people of all ages, backgrounds and finances. Hostels are for everyone with a sense of adventure.