History, books and profiles of the hostels themselves.
Youth hostels changed the world. They introduced a way of footloose travel from place to place, called backpacking today.
People love them and on this site you’ll find historical profiles of individual youth hostels, listed by geographic regions.
Three books, Richard Schirrmann – the man who invented youth hostels and Open to All – how youth hostels changed the world cover their history. Youth Hostel Pioneer is the biography of Jack Catchpool, the foremost pioneer of hostels in England and Wales, and internationally.
All are available from Amazon. The biography of Schirrmann is available as a Kindle book £2.50 or paperback £3.99. Open to All is available as a paperback (£9.99) and kindle (£3.39). The biography of Jack Catchpool is £2.99 (Kindle) and £9.99 (paperback).
Youth hostels show in their history that tourism can change. In their earliest days they offered a model of sustainable travel from which we can learn today. History offers hope of change.
*James Blake, YHA Chief Executive, on Twitter 27 October 2017.
SIMPLY HOSTELS 