Travel and Adventure by Various Travel Authors

We are standing in The Roost, a stylish apartment which doubles as a honeymoon suite, our jaws literally dropping. Not only is there a galleried en-suite, second-floor master bedroom with vaulted ceilings, private kitchenette/living room and a plasma TV, but the cost for per night is just $78 to $120, depending on the season. Not bad for a pad in a historic 17th century English manor house in the lovely Peak District, a walker's paradise, and a bus ride away from the bustling Buxton, the setting for a yearly international Gilbert & Sullivan festival.

The catch? Hartington Hall is actually a youth hostel, one of the Youth Hostel Association's flagship properties.

The YHA has transformed many such National Trust manors, abbeys and even castles into affordable accommodations in stunning urban and country locations. Take St. Briavel's Castle in The Forest of Dean. Built as a hunting lodge in 1205 by King John, it's probably the only hostel with a moat!

With many of the approximately 280 hostels in England, Wales and Scotland offering inexpensive private or family rooms (with your own key, 24-hour access and at least a sink), and still others featuring en-suite bathrooms, inexpensive cafes, Internet stations, game rooms and even licensed bars in addition to self-catering facilities, the YHA has tweaked its image and broadened its market, attracting more experienced travelers, couples, families, and the over- 50s.

With the world in recession and foreign travel now a decided luxury, we decided to see if the budget could still accommodate a trip to the United Kingdom if we traded hotels for hostels and pubs for hostel cafes. Could a couple of gray heads spend like students and like it?

FIT FOR HONEYMOONERS

We had set our hearts on Hartington Hall's The Roost, but Lynn and Roy Loveday beat us to it. In December 2007, they held their wedding ceremony and reception at the Hall, and returned to celebrate their first wedding anniversary in The Roost.

"It was the wedding of my dreams," says Lynne, 55, a science and special education teacher. "Hartington is a very fine example of a period rural manor house beautifully extended during the Victorian period and tastefully converted into a youth hostel. Our apartment was totally private; the food delicious and the entire bill just a quarter of what a hotel would charge!"

The Roost, alas, is a one-off. Our double room, one of 19 in the Hall, was markedly more Spartan, but warm, spotless and cheap. The night we stayed it seemed that every kid in England was there on a school outing. But the staff knew how to make everyone comfortable. The kids ate first and disappeared into the game room, and we settled in for an absolutely terrific buffet meal, better even than one we later had in a swank hotel! No wonder. The Hall's Eliza's Restaurant won the 2006 Derbyshire Food & Drink Awards for Best Restaurant within an Attraction. After, we took our wine into a massive, oak-paneled room with an original feature fireplace and period decorations, and settled down to enjoy the highlight of hostelling — trading stories with other wanderers.

ROOMS WITH A VIEW

Atop a cliff 199 steps up from the town of Whitby, Abbey House, a 19th century, 22-bedroom mansion, holds commanding views of the sea, its harbor and the medieval ruins of a famous early Christian abbey next door. Having just undergone a $4.3 million retrofit, the flagship YHA property sympathetically blends modernized ensuite bedrooms with intact period fireplaces and beamed ceilings where guests can relax in the tea room or licensed bar; dine on locally sourced and creatively prepared meals, or just play games and watch television.

"This one's a beauty," says Anthony Rees, an YHA volunteer warden.

"Just look at the outstanding quality of the decoration."

Mike Lincoln, who's stayed at Abbey House before, agrees. A ship's cook from Middleburgh, England, Lincoln wanted to treat his family to a room with a view, but didn't book early enough. Like dozens of other enthusiasts, hostels are Lincoln's hotels of choice because of the "camaraderie and the food. The last time I stayed at the Abbey, my cribbage game lasted eight hours, and conversation went on forever!"

LIVING LIKE A KING

OK, the rooms aren't ensuite; there's no breakfast in bed and anyway, you'll have to cook your own. But where else can you lay your head in a 12th century castle 800 feet above the Wye Valley perfectly situated to explore the Forest of Dean, one of England's emerging tourist destinations? Pick the right weekend and you can chow down to a hearty medieval banquet complete with entertainment, and maybe even be chosen to play lord or lady. Everything about the castle is authentic, down to the ghosts that apparently haunt some of the rooms. The best part of this unique hostel is the warden. A gifted storyteller, he's magic at bringing the castle's history to life, scary at telling ghost stories and brilliant at creating games and crafts that evoke life in the castle throughout the centuries.

HOSTELS' SMART FUTURE

Two years ago, Smart City Hostels in Edinburgh, Scotland, opened what could be the prototype for hostels of the future. All bedrooms are ensuite and the hostel is accredited by Green Tourism. Beds cost from $14 to $44 per person per night; a larger room can be rented for exclusive use, depending on the timing of the booking and expected demand.

What does a five-star hostel offer? We reserved two nights to find out. It got high marks from us in our own "must-have" criteria - L (location), S (safety), A (amenities). Situated right in Old Town on Blackfriars Street, it's just off the historic Royal Mile, making attractions and shopping a snap to reach. That makes it easy for parents whose kids get worn out sightseeing, and gray heads who just get worn out.

Safety. Not an issue! We met many intrepid retired women from all over the world, who were knocking about the U.K. on their own and staying at hostels for cost savings and the chance to connect with other travelers. In addition to secure, 24-hour reception services, lockers and baggage storage, electronic key card access and CCTV, the hostel features a women-only floor called Smart City Girl.

Amenities. The big pluses were the cafes — one to surf the Net and the other for surprisingly tasty meals, wines and beers that saved hassle and money, while giving us mingle time.

PERFECT FOR YOUNG AT HEART

Unlike the Elderhostel movement designed to cater to the intellect and wanderlust of the over-50s, youth hostels have only recently become family and silver and fit friendly. Founded originally in 1930 by German schoolteacher Richard Schirrmann who saw the advantage of using empty schools to house young people traveling during summer, today they accept guests of all ages.

"Without the over-40s, there would be no hostels!" says warden Rees. "Families, middle-aged and older travelers are some of our most enthusiastic guests!"

IF YOU GO

All information is at www.yha.org.uk and www.syha.org.uk.

Sheila Sobell and Richard N. Every are freelance, worldwide travel photojournalists. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.