Former CHA Houses - Kinfauns Castle.
I know CHA is not HF but its part of the same walking holiday movement so I thought it would be of interest here.
Kinfauns Castle was build around 1825 in the Castellated Gothic style. It was acquired by CHA in 1933. It is near Perth above the river Tay.
HF was setup by T A Leonard as a more basic alternative to CHA but by the time I went to Kinfauns in 1991 this had reversed and CHA was much more basic than HF. No en-suite, no locks on the doors, I cant remember much about the dining room, I think it was more like school dinners than HF, I'm not sure if the guests helped out serving and it the kitchens? Luckily no one asked me to help out anyway. Some of the staff were a bit abrupt and the atmosphere didn't seem as welcoming to newcomers or as well organised as HF.
I think the rise of foreign holidays in the 1970s hit HF and CHA hard and they were both selling off 1 house per year just to avoid bankruptcy but HF turned it around by going up market and CHA continued on a downward spiral. There was talk of a merger between HF and CHA but that didn't happen, probably a good thing as CHA management seemed to have issues, I don't know if it was ideology, incompetence or self interest?
We went there on 25 May 1991 for 1 week. The price (including single room supplement) was £213.05 for 7 days but there was a voucher for £10 off. |
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They did spend money on some things though, when we went they had just refurbished the 'blue room':
The river Tay in the background going out to the estuary:
Kinnoull Hill and Deuchny Hill.
The Walks
For some reason we stopped for lunch in a field with horses.
Other CHA houses:
Other Documents on this site
Click on the following for more information
| Former HF Houses | |
|---|---|
| Conwy (1914- 2011) |  |
| Newlands (1914- 1987) |  |
| Swanage (1947- 1995) |  |
| Isle of Arran (1925- ) |  |
| Scarborough (1954- 1998) |  |
| Lulworth |  |
| Beddgelert |  |
| New Inns |  |
| Penrith |  |
| Milford-on-Sea |  |
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About This SiteHere is some history of former HF houses I have visited (there are also some pages about getting to, and walking from, HF houses without using a car). Over the years I have had holidays in houses that HF have closed. I think it would be good if there were somewhere on the HF website where peoples memories could be stored and made available online. I know that HF have a paper history archive at Newfield Hall and there is an online book by Harry Wroe but I would see this as something HF could do which is more of a online community thing. If you find any errors why not let others know by putting a post on the HF Holiday Fans ( unofficial) Facebook forum. I will try to quote such posts here so they don't get lost. |