youth hostels, the history, people and ideas behind them
People loved collecting hostel stamps whenever they stayed at a hostel. Not only were some stamps collector's items, being works of art in themselves, but they were a record of where people stayed, prompting recollections, competition, and banter. Here's a lovely set from during the second world war, when the stamps were simple, just the... Continue Reading →
A sunny Saturday afternoon in April and the FA cup is into semi finals. When I get off the bus, football supporters are making a racket outside Liverpool Street station. They're either Spurs or Chelsea supporters, I have no idea which, and either way passers by are scurrying, trying not to be intimidated. I haven't... Continue Reading →
Photo courtesy YHA Archive In their early days youth hostel beds were sometimes appalling. People paid a shilling a night, and slept in a bed that could be cold, hard, noisy, and made of anything that came to hand. But that was because youth hostels offered more than a cheap bed. The hostel at Holmfirth... Continue Reading →
If you see the funny side of youth hostels, Best Foot Forward is for you: acute, astute, astoundingly funny and well put together. Maeve Larkin, the writer, knows youth hostels and because she knows her duties, her sausages and her members, she gets it just right. The cast is wonderful and the story charts the... Continue Reading →
John Martin is YHA's honorary archivist and in this post he writes about an exciting new gift to the YHA archive. Every so often we receive for the Archive a really special account of hostelling in the old days, in the form of a holiday log. David Bayes has just passed to us his account... Continue Reading →
SIMPLY HOSTELS 