Top Times in Store at New Youth Hostel

The first Youth Hostel to be built in The National Forest will be ‘topped out’ on Wednesday 25 April, when Kishor Tailor, Chief Executive of LSEP, fixes into place the final piece of timber to clad this innovative, environmentally-friendly building.

The 75-bed Youth Hostel will open later this summer, and is expected to accommodate around 15,000 guest nights a year. With its associated state of the art camping and caravanning site, it will be a great way for young people, families, school parties and others on a budget to come and enjoy The National Forest.

LSEP and emda are the major funders of this £1.78m project which will bring substantial benefits to the tourism economy of The National Forest.

The hostel, which is being built by G F Tomlinson Building Ltd of Derby, includes a number of ‘green’ features including renewable wood fuel energy, solar heating and rainwater gathering.

As part of the wider development around Conkers, visitors to the hostel will be able to enjoy the Discovery Centre at the Heart of The National Forest. With easy access to walking and cycling trails; the chance to try other forestry activities such as woodland crafts, orienteering and shelter building with Greenwood Days or at Rosliston Forestry Centre; shopping nearby at Ashby de la Zouch or Ferrers Centre for Arts and Crafts; and stately homes and gardens to enjoy, there will be plenty to keep everyone entertained in and around the Forest, come rain or shine.

The new camping and caravanning site marks a major investment by The Camping and Caravanning Club, the first all new site to be created by the Club for nine years. Conkers is the first Club Site in South Derbyshire and will be open all year, allowing campers and caravanners to contribute directly to the local economy throughout the seasons.