One of the questions we always get in An Óige High Command is what to expect in the hostels in Ireland in Spring. What will the weather be like, what is there to do, where are the best places to explore near the hostels? With 24 hostels in the network and a diverse bunch of folk it can be difficult to get specific information about the weather, the craic and what is going on. All we know for sure in Dublin is that everyone is probably having more fun than us. In a desperate attempt to see what goes on in the hostels in Ireland in Spring we took a look at our social media feed to see what we were missing. As you can see from the images and videos below, staying in hostels in Ireland in Spring seems to involve lots of landscapes, some random hooleys, plenty of everyday craic, adrenaline pumping activities, fun loving peoples and cake.
Instagram me like one of your Irish landscapes
It is no surprise that the landscape features a lot in the images that people share near our hostels in Ireland in Spring. All you need to do is step ouside the door of the hostel and the landscape will be all over you like a puppy dog with its fresh green fields afer a rain shower that makes the green extra greener. The grey limesone cliffs that wrap the west coast look like a belt holding up the country’s trousers. The sea settles down after the winter storms and pulses with controlled energy. The lakes have lost their dark starkness and get ready to take boats on their mirrored surfaces. Blueness flashes across the skies with that electric Spring energy. The upland mountains and hills become accessible again and adventurers make their way to the highest points to capture those views that sum up the journey.
Slea Head Credit – Frank Hand
Downpatrick Head Credit – Kristena Ferry
Diamond Hill Connemara
Cliffs of Moher Credit – Natalie Villalba
Roadside Artists
Apparently our hostels are hotbeds of spontaneous fiddle playing, singing and touring choirs. There is probably a lad sitting in a tractor playing the uileann pipes as he carts turf from one spot to the next. Neither is the culture limited to the rural hostels where you might expect this sort of random carry-on. You cannot go down any street in our cities now without coming across graffiti artists and yarnbombers using the side of the road as their own personal canvas. Not that we ever get to see it. Everytime we visit the hostels we get a tour of the kitchen and the new toilets. Thanks lads.
Reimagine Cork
Adrenaline Junkies
There was a time when the most exciting thing that happened in the outdoors was that moment when dusk slowly seeped into the darkness. Now the outdoors is all about high octane adventure. Some choose to cycle alongside trains in Waerford. Others fling themselves off cliffs into the Alantic while others walk across the whole of the Maamturks in Connemara! So much for people being glued the internet. Even Glendalough, that bastion of city day-trippers skimming stones aross the gentle lake is now full of weekend warriors paddling, riding and buck lepping through the National Park like mountain goats.
Quest Glendalough Credit – Frank Corry
Greenway Waterford Bike Hire
Maamturks Challenge Credit – Fionn Delahunty
Communal Craic
The other activity which seems to happen quite a lot in our hostels is general messing, chillaxing, and having the craic with friends. Every hostel seems to have something which helps people mix together. In
Lakeland House it is watching the classic movie Quiet Man. In
Glenmalure it is surviving the back to basics nature together. In
Rowan Tree it is the selection of cakes.
Carrott cake and Lime cake in Rowan Tree Hostel
Next time you are staying in hostels in Ireland and you want to keep us informed of what sort of craic you are having, just use #HiIreland and we will be able to see what we are missing as we sit in High Command in Dublin.
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