The little-known £50-a-night London lakeside lodges that were perfect for my family’s city break
IF I’m heading to London for a city break I expect a bit of overnight noise from raucous revellers, but on my latest visit the only thing disturbing my lumber was the dawn chorus of birdsong.
That’s because I found the perfect place for easy access to all the city sights, while also getting away from the hustle and bustle when it’s time for a bit of peace.
Even better, an ensuite family room for four can cost as little as £66.50 a night over the next couple of months and our break was even cheaper at £50 a night, as we visited during February.
I took my boys aged four, nine and 11 to YHA London Lee Valley, which is based in half a dozen wooden lodges by the lakes at a country park just north of London.
Set inside the 10,000-acre Lee Valley Regional Park, the youth hostel consists of six cute wooden lodges.
Five of the lodges contain dorms and family rooms and a sixth houses communal areas like a cafe and games room.
The Lee Valley Regional Park is a 26-mile-long park that has a huge range of activities, from white water rafting, angling and ice skating, to horse riding, cycling and wildlife spotting.
The YHA is also next door to Cheshunt railway station, where you can use contactless to get the overground to Liverpool Street station, with off-peak return adult fares to central London costing under £10.
As well as being at the end of the newly named Weaver line, Cheshunt is also on the Stansted Express train route between the capital and Stansted Airport.
Even on arrival at the hostel, it was obvious this wasn’t going to be the stereotypical city staycation.
There were more birds hopping between the bushes in the car park than there were people passing by.
Heading indoors, check-in takes place in the biggest of the log cabins, which hosts a bar area and games room with table football, board games and books to borrow.
If you’re staying with under-10s, there’s a kids eat for £1 deal here, like at lots of YHA places.
The bedrooms are out the back in several smaller lodges, each of which has its own kitchen, and bedding is included but you need to bring your own towels or hire some on site.
It’s the quietest London hostel you’ll ever stay in and I didn’t hear a peep from another person all night, despite our room being on the ground floor next to the entrance to our lodge.
Then it’s straight into the capital in less than half an hour, where we spent the afternoon at the Young V&A’s Myths to Manga exhibition.
Heading home couldn’t have been easier once we’d made it back to the hostel to pick up the car – as Cheshunt is just north of the M25 so it’s got great transport links by both rail and road.
The hostel’s lakeside lodges really have the best of both worlds, they were perfect for families like mine who love city life in small doses but also feel the need for nature.
