Knightmare.com

Kieran wrote: The murder mystery I am referring to was one done entirely within the hostel we once stayed at.

I'll do a post shortly in regards to what the weekend could look like.

Sounds intriguing (and sick pay pocket friendly!)

Greetings,

Another fine attraction is Tulley's Farm Shocktober scarefest, West Sussex. Some of us have found it to be a great night out. This sort of attraction can be preceeded during the day by a trip to Thorpe park. I live close by and can accomodate people if needed.

Myatt

I have to say, I much preferred the Tulley's Farm stuff to the Fright Nights at Thorpe Park.
Many more attractions, many changing each year, many hours of entertainment.

Of the ideas I've heard so far my choice personally would be team building activities be they canoeing/raft building/orienteering etc and things of that ilk daytime and the in house murder murder mystery as a Saturday showcase.

For a while I toyed with the idea of a murder mystery dinner for the Knightmare Convention, so it would be interesting to do one in case it becomes a possible future event.

I will do Alton Towers in a heartbeat. Saving up for a spa treatment visit in the hotel there (I'M STRESSED OUT DON'T JUDGE ME), and I'm more than up for co-inciding the two.

Murder mystery is awesome too.

Also, Paintball. Just throwing that out there. I'm not saying I'd like to shoot all ya'll with painty bullets, but... actually, I AM saying that.

Oh! Paintballing! If it doesn't come together DeviantGent, I have a couple of paintball guns, so you can shoot at rocks or annoying twiggy twigs!

Here is the basic idea:

Knightmare Weekend Social: October 2014 (exact date TBC)
Where: Alstonefield YHA (Peak District) ( http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/alstonefield )

Proposal for a 3 night social spanning a Friday-Monday.

A pre-devised role playing game will take place. It will have a cast, and will require a good number of willing participants.

It will be in three stages, the first taking place on the Friday evening and in to the night

Part two would be Saturday daytime, with part three following on the Saturday nighttime.

The game will be played within the confines of the hostel and possibly some nearby locations.



SUNDAY: Park day at Alton Towers. Yay!


The game itself is not murder mystery, but there is a Halloween element to it, and the team will be given information as the weekend goes on. They will eventually act upon that information in Part 3.

Alstonefield YHA has been used for projects and socials in the past. If we go there, we will likely need to consider transport for people to get to the hostel. Those with cars could perhaps pick people up who are traveling via train, as the station is not very close.

If that sounds at all interesting to anyone then I'd be interested to hear.

The programme itself looks good. My main concern is the venue, which in turn causes other problems.

I'll admit to not being a fan of youth hostels and this one gets particularly poor ratings (1.5 out of 5).

That point notwithstanding, this particular youth hostel looks especially remote. It leaves no alternative for people wanting to stay elsewhere and its remoteness causes some logistical headaches - particularly for station pickups and going to get food etc.

Consider, for example, that people coming from London may not arrive at the station until after 9pm if they leave work at exactly 5pm. Then you need to rely on some poor soul to be ready to ferry people backwards and forwards all evening as people arrive.

Exactly the same programme would work better in a youth hostel closer to civilisation. Mightn't it be better to pick one near the train station or at least in the city centre?

Ravenstor is closer to Buxton Station. It looks a fair bit nicer. Main problem is it can only be reached on B-roads.

http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/ravenstor

There's also Ilam Hall near Ashbourne.

http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetail ... b&sc_pos=1

Common sense would dictate if one was to travel from London, one would book the Friday off to ensure they get there earlier. If the event was held closer to London, people would have to do the same in order to get down, and accommodation nearer to London is expensive all year round.

HStorm wrote:Ravenstor is closer to Buxton Station. It looks a fair bit nicer. Main problem is it can only be reached on B-roads.

http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/ravenstor

There's also Ilam Hall near Ashbourne.

http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetail ... b&sc_pos=1

Ooh! I'll have a gander at other places to stay when I get home, see if there's somewhere which ticks the boxes of being reasonably priced, closeish to the station without compromising on the Peaks

Gundrada wrote:Common sense would dictate if one was to travel from London, one would book the Friday off to ensure they get there earlier. If the event was held closer to London, people would have to do the same in order to get down, and accommodation nearer to London is expensive all year round.

You're missing the point. This has nothing to do with London versus not London.

The point is that wherever we hold it, being far away from a train station means that someone has to stay up late in the evening to ferry people between the station and the youth hostel.

I appreciate the logic of saying that people should book the Friday off, but I guarantee that won't happen, especially if people are going to have to take Monday off in order to travel home. People will see there's nothing planned for Friday daytime, get the train after work, arrive late on Friday, and rely on someone giving them a lift.

HStorm wrote:Ravenstor is closer to Buxton Station. It looks a fair bit nicer. Main problem is it can only be reached on B-roads.

http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/ravenstor

There's also Ilam Hall near Ashbourne.

http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetail ... b&sc_pos=1

Those places are both much nicer looking and more convenient. Good find!

However, I remain concerned about the remoteness. They are both a 20 minute drive from the train station. That means that anyone going out to pick someone up from the station has a 40 minute drive.

For me, the test has to be whether I could make my own way to the hostel without having to inconvenience anyone. In other words, how would I get there if nobody was available to pick me up? I am not sure I would be up for a 9 mile walk at 9pm. A taxi would apparently cost about 15 to 20 pounds, which is also a bit pricey.

Mystara wrote:

Gundrada wrote:Common sense would dictate if one was to travel from London, one would book the Friday off to ensure they get there earlier. If the event was held closer to London, people would have to do the same in order to get down, and accommodation nearer to London is expensive all year round.

You're missing the point. This has nothing to do with London versus not London.

The point is that wherever we hold it, being far away from a train station means that someone has to stay up late in the evening to ferry people between the station and the youth hostel.

I think you will find that that was noted in 2 very recent posts, a compromise needs to be made on the place to hold this to accommodate the need to be closer to the station without compromising on the views or the cost of staying.

Regarding booking the time off, I believe even the most unreasonable of employers would struggle to refuse leave requested on 3 months+ notice, which I think is good that the social is being discussed now, rather than 6-8 weeks prior.