A great thing about staying in a YHA youth hostel is the variety of locations you can enjoy. Want solitude? There’ll be a mountaintop bothy for you, where you can enjoy some splendid isolation. Sometimes, though, you don’t so much want to get away from it all as want to be within walking distance of a pub and a quick stroll to the beach (ok…you got me…these are often on my list!). Beer YHA definitely fell into this category, being a 10 minute amble down to the picturesque seaside village of Beer in Devon, complete with deckchairs, beach huts, a couple of pubs, pretty seaside shops and plenty of places to buy a stick of rock.
A short hop along the coast is the quintessential English seaside resort of Lyme Regis, with its beaches, sea front promenade and seagulls that steal your chips.
Beer YHA is at the top of Beer village. It’s an arts and crafts country house that sleeps 39 in various dorm rooms, family rooms and some en suite rooms. It also offers camping and you can bring your own tent or hire one of their yurts.
We stayed with friends and booked a variety of different rooms, ours being a traditional YHA family bunk room. Not fancy but clean and comfortable.
Living room
You can self-cater, there is a bbq or you can wander down to the village for a choice of pubs and restaurants.
Dining room and kitchen
3 BEACHES WITHIN 30 MINS
BEER BEACH
It was a blustery day when we hit Beer beach. It’s a stony beach with fishing boats, fresh fish for sale, deckchairs and beach huts
Overlooking the beach we found the Bay View Guesthouse, where we enjoyed breakfast and some rather indulgent drinks!
LYME REGIS
If you’re looking for a sandy beach, hop over the county line to Dorset to visit Lyme Regis. It’s about 20 minutes’ drive from Beer. Take a stroll along the famous Cobb where the lobster pots are piled up.
Visit the lifeboat station, stroll the promenade or play on the beach, lined with cafes and restaurants. There is even an amusement arcade for shelter when the traditional British weather sets in!
CHARMOUTH
25 minutes’ drive from Beer and you are in Charmouth – the heart of England’s Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO world heritage site and the perfect place for fossil hunting. Hire goggles and a hammer from the shop and you are all set to watch your kids chip away at the rocks for the afternoon! My top tip is visit the fossil museum at the beach first so you know what you are looking for when you are fossil hunting.
For a weekend away that doesn’t break the bank with beaches, fossils and Devon cream teas all on the doorstep – Beer YHA is a great option. In fact, we’re returning Autumn 2018 for some late summer fun.
PIN FOR LATER
Where Jo Goes Youth Hostel Reviews:
St Briavels Haunted Castle/Brighton/Wilderhope Manor/Danywenallt -Castles and Countryside of Wales/ Wye Valley/Port Eynon
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Loving those drinks! Your photos are so lovely and I can almost smell the fish in the nets. Charmouth and fossil hunting is something I had wanted to do with my three before we left the UK, but sadly we never got the time. Hopefully, one day we may return for a holiday there and then we will give it a go #countrykids
I love Beer, Lyme Regis and Charmouth. My dad lives in Axminster so we visit fairly often – next time do Seaton and the tram…….so much fun
Author
Yes the tramway is lovely and a great way to get around.
I’ve not thought to do a YHA stay with my son, but that does sound like a good cheap option and in a beautiful part of the world. love Charmouth #countrykids
Author
We like YHA because there are so many different options and you can stay in some quite unusual places. Our favourite is St Briavels haunted castle!
This looks like the perfect place to stop for the weekend and be able to explore a little bit of everywhere. I must say, I always like to stay somewhere that’s within walking distance of a good pub, always a nice way to relax after a busy day exploring. Charmouth looks like a great place to go with the girls, I bet they loved searching for fossils in the stones.
Thanks for sharing with me on #CountryKids
Author
They did but we were there for hours! Thanks for hosting #CountryKids
Looks like lots of fun on a very windy blustery day. We love the beach x
We love the beach! Looks like lots of fun on a very windy blustery day x
I’m going to sound really silly now, but I thought YHA were hostels for young single people who shared dorms. How fabulous that you can hire family rooms. I bet this works out much cheaper than hotels? I must look into this! #CountryKids
Author
HI Emma, I have twins too! Yes we often go as a family or with groups of friends to YHA and have stayed in castles, manor houses and all sorts of unusual places. Some have en suite bathrooms and even 4 poster beds!
I love your photos especially of the fishing equipments! I am from a fishing village in the Philippines and those photos reminds me of home. #countrykids
Author
Thank you I love visiting fishing villages!
That does look like a good place to stay especially as it’s within easy reach of such interesting places to explore. Lyme Regis looks like a beautiful place to explore and how fascinating it must be to go fossil hunting 🙂 #countrykids
Beaches and pubs sound like great criteria for me too, when chosing where to go for a break away somewhere. Love the hostel building, almost a shame to put bunk beds in such a charming house, but nice of course that it can then be available to stay at without too high a cost.
The fossil hunting looks cool too x #CountryKids