youth hostels, the history, people and ideas behind them
Houghton Mill Youth Hostel drawn in 1944 Youth hostels had a good war. Less than ten years old when hostilities began, war could have destroyed them. But against the odds they decided to carry on. Jack Catchpool was still secretary and GM Trevelyan, the historian and author, was still president. John Cadbury took up the... Continue Reading →
Down a short path from the hostel at Idwal Cottage, in a grove of trees, is a piece of YHA history. In the grounds of one of YHA's longest serving hostels, it's also a link with the days when architects designed hostels for YHA. Today there's a boom in designer hostels but the idea isn't... Continue Reading →
Rudyard Lake in 1935, a year before Orwell's visit, photo courtesy YHA Archive I’ve always admired George Orwell. His beautiful prose is like a window pane. I studied his essays in sixth form and bought his collected essays and journalism that same year. I still have copies of those four volumes. Who couldn’t help but... Continue Reading →
Jack Catchpool and a history of youth hostels The struggle to improve lives fascinates me. It’s an endeavour, sometimes called the life reform movement, that defines the first half of the twentieth century, the era out of which youth hostels leaped, and is the reason why, when I first came across a second-hand paperback copy... Continue Reading →
Jack Catchpool was the key figure, the central force, the driver, coordinator, and chief pioneer of youth hostels. Using all his enormous skills, a wide network of allies and supporters, and his simple faith as a Quaker, he spread the idea of youth hostels throughout England and Wales to the world. This book, published in... Continue Reading →
SIMPLY HOSTELS 