Meet up?
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I'll admit to not being a fan of youth hostels and this one gets particularly poor ratings (1.5 out of 5).
I would balance that rating, wherever it's from, against the personal experiences of the dozen-plus Knightmare community members who have stayed there.
Some background: we used the Alstonefield hostel first in August 2005 for the filming of Knightmare RPG7, for which we were able to book the entire hostel. (For those who don't know, the Knightmare RPGs were a series of fan-made projects, shot mostly against a bluescreen, involving a mixture of original KM characters and new characters.) Its remote location made it ideal for filming, and summer is a good time to escape to the countryside. We liked it enough to return there for a few days in October 2005. That meetup included a day at Alton Towers.
Every potential meetup venue has pros and cons. There's no denying that with Alstonefield, there was a reliance on those with cars. There will always be those who are happy to be chauffeurs and those who just fall into the role.
The whodunnit mentioned earlier in the thread was an evening activity during the August '05 stay, organised by Forester (a.k.a. Aaron, the Knightmare Convention photographer) with input from me. The clues centred around the RPG7 characters and their backstories.
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Yah, that's the only reason I didn't properly stamp on it
The problem is that we don't know what date the reviews have. It could be that the place has gone downhill.
EDIT: Although I do notice it does okay on tripadvisor.
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Right, here we are:
http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/hathersage
Deeper into the peak district
Quarter of a mile to the nearest train station
Higher reviews
Lower prices
Also only 6 miles away from Speedwell cavern
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Right, here we are:
http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/hathersage
Deeper into the peak district
Quarter of a mile to the nearest train station
Higher reviews
Lower prices
Also only 6 miles away from Speedwell cavern
nods Okie dokes, we'll need to check whether it can.support the needs for the games and wotnot
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I love murder mysteries, so could be up for a social (depending on work commitments, etc, etc). Honestly though, I'm not likely to attend one that isn't easy to reach by public transport, because it's embarrassing to feel like you're putting other people (especially people that you don't know very well) to trouble giving you lifts. Even if the drivers don't mind doing it, I'd still feel bad.
Hathersage looks very nice there, and easy to get to.
BTW, I've written a Knightmare-themed pub quiz challenge that I'd dearly like to test out on a Knightmare-savvy audience sometime. I'm not saying this to muscle in on Kieran's plans for October, just throwing it out there in case there's interest for some future social/convention.
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I've done a lot of hiking in the Hope Valley, including Hathersage. I can certainly recommend it for scenery, it's a gorgeous place. There's not a great deal there though apart from countryside. There are several fantastic old-fashioned inns there on the other hand, which means if all else fails, there'll be plenty of healthy options for, er, 'self-imbibement'... what more do you need?
(And yes, those inns would make good territory for a pub-quiz, Greystagg.)
Another option, if the Hope Valley is viable, would be Edale. Really nice Old Nag's Head pub just off the Pennine Way, and the views of Kinder Scout and the Great Ridge are stunning.
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Just comments on the main points raised...
Alstonefield - Used before, worked before, more than enough people to arrange collection from train station(s) so long as people are given a time to be collected. We've used it twice previously without a problem. The reviews don't give their reasons for rating it so poorly - I certainly don't.
Time off work - Required really for any distant trip that's going to be more than just a Saturday evening & Sunday morning. With advanced notice this shouldn't be a problem. Every larger event we've ever done has always had an element of requiring time off to it.
Hathersage - looks good to me, dates are limited for hiring venue outright. Meaning for a weekend it'd be December or March. Alton Towers opens late March and there is still availability. If we got 18 people it'd be about £64 each for the weekend (Fri - Mon). More people drops the cost. Location gets my support in principle.
To elaborate a little further, the game that's in mind requires sole use of a single venue and location with good features to support it. It's not a murder mystery, it's more a rp scare adventure / quest.
London & other big cities - World doesn't revolve around them, they're not the right setting for the specific idea in mind and hotels there would probably cost the same per night as a Hostel would per person for the weekend.
Ultimately it's entirely down to what people want to do. You could do a casual evening meetup at Tulley's Farm - in fact that could happen in addition to what's been said here. Or we could just meet for an afternoon drinking session in a pub. Greater things require more time, more planning and greater commitment.
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I certainly like the look of this Hathersage place.
To use it for the gaming idea, however, changes things a little. The meetup would need to be moved to March 2015, with something else taking the place of a Halloween attraction.
I have no problem with that at all.
As Forester has correctly pointed out, there are certain things that a trip like this requires. Time off work is one of them, and has always been required in the past for such meetups.
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Yes, people will definitely need to take time off for such a thing. As indeed virtually every meetup has.
I think finding many people willing to take two days off will be tricky, though. At the last Blackpool meetup we struggled to get 15 people to take 1 day off.
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I'm another that would defend Alstonefield having been at the RPG and later meet there.
As mentioned ad nauseum before, Halloween is my "Summer" holiday so I'm game for a trip to Alton Towers Scarefest and Tulleys Farm if they're on the menu.
Also, I'm another with the use of a car and don't mind ferry duties, within reason.
Scarefest is on from 18th Oct to 2 Nov.
Tulleys Farm Halloween runs for selected dates during the same period. - http://www.halloweenattractions.co.uk/shocktoberfest/dates
Another suggestion for Accom would be the YHA @ Ilam Hall.
http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/ilam-hall
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Within a few £ of Hathersage.
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Ashbourne is only a short hop away from Alton Towers and civilisation in general.
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Just LOOK at the place! If that building doesn't scream "Knightmare", what the heck does?!?
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I've done a lot of hiking in the Peak District with Woodcraft, but for a Knightmare Social I'm perfectly okay with wherever - I also have fond memories of Alstonefield. I agree with Forester as regards large cities; they can be easy to arrange in tersm of transport, but they are often expensive in comparison to places in more remote locations, too busy to accommodate one particular group (as Alstonefield kindly did for us at RPG7) and probably not adequate for whatever Forester's planning.
Transport can be an issue, but we do have some drivers (who could ferry for petrol money) in the KM Community, and even without, there are buses and taxis available from most stations, and in extreme cases, it is always possible to walk! I've walked the few miles to various locations, again with Woodcraft, for simple reasons like "it's cheaper", "it's easier" or "it's sustainable"!
Taking time off is also an issue, but it's not impossible... and if we do it over the weekend, it's much easier for those who might not be able to take much off - one Monday isn't too bad and most employers have a system for that (mine doesn't; if I don't go in I don't get paid, but still...).
I've been at most of the Knightmare Socials so far (barring London and Florida), and with an expanded group, I see no reason for not taking another one. Let's make it happen.
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To use it for the gaming idea, however, changes things a little. The meetup would need to be moved to March 2015, with something else taking the place of a Halloween attraction.
By the way, I agree with this, for purely selfish reasons - I'd need that time to save money for this thing, providing it doesn't clash with the other thing I'm doing in March 2015.
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Taking time off is also an issue, but it's not impossible... and if we do it over the weekend, it's much easier for those who might not be able to take much off - one Monday isn't too bad and most employers have a system for that (mine doesn't; if I don't go in I don't get paid, but still...).
I'm a bit confused as to why this issue keeps coming up.
Nobody has said that the social won't work because people will have to take time off.
The original concern was that in view of the fact that people will have to take Monday off and with nothing happening until Friday night, people will not take the Friday off and people will therefore arrive late on the Friday.
Having spoken to forester, this apparently isn't a problem. But the issue of people having to take time off has never arisen. Virtually every social we have ever done required people to take a day off.
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Sorry, my brain must be hazy, I can't quite follow you.
I don't understand how the community can be discussing a meetup and yet also require telling about that meetup.
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Facebook etc? There's lots of very enthusiastic people on there, but probably a very small percentage that would actually do anything as usual. It may be better to get a couple of options for dates/places before unleashing it on the thousands, give them something specific to talk about.
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