Name: YHA Dalby Forest
Address: Old School, Pickering, Pickering, Pickering, YO18 7PY, United Kingdom
Rating: 8

Elevator/lift

Smoke-free property

General

Family room

Rooms

Accessibility features

Wheelchair Accessible

Accessibility

English

Languages Spoken

Free parking

Parking nearby

Parking

Temperature control for staff

Personal protection equipment for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Temperature control for guests

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the hotel

Durham Tees Valley Airport

YHA Dalby Forest

Pickering

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

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4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

We stayed at the Lockton YHA for 2 nights from Oct 20th to 22nd 2023. We were celebrating my husband's 60th birthday which meant a walking weekend for him and 14 friends and 3 of us went along to cook for them. 
What a little gem the youth hostel is!
The kitchen was well equipped with everything we needed - plenty of crockery, cutlery, 2 fridges, 2 cookers, a freezer and 2 sinks and a handbasin. If I have one suggestion it would be to have a large teapot to cater for 8 + people.
A great log burner in the living room which was perfect as the weather was very wet during our stay.  
Dining room was good and we managed to seats 16 in one sitting with a bit of a squash.
Bedrooms were in 4 dorms. Beds were made up with pillows and duvets and all were  were immaculately clean and several people said the beds were very comfy.
3 showers and 3 loos for 3 of the dorms and a 3 bedded dorm had an ensuite.
Fab entrance area which was great for leaving boots. Drying room was a tad small but we managed.
It is an ideal place for family and friends in the heart of North Yorkshire. Would definitely recommend it to groups. Some of our party said they would be returning with their families.

 
 

A Hidden Gem!

Spotlessly clean,  warm, and dry. Plenty of hot water for showers and a well equipped kitchen. Ten of us stopped so under occupancy giving plenty of room.  
Its a short ride (down a big hill) to the mountain bike trails.

Some other reviews claim its damp but its an old school,  turning the heating on soon warmed up the rooms and the stove kicked out  fair heat as well.

Not as bad as other reviews claim it it

I stayed here with a group of 21 other guys and overall we were pretty disappointed.  Upon arrival to set up, we had to open all of the windows and doors to air out the damp smell and feel.  Overall the toilets and showers were not very clean, and the kitchen is tight when trying to cook for 22 guys.

There are a total of 4 bedrooms, sleeping anywhere from 3 to 8, and there is evidence of damp and water ingress in almost all of them.  There is peeling paint in at least 2 of the bedrooms, as well as the lounge.  Additionally, there is very limited parking (certainly not enough for the 12 cars we had), and very few alternative parking areas.

The only advantages of this hostel are that it is close to hiking trails leading to the Hole of Horcum and there is internet throughout (it's only a small old schoolhouse), and there is a very nice wood burner in the lounge.

I think with some damp-proofing, humidifiers and a full repaint, this could be a very nice hostel.  It's just a let down from other hostels that I and my group have used.

Showing its age and not well maintained

I visit lots of YHAs and this is one of the worse ones that I have stayed in.

The kitchen is tiny and filthy. I spent an hour scrapping the only large saucepan that was thick with a burnt on substance that took two of us one hour to scrap off with a knife.

The hob failed so we bought some fuses. The electricity should have been checked in February 2018 per the note in the electricity box.

The room I am currently in smells of damp with paint peeling from one corner. There is one plug socket for 8 beds.  

The showers flood and the toilet sinks are too small to use so it's one sink in the corner of the dorm for all of us in the morning.

The reviewer in February 2019 who said it was too dirty for spiders was spot on.

The village doesn't have a shop and there isn't a pub/cash point. 

I'm glad to be going home tomorrow.

Smells of damp, filthy kitchen, neglected.

YHA Dalby Forest is located on the southern edge of the North Yorkshire Moors in the village of Lockton, 6 miles north of Pickering. It’s conveniently situated for exploring the coastal towns Whitby and Scarborough, a 30 minutes’ drive, and 3 miles from Levisham Station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

The hostel itself is a converted village school building. It is one of YHA’s smallest premises with effectively 3 bedrooms and is designated an eco-hostel. 

Praiseworthy points:
Ideal for travellers who prefer a small hostel in a remote location
Checking in time more flexible/informal than most YHA hostels.
On site parking for 3/4 vehicles.
Power showers excellent.
Housekeeping of a good standard.
Accommodation all on ground floor.

Minor Criticisms:
Lacks the facilities usually found at larger hostels: no WiFi, no washing machine, no catering.
8 beds in the two main dormitory rooms is too many (4/6 would be appropriate) and as such there are no cupboards/lockers for storing items securely. Also only one twin electric socket for up to 8 guests is grossly insufficient.
Hostel is managed by two volunteers who live on site and share all facilities with the guests, which makes it too intimate. I felt I was constantly under the watchful eye of a strict 1960s style headmistress! When I booked two extra nights the reply was “Oh, bloody hell, no. I was hoping for a couple of days with nobody booked in!” Not exactly the most welcoming of comments! However, in general, I praise the volunteers for their hard work and commitment and found one of them to be convivial.
Eco status of the hostel has mixed virtues. There are solar panels and the aerated shower heads are efficacious. However, volunteers using conventional hob and oven to cook small meals that would take 5 minutes in a microwave oven, and hot water taps in the dormitories needing to be run for 6 minutes before the water gets warm negate other savings.

Standard dormitory bed rate is £15 per night for non members but this hostel lacks the facilities present in YHA hostels that charge £13.50 and £10 per night. That said, Lockton, and even more so, Levisham, are up market villages so some guests might feel the rate is commensurate with the area, especially when it compares favourably with Bed & Breakfast alternatives in the locality that start at £45 per person per night.

I would return to YHA Dalby Forest as it’s very close to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and the village (Goathland, 9 miles) around which the TV series ‘Heartbeat’ was based.


Definitely Different in Dalby!

Dalby Forest is a real gem of a hostel in a beautiful part of the world situated in a pretty village with a great teashop. Perfect for the quiet get-away and with easy access to the Cleveland Way and the delights of Whitby , Scarborough and Robin Hood's Bay.

The old village school

After reading some damming reviews we arrived at Lockton yha a little fearful to say the least.
We were very pleasently surprised!!!!

Yes this is a youth hostel, not a boutique hotel. 
Start with that mentality and you can’t go wrong!!!

The place was perfect for our group of 9 children aged 6-9, 7 aldults and one four legged friend.
The place was clean, beds all made up with yha branded covers and white sheets ( not those shown on pictures)
The kitchen was extremely well equipped... one fridge was a little leaky and the ovens were slow to heat up, but didn’t stop us feeding 16 of us.
The bathrooms look fairly recently renovated, were clean and ready to use ( with endless hot water and great water pressure) There was plumbing issues in 2 toilets but I’m sure these will be fixed ASAP.

The bedrooms all have new grey bunk beds which were surprisingly comfortable.
The sitting room has leather sofas and tub chairs, and a cosy warm log burner. 
The dining chairs need a little maintenance as some have been broken!

I’m fussy and I could not smell any damp. Although being a Victorian building with high ceilings there was some areas of peeling paint in hard to reach places... it didn’t impact on our use.
Externally the courtyards could do with a sweep and clean... but February is not the best time of year to judge outside!!!

We fitted 5 cars on the drive easily.

The surrounding areas are lovely, we enjoyed train rides, walks, fossil hunting at Sandsend and site seeing in Whitby.
The village is really pretty too.

I’ve given 4 stars due to the niggly faults... get the toilets working, fridge fixed and clean outside and it’s would be a 5 *

Would we come again... YES! :)

just back from an exclusive weekend here. You get one star for location. 

Accommodation was full with our group of 21 I arrived at 4pm and one toilet was already out of order. within a couple of hours we discovered  number two of the three was also without water, leaving us with one toilet for 18 people and the en suite in the family room.  

The relayed conversation from the person who organised it implied the plumbing problems were already known in advance and just hadn't been dealt with. That or the manager needs a course on customer service, and maybe the property needs a regular maintenance schedule. 

Over the course of the weekend the microwave gave up the ghost and we discovered there aren't enough knives for full occupancy. 

Many of the chairs are broken, and most are also badly stained. 

the one working toilet floor hadn't been mopped, maybe it was the summer drought, but no self respecting spider would've hung out in such a filthy cobweb. There was another in one of the small shower rooms. Makes you wonder what you can't see. 
Peeling paint in the large bedroom, not enough space for bags and an inexplicable sink in the far corner. Well not inexplicable it's because there are no washing facilities, just showers no sink, and toilets with tiny hand sinks. 
the photographs on here are all about of date, the 8 bed room has metal beds and different furniture in the lounge. The fridge leaks. 
If I hadn't been with resourceful friends organising bins (we didn't find a bucket) of water and having a yellow mellow rule I'd have driven home. there's no pub in the village it's on the main road about a mile and a bit away but no paths so take lights if you're in the dark.

Dirty and ill-maintained

My 3rd time at the YHA Dalby Forest and i loved it even more this time. Great location close to MTB centre, walking and surfing. Staff were amazing and the place was lovely and clean. The local pub is a short stumble away and do good pub food too.

Lovely YHA experience

This is a perfect location for a family gathering or with friends we hired the whole youth hostel.
However I must say this youth hostel isn’t up to the standards of other ones we have stayed in which is a shame because the location as I’ve said is just perfect The bed rooms are very small and smell awful with damp esp the one with 6 beds in it all the clothes had to be washed once home  because of the smell of damp/ moist it was disgusting 
The living area/ dining room isn’t big enough to take the whole group at once we hired it for 21 of us adults : kids  and it was very cramped the kitchen isn’t very big either to cook for everyone at once no outside eating / bbq area this is a real shame as we get together once a year for a long weekend with family and we won’t be returning to this one even though it’s a perfect location Whitby Scarborough both within driving distance and then the beautiful moors and all the little villages Egton grosmont goathland all them beautiful walks around the area . This YHA needs money spending on it and refurbished to be honest sadly I’ve only given 2 stars and that’s because of location nothing else please update it and put new carpets ect and an outside eating area next year we will be back off to nine banks in Hexham as it’s a perfect YHA

YHA Dalby Forest

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