Hag Dyke is out of reach of mains electricity, water and gas and as such has to rely heavily on the resources it has and make best use of them.

The following document details various projects that have been undertaken in order to supply Hag Dyke with essential services.

Notice of Arrival

Contact details for your warden for the visit will be sent in advance. Please get in touch with an approximate time of arrival as indicated on the booking confirmation slip.

Keys

The key is now located at the hostel and instructions will be given with booking confirmation.

Approach

On foot in the general direction towards Great Whernside summit ABOVE and to the LEFT of Dowber Ghyll. DO NOT go along the Ghyll bottom. Wear good footwear and after dark carry torches. . Be warned that the track can easily become snow-bound. Please indicate on booking form if you wish to take a vehicle to the hostel. There is no charge for the first vehicle but additional vehicles are charged for to discourage indiscriminate use and wear and tear of the track. The access is completely unsuitable for ordinary vehicles. Only attempt with Landrover or other suitable 4 wheeled drive vehicle.

Arrival

Enter by the boot room door, taking off boots (please do this at all times).  Please follow the procedures detailed in the instruction manual usually on the kitchen table or in dining room. Instructions for the use of the electrical supply and the generators is also in this manual. Please follow all the procedures as detailed. Turn on the incoming gas supply valve. Cylinders and reserves are in the barn behind the chapel with automatic change over. Change bottles when empty following instructions.

Fires

Visitors may light fires as required (there are no extra charges) but please avoid waste. In-house coal is under stairs, replenish when necessary from the barn.

Sanitation

There is cess-pit sanitation so only use a minimum amount of disinfectant. Warn EVERYBODY that NOTHING SOLID must be put down lavatory pans, otherwise the drainage system will block with very unpleasant results. In case of need there are drain rods in the barn. Normally there are no problems. Bleach is for floors only.

Sleeping Arrangements

There are bunks in the Henderson Room (4), Priestman Room (6), Dutch Room (16), and Findlay Room (10). Bunks and mattresses must not be moved around without the Warden’s permission.

Fire Risks

Take every care and arrange fire drill on arrival with emergency assembly point at flagpole. See that fireguards are in front of the fire when unattended and check whereabouts of extinguishers and escape doors. INFORM EVERYBODY.

Tents

Visitors associated with those in the Hostel (no-one else) may pitch unlimited tents in the field behind the chapel.

Ball Games

To avoid broken windows please keep well away from the Hostel and Chapel. The field behind the Chapel is for this kind of activity.

Maintenance

There are no permanent Wardens. Offers of extra “spring cleaning “ type of jobs are always welcome. If no Warden in attendance parties are asked to use own ideas.

Wardens

Provided at weekends and generally at beginning and end of longer visits. If invited to eat with the visiting party they will pay for their food if requested. They are voluntary helpers and their job is to be of advice and assistance regarding the care and use of the Hostel and general amenities etc.

Refuse

Rubbish should be burnt whenever possible on the Hostel fires, particularly remains of food, to keep down the possibility of vermin. Please take all other rubbish away with you whenever possible. Ash should be kept separate and strewn in the tractor ruts.

Leaving

See that the Hostel is clean and as you would wish to find it, that the fires are out or nearly so, the oven and utensils are clean and that there is no food left to encourage vermin. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR LEAVING IN THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL. THIS IS IMPORTANT. TURN OFF GAS, WATER AND ELECTRICAL SUPPLY AS DETAILED.

Hag Dyke Scout Hostel

Live View of the Paddock

SCOUTS PRAISED IN DALES RESCUE

(Extract from The Wharfedale Observer Thursday November 6^th 2003)

OTLEY scouts have been praised for their part in a daring l8-hour Dales rescue mission,

Members of the Bridge Church Scout Group helped Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue and the RAF deliver pot-holer Alan Cross to safety Mr Cross, from Leeds, broke his leg and suffered internal bleeding when he was crushed by a boulder while deep under. ground at Kettlewell, in Dowber Gill Passage, last Saturday afternoon.

The 13 scouts and five Explorer Scouts had been enjoying a weekend activities trip at the nearby Hag Dyke Hostel when they were drawn into the drama. The 11 to 16 year olds served up warm food and drinks for the rescue team members throughout Saturday evening. The next morning some of the older scouts helped to heave Mr Cross to safety and carry vital equipment to the helicopter airlift point.

Chairman of Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue, Harry Long, said: “The scouts were very useful. Instead of wasting time having our own manpower coming in and out of the cave, the scouts shifted an awful lot of equipment for us. “I would think the scouts will have found it useful to see what’s really involved in what was a pretty big incident,”

One of the scout leaders, 37year-old Adrian Stacey of The Whartons, Otley said: “To see two Sea King helicopters in one day when you’ve never seen one in your life before is quite something” “We had a mixture of girls and boys there at the weekend and they did a great job in making sandwiches and drinks to keep the rescuers going. ‘The injured man was in pain when he came out, but he seemed in good spirits. I think he was just glad to get out. “I was proud of the way all the boys and girls behaved, Bearing in mind that some were as young as 11, they all stayed calm and responsible.”

More than 80 people were involved in the rescue operation, which ended with Mt Cross being airlifted to Airedale General Hospital.

Pricing

Availability

Please check the booking calendar to see whether Hag Dyke is available for the dates you require.  If it looks available complete the Enquiry Form below and we will get back to you with confirmation.

If we confirm availability for the dates you require, complete the Booking Form in the section below and we will organise with you to collect a £75 non returnable deposit to secure your booking.

To Book

Please contact us for availability using the form below and we will contact you to confirm dates and details on how to pay your £75 deposit should you wish to book.

Enquiries

If you have any other enquiries we can help with, then fill out the contact form below and we will get back to you as quickly as we can.

Hag Dyke on the slopes of Great Whernside near Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales

Hag Dyke, in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales is a Scout Hostel administered by the Ben Rhydding Scout and Guide Group in Ben Rhydding, Ilkley. The Hostel was bequeathed to the group in 1947 and has been run by a group of volunteer wardens for the benefit of Scouts and other Youth Groups ever since.

The building was originally a farmhouse and its occupants traced back to 1730, but it is probably older and could have housed miners working in Dowber Ghyll lead mines opened in 1680, the area of the kitchen is the oldest. At 1525 feet it was believed to be the highest house in the former West Riding. A “Dyke” in Dales dialect means a mountain dividing wall and “Hag” means enclosed land or an intake (from the moor in this case). The name therefore means the wall bounding the intake from the moor. The house is reputed to be haunted!!

In 1959/60 the farmhouse was entirely rebuilt as a Scout hostel. A new roof and new floors were installed. The long barn (with its’ traditional width of 16 to 18 feet to allow turning of 2 oxen) was pulled down and rebuilt as a common room and dormitories. The original roof beams were preserved and a 44 inch thick wall excavated to provide a connecting door, nearly killing a workman in the process. Rebuilding took a year, with everything being brought up by local farmers tractors. Workmen stayed at Hay Tongue farm and the weather was incredibly fierce

The Chapel
At 1533 feet it is the highest in England. First opened in memory of late Group Scoutmaster Cecil Findlay in 1954 being converted from a hay-store of the adjoining barn. In 1966 the chapel was extended with a memorial window to the late County Commissioner John Foster Beaver Jnr. It was dedicated by the Bishop of Bradford on July 23rd 1966. An additional window in memory of Ronnie “Skipper” Ibbetson was installed in 1985.

The District

Kettlewell was an Anglican village dating from about 700A.D. and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Later it was occupied by Norse farmers who gave Norse names to most of the area. Due to nearby monasteries and its position on cross roads it was a busy place in the Middle Ages. A weekly market was granted to Kettlewell in 1320 A.D. Later the main London to Richmond trunk road ran through the village and over Park Rash. Posting inns were the Kings Head Kettlewell and Horse House in Coverdale. Later the opening of the lead mines made it even busier. Most of the village was destroyed in June1686 A.D. by a cloudburst and extensive flooding. The Kings Head is one of only four in the whole country named after Charles 1st. The Tor Dyke crossing the Park Rash road near the cattle grid was built in 69 A.D. by the Brigantes as an outlying defence of their tribal centre at Stanwick against the Romans. Later it marked the boundary of Scale Park, a medieval hunting park, used amongst others by Charles II.

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