A Weekend on the Dyke - Kington Medieval Hostel
23 people attending
6 places left
NEW DATE! 5 - 7 November!
The OutdoorSirs are back for 2021 after a few years off battling bravely - so join us in Kington on the western side of Offas Dyke with great walks on offer, wonderful food and some great local pubs in the town too.
Kington was originally believed to be Welsh, owing to its position west of the Dyke but for some 1000 years at least it has been considered English. The dyke was a 150 mile long earthwork border between Mercia and Powys at the time, built at the command of Offa, the Anglo Saxon king of Mercia. The dyke is quite worn from time to what you will see today but originally was 65 feet wide with an 8ft high bank along its length making it a very difficult obstacle to cross, giving the benefit to Mercia on the higher ground of the Dyke.
The town of Kington, a substantial market town in its heritage in the hands of the Anglo Saxons as Kings Town originally before passing to the Crown after the Norman conquest.
We will see the dyke and the beautiful surroundings of the town before returning to the hostel for a medieval banquet and some fancy dress!
Saturday night will see the dining room transform to a medieval banquet hall....with some imagination required of course, but that is your chance to crack open your fancy dress box and look for those king costumes or maybe you are a jester, a knight or even a peasant or a priest! Plenty of options but of course, the fancy dress is entirely optional so don't feel pressured to partake.
The hostel is the former hospital for the town, but it has been extensively modernised meaning most bedrooms benefit from an ensuite shower room with on-site and on street parking readily available.
Dogs - A maximum of three dogs are welcome at the hostel, each dog incurring an additional charge of £30 (there is currently one dog place left). This is a charge from the YHA and must be paid via the OutdoorLads office in advance - contact support@outdoorlads.com or 0161 4200001. Please inform the event leader if you plan to bring a dog. Dogs will not be permitted in the dining room or kitchen area at any time, and will need to sleep with the dog owners in a designated doggy bedroom.
Image Credits: Image 5 - High Street, Kington © Copyright Jim Barton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence; Image 6 - Market House and clock tower, Kington © Copyright Roger Cornfoot and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. All other images provided by ODL member Daniel McKeown-Henshall, and permission is granted to OutdoorLads for their use.
IMPORTANT! - Participation Statement
You MUST complete a Participation Statement in addition to booking your event space before attending an OutdoorLads event. You only need to complete this Participation Statement once, not for each event you attend.
COVID-19 – IMPORTANT, Please read the following before you sign up to this event:
- Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, even if they are extremely mild, or who lives or is in a support bubble with someone showing symptoms, is asked not to attend. This is in line with the government’s coronavirus advice.
- You must also immediately self-isolate and not attend the event if you or someone in your household or support bubble shows coronavirus symptoms or tests positive. You can find the NHS self-isolation guidance here.
- OutdoorLads’ Covid-19 Policy for hostel and BIG events applies to this event. On arrival, we will need to see evidence that you are fully vaccinated, or have registered a negative lateral flow test in the last 48 hours, or have Covid-19 antibodies. Evidence of this can be obtained via the NHS App in England, with equivalent schemes available in Wales and Scotland. Our full policy and more details can be found here.
What to bring
You should bring some clothes for the hostel to relax in plus your toiletries including a towel.
All bedding is provided but I always bring my own pillow for extra comfort - feel free to do the same.
If you are partaking in the Fancy Dress on Saturday evening, please ensure you bring everything you need to make that possible. We have had everything from kings, to dragons, to knights and gladiators....we are quite happy to be flexible on the meanings of "Medieval" after all!
For the walk on Saturday please bring suitable walking clothes, boots and waterproofs. This is the end of March so it could still be fresh in the air so warm layers would be advised as opposed to shorts and sun cream but nowadays, anything is possible!
Food & drink
For the Friday buffet please bring an item to contribute. We are trying to minimise waste so please only bring something for ONE person....that way we wont or at least shouldn't have too much.
Lunch for the Saturday walk will be required plus a water bottle of at least 2 litres or other hydration system. As the hostel is located in an urban setting, local shops are on hand for supplies.
Breakfast on both mornings will be provided consisting of cereal, toast, fruit salad and yoghurts
Dinner on Saturday night will be a Medieval Banquet with plenty of meat, potatoes and lovely vegetables, of course a dietary alternative will be provided if required so please ensure your next of kin and dietary requirements are up to date on your profile.