We love exploring the UK as a family. One thing I miss most about the summer is weekend camping trips. Affordable weekend breaks, spending time together outdoors, exploring this beautiful country we live in. Well, this weekend we discovered the next best thing, YHA. Read on for my YHA The Sill at Hadrian’s wall review and why I think YHA hostels are perfect for family short breaks.
Disclosure – YHA provided us with 2 nights of accommodation in exchange for this blog post review and coverage on Instagram. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them I may make a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay.
YHA The Sill at Hadrian’s wall
We chose to visit YHA The Sill at Hadrian’s wall as we’ve always wanted to visit Hadrian’s wall UNESCO world heritage site. I also loved the look of the hostel. Isn’t the building amazing?
It’s located less than a mile from the wall and very close to Sycamore gap, Vindolanda, Housesteads Roman Fort and is in a dark skies area. The building is built in partnership with Northumberland National Park and as well as the hostel, houses a separate cafe and The Sill, a landscape discovery centre which we loved (more on that below).
The building even has a grass roof and as it is slopping you can walk on the roof. We loved this, although we nearly got blown away when we were up there!
First impressions
It was getting dark as we arrived but we could still see what an impressive building the Sill is. It’s a purpose-built YHA, just a few years old. It’s built from wood and stone with a grass roof, designed to blend into the landscape and lots of large windows to take in the stunning views.
There is plenty of free parking and it was easy to locate the main reception thanks to signposts and the YHA flags. As soon as we stepped inside we loved the bright, airy and modern communal area. Lots of sofas, dining tables, big screen tvs (subtitles, no sound) and the reception desk, cafe, bar.
The friendly staff on reception efficiently checked us in, welcomed us and told us everything thing we needed to know about the hostel. All adults need photographic ID (we used our driving license photo card). We filled in a short form with our car registration number and all our names and then we were given our electronic key cards. The staff also helped us plan things to do in the area based on the weather forecast.
There was someone around all weekend and they were always happy to help and they kept the communal areas spotlessly clean too. The electronic keycards were used to access the bedroom corridors from the main communal area and also access our bedroom, it all felt very secure.
Our family room at YHA The Sill at Hadrian’s Wall
We had a private 4-bed ensuite room for our stay. We were very impressed as soon as we walked in. The space is clean, spacious, modern and light. You enter into a spacious entry hall with a sink, mirror and an area to hang your coats. There are 3 doors off this area, 1 with a shower on one side of the hall, 1 with a toilet on the other side and then bedroom door in the middle.
The bedroom has a set of bunk beds on each side, a stool, a full-length wall mirror, a couple of sets of coat hooks and a small cupboard/hanging area. Each bed has it’s own reading light and plug socket plus two USB points. The hostel also has free WiFi.
Whilst the facilities in hostels may sound basic, this is to keep the costs down. For example, the rooms are designed to be easy to clean. We loved the amount of space we had in our room. There was space on the floor for the kids to play which is always a bonus. We loved the attention to detail such as the number of hooks in the hall, bedroom and shower room.
It’s worth noting you need to bring your own towels and toiletries (soap is provided). Our room met our needs perfectly for a short break. The beds were comfy (a little on the firm side for us but I know many people like this) and the room was lovely and warm. The shower was hot and powerful. We saw one family bringing in a travel kettle which we thought was a great idea if you think you’ll miss the tea and coffee making facilities.
The communal areas
The communal kitchen is large, well-stocked and clean. There are 2 ovens, hobs, microwaves, kettles and toasters. It’s worth noting there are only two under bench fridges and 1 freezer so please don’t be the family that turns up with a freezer box full of food and wonders why it won’t all fit (yes we did see this happen).
We cooked pizzas on our first night, made picnics, breakfast and numerous cups of tea. The kitchen really made a weekend away with kids flexible. We did a mixture of cooking and eating out which not only kept the cost down but also meant we could give our fussy eaters food they like. For me, this is a huge bonus of hostel travel.
As well as the kitchen there is a drying room and laundry room. There is also a seating area with magazines and books for adults and children. We did find the communal areas a bit cold. Not surprising really in February as it is a large space with multiple doors outside with guests coming and going. Otherwise, they were perfect for our needs
We also ate at the hostel on our second night. The food is great value and kids under 10 even eat free with a paying adult. We also tried the breakfast one morning which is again great value for a full English.
Final thoughts
We really enjoyed our stay at YHA The Sill at Hadrian’s Wall. For our family, the ensuite private room and communal areas really worked. The building is stunning and the location is perfect for exploring Hadrian’s wall. It wasn’t noisy either. The hostel was busy this weekend but we never heard a thing from our room.
The hostel was full of other families and couples there to enjoy exploring the area. Everyone was friendly and chatting away. Our girls loved making friends with the other children of similar ages in the communal area. It was a very relaxed place for children to be.
The price per night varies depending on the time of year. To see how much a family room costs at YHA The Sill or book your visit click here.
The Sill landscape discovery centre
We loved the landscape discovery centre. Although it is a relatively small attraction, there is a lot packed into it. It’s a really modern, bright and highly interactive space. There is so much for adults and children to do and learn. I loved the interactive videos around the displays with short films about the Northumberland National Park.
There was a great interactive game which was very appropriate, on how to reduce flooding. I also really loved all the interactive activities for kids. Thanks to the poor weather we visited the centre 3 times over 2 days. The kids loved it though and were always asking to go back and never happy to leave.
They loved the stage and dressing up supplies most. Closely followed by this interactive sandbox. The overhead projector makes the sand look like mountains and lakes as the children move it around. You can even make it rain.
Another great activity is the light table and all the natural loose parts.
If you are in the area with kids, you must visit. My kids are struggling to choose if they enjoyed the discovery centre or the bunk beds most!
Find my full review of The Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre here.
Exploring Hadrian’s wall with kids
We had lots of plans for visiting as much as we could pack into our 2-night stay. We wanted to visit Vindolanda, Housesteads Roman Fort, The Sill Landscape discovery centre and walk to sycamore gap (just a 30-minute walk from The Sill).
We were unlucky with the weather though. We battled strong winds, rain and hail in near-freezing temperatures. Our girls are 3 and 6 years old and we are a family that loves spending time outdoors in most weathers. However, the weather on this particular weekend was too much for us.
On our full day in the area, we started the day in the Landscape discovery centre until the rain passed. We decided to make the short drive to Housesteads and explore the Roman museum and fort there. As we were crossing the car park we were hit by a hail shower which the kids really didn’t like.
No problem we thought, we’ll wait it out in the museum. Little did we know the museum was half a mile uphill! The staff in the visitors were lovely and lent our girls a soft toy roman army turtle that was scared of the wind and they were to get him safely to the museum. It helped a little but that half a mile walk felt like one of the longest walks we’ve done.
We spent some time in the small museum and particularly enjoyed the short video which shows what the fort would have been like. The kids loved the shields and swords that they could play with.
We explored a little of the Roman fort and saw where it joined to Hadrian’s wall and then admitted defeat and took the kids back to the warmth of The Sill.
On Sunday we planned to walk along Hadrian’s wall to Sycamore gap. This is a 30 minute walk from the Sill. We learnt our lesson from Saturday and decided to shorten the walk by parking in the car park right on the walls. The staff at the Sill had given us a map, told us the easy walk was inaccessible thanks to the wet fields and told us it was more likely to take us 30 minutes each way from the car park with young children in these conditions and to take care on the wet rocky paths on the hills.
As we drove up the hill we saw people scrambling up a steep, rocky hill. We instantly knew this was not going to be a walk that our youngest would manage especially not in the weather conditions. I’m glad we drove to the car park though as we walked the short distance to Hadrian’s wall. The views here were stunning.
Do we regret visiting Hadrian’s wall with young children? Not at all. I’m glad we were able to get up close to Hadrian’s wall even if we didn’t walk along it as we’d planned. YHA The Sill was an amazing place to stay and we all really loved the landscape discovery centre.
We also stopped at the Rheged Centre on the drive up, where the kids enjoyed the new soft play area. On the way home, we stopped for Sunday Lunch in a gorgeous pub and enjoyed a woodland walk with a fairy trail at Acorn Bank near Penrith on our way home.
If the weather had been better we would have explored more I’m sure. We’ll just have to make sure we go back in a few years.
Other family-friendly YHA hostels
We think YHA hostels make great bases for family short breaks. This might be our first hostel trip but it won’t be our last. Don’t just take my word for it though. Here are some more family-friendly YHA hostels that other bloggers recommend.
We loved visiting the cafe at YHA boggle hole last summer when we were camping in Robin hood’s bay. I bet it is amazing to stay here.
YHA Eyam is a great base for exploring the beautiful peak district.
Visiting London can be expensive. Friends have already recommended YHA as suitable bases for keeping the costs down. Find out more about YHA London Central.
Did you know YHA have glamping accommodation too? I’d love to go glamping soon. YHA Canterbury wooden cabins look amazing.
I’m keen to visit the Forest of Dean this year, if you are too, why not stay in a castle? Find out more about YHA St Briavels Castle.
Another city that can be expensive in Cambridge. YHA Cambridge looks like a great option.
The Eden Project is also on my must-visit list and these YHA Eden snooze pods look amazing.
I’d love to visit Bath and YHA Bath looks like the perfect base.
North Yorkshire is a stunning region of the country that we need to explore more of. YHA Grinton lodge looks perfect for families. YHA Malham also looks fantastic.
We love York so YHA York is another great idea for a short break. If you do decide to visit York, you’ll love my post on things to do with kids in York.
I’d love to know in the comments if you have stayed in a YHA hostel that you would recommend for families.
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The YHA The Sill sounds like a wonderful place to visit with a family! I have always wanted to visit Hadrian’s Wall.
We too love YHA stays, they are perfect for families. We stayed at St. Briavels this summer, it is amazing!
We also visited Hadrian’s Wall in October and yes it was particularly freezing up at Housesteads!
Another amazing location to add to our list! Such a great way to see our beautiful country!