The Wholehope stories take my mind back to the late 40's and early 50's when my very good friend Shirley and I went Hostelling every weekend. Our favourite areas were Northumberland/Durham/North Yorkshire.
One of our many memories is of our first visit to Wholehope, the date was 1st December, but I can't recall the exact year. The weather was dry but very cold and it was dusk as we walked up Clennel Street, guided by a friendly light from the common room window. We normally booked ahead on our hostelling trips, but on this occasion we had not made any reservations and we were disappointed to be told that the Hostel was fully booked for the weekend.
Our dismay must have been apparent, because the warden took pity on us and said that we could stay, but that we would have to share the same bunk (two in one single bed!) - something that probably wouldn't be allowed today.
It certainly was a spartan environment, I remember cooking on a primus stove and having to break the ice on the stream to get water to get washed!. Despite this, we had a great weekend. A couple of the boys had guitars, there was a big fire in the grate and we had a really good after-supper singsong.
As you can imagine, neither of us got much sleep, but when you are a teenage and the company is good you can put up with anything.
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