Summary (by AI): I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at a well-appointed shepherd’s hut in the Lincolnshire Wolds, finding it a lovely and relaxing alternative to a traditional youth hostel.
Blog: The Rookery Retreat is most definitely not a youth hostel.
I’m pleased with my choice of Youth Hostel for (Y) - it’s the perfect excuse to get out and explore places I wouldn’t usually visit. I love the character of the buildings, too—so many hostels are built into these wonderful old industrial spaces. I’ve stayed in a couple now and always had a great time, but when I started planning the Lincolnshire leg of my ABC tour, I hit a bit of a snag.
Try as I might, I couldn't find a single youth hostel in the county. I suspected that might be the case for a few counties on my list, but I assumed I’d at least find something akin to a hostel—if not an official YHA spot, then some sort of independent bunkhouse. But there was genuinely nothing to be found.
I decided that if I couldn't find a hostel, the next best thing was to find something that brought me closer to the county itself. That’s how I ended up on Airbnb, booking a shepherd’s hut in a little village in the Wolds. So, in this instance, my "youth hostel" turned out to be a glamping retreat. Go figure.
I’m not worried about it, though. There are no rules to this game; if I want to swap a bunk bed for a shepherd’s hut, I can. And I’m glad I did. I had a lovely couple of days there, using it as a base to spin out and tour various spots in the area.
The retreat was very well-appointed with a beautiful outlook over the Lincolnshire Wolds. Right in front of me was a charming little duck pond, and the paddock next door held a couple of sheep. They were looking very "full," to say the least—they definitely needed shearing—so I’m sure that’ll be happening in the next month or two.
I spent my nights there doing a bit more research for the ABC tour and keeping an eye on the football. I caught the Arsenal game—away at Brentford. It was a tough one; Brentford are a very good side, and even though we were on a high, we really needed to keep our momentum. We needed to stay more than one step ahead of Manchester City. A win would have maintained our six-point gap, but as it turned out, we drew, leaving only a four-point lead. Let’s see how that matters at the end of trhe season !
All in all, it was a lovely couple of days in my "youth hostel" shepherd's hut. It might not have been a traditional hostel, but ‘hey ho’ !
The Map: