Minister praises youth hostel’s commitment to the environment
Sarah Murphy, Welsh Minister for Social Partnership, has praised YHA (England & Wales) commitment to accessibility and environmental and financial sustainability during a visit to the charity’s Bannau Brycheiniog youth hostel.
The hostel has invested £40,000 to make the site more accessible and eco-friendly. The newly appointed minister met with the youth hostel manager Jane Barber and her team, as she toured the new visitor facilities which have been funded by the Visit Wales Brilliant Basics Fund.
The government fund, which is administered Powys County Council, awarded £32,000 to the hostel earlier this year. The funding has been invested in important sustainability measures to help the hostel reduce its carbon footprint in the National Park as well as attract new guests to the site.
YHA contributed a further £8,000 to the grant funding, enabling the youth hostel to invest a total of £40,000 in a number of improvements to the site, including: A new lockable CycleHoop bike shelter with EV bike charging; EV charging point in the carpark for guests; Improved accessibility on site with the creation of level surfaces and pathways to picnic and camping areas, and the car park; Timber fencing between picnic area and driveway, and the installation of solar lighting on the access road.
Sarah Murphy, also the Welsh Government’s Minister for Tourism, said: “These fantastic additions at YHA Bannau Brycheiniog are part of the Welsh Government’s £5million ‘Brilliant Basics’ investment into a range of measures which will help deliver a greener, more accessible visitor experience for people choosing to holiday in Wales.
“Projects such as this make a real difference. Amenities have a big part to play in making a trip a memorable one and although these types of facilities often go unnoticed, they are an important part of a visitor’s experience. It’s great to see YHA driving forward sustainability not just for themselves, but for their visitors too.”
The installation of EV bike and car charging points will enable YHA Bannau Brycheiniog to meet growing demand from guests who visit the hostel in electric cars and on electric bikes. The new secure bike shelter will also have an eco-friendly sedum roof which will contribute to the biodiversity of the area.
Guests with mobility issues and wheelchair users will also be better served by the hostel with the creation of level pathways and surfaces around the hostel and camping area.
The hostel has more than 12,000 overnight stays every year. It is now hoped that the addition of the new EV facilities, secure bike storage and improved accessibility will help YHA Bannau Brycheiniog widen its appeal to more guests.
The Brilliant Basics Fund aims to deliver basic small-scale tourism infrastructure improvements across all of Wales to ensure that all visitors to the country have a positive and memorable experience throughout all aspects of their stay.
Jane Barber, hostel manager commented: “It was wonderful to welcome the minister to the hostel and show off the new additions to the site. We are immensely grateful for the Brilliant Basics funding at YHA Bannau Brycheiniog. It has made an immediate difference to the youth hostel, which will not only have a positive impact on the thousands of guests who stay with us each year but also on the longer term financial sustainability of the hostel, as they will enable us to attract more guests to stay with us.”
YHA Bannau Brycheiniog, which is located in Libanus, sits at the gateway to the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and at the foot of Pen-y-Fan – the highest mountain peak in South Wales. The youth hostel has been a popular destination for walkers, cyclists, campers and groups for more than 50 years. In addition to bedrooms inside the 19th Century building, there are Land Pods, glamping pods and a camp site in the hostel’s grounds.
Wales has a special place in YHA’s 94-year history. Pennant Hall in North Wales was the site of the first experimental youth hostel and the location for a group from the Holiday Fellowship in Liverpool to trial the youth hostelling ideas they had experienced in Germany in 1929 ahead of YHA being formally founded the following year.
Today, there are 23 youth hostels in Wales all offering affordable accommodation, including shared and private rooms as well as camping and cabins. You can also book an entire youth hostel.
To book a stay at a youth hostel in England and Wales visit yha.org.uk.
By Anna Melton - Contributor
