SLOTHO Day 0 (zero): cycling from Wareham to Swanage and "the Plan"

This video is about the start of a cycle tour in March 2024 which I have called my SLOTHO tour. I'll explain the name later!

In the winter months I rarely ride outside my local area, so this tour aimed to take me to unfamiliar parts of the UK. I planned to ride from Swanage to Newcastle, almost the length of England (and visiting Wales), staying every night in YHA Youth Hostels.

I recently enjoyed my first night in a Youth Hostel for 45 years. I began my independent adventures with the help of YHA hostels; YHA provided a safe bed for the night which gave me freedom to get into hiking and cycling and explore the UK and they can do the same today. But it is clear from the press and from the conversation of the hostellers I met, that the organisation has been struggling and cutting back to make ends meet. The idea for this tour grew from a desire to enjoy staying in more hostels and also to support the YHA, as well as to have an adventure!

The YHA has evolved over the years and met the changing demands of its clientele - for a start you no longer have to be youthful! But COVID dealt it a mighty blow - like the rest of the hospitality industry - resulting in debt which necessitates cost cutting and recovery plans; that means the smaller or less popular hostels which could not be cost effective are being lost.

I decided I would solve the YHA's problems and save the hostel network by staying in them! Why didn't I think of that before?

That's why I decided to call my tour:
SLeep Out To Help Out. It's obviously a very original name!

It's SLOTHO for short, but perhaps SLOWTHO would be more accurate as I am still very unfit after some nasty winter bugs.

Planning the route was tricky as there are far fewer available hostels than are shown on even the latest YHA map, and some of them are block-booked for groups which is one thing which helps them survive but is no use to me. My route, using quiet roads and cycle paths, had to include 2 days of well over 90 miles which were hilly, but the forecast predicted reasonable weather and favourable winds so I might manage it, and there were train options if not.

A couple of notes on my booking experience:

A Google Maps search for YHA hostels gave links which were a good way into the YHA website to access each hostel's booking page.

For booking the train journey, I was rather discouraged that Trainline showed no bike spaces for my journey - but that was because I had to cross London. I booked the 2 parts of the journey separately and bike spaces were available on both. Booking on the LNER website rather than Trainline gave me a voucher for the bike space to prove I had made the required reservation on their Azuma train - and saved the booking fee!