youth hostels, the history, people and ideas behind them
People were impatient for youth hostels in Britain by 1930. Germany had started its hostel movement in 1909. But in Britain, it was unclear how youth hostels would open, as different people in different areas took different approaches. A group on Merseyside was looking for hostels in North Wales while from London, the first secretary... Continue Reading →
“Hordes of hikers … people, wherever there is water, upon sea shores or upon river banks … stinking disorderly dumps of tins, bags and cartons bear witness to the tide of invasion…” Sounds familiar, the kind of complaint made about the visitors invading the countryside and coast today, demonstrating how unsustainable our ways of travel... Continue Reading →
In 1932 YHA aimed to make touring affordable by creating circuits and chains of hostels especially for young people like Hilary Hughes and her friend Margaret who toured through Hampshire and the New Forest that year. [1] They were part of a fashion for travel, to discover Britain, which arose after the first world war.... Continue Reading →
The original idea of youth hostels had been for small groups in big cities to open chains of youth hostels stretching into the countryside. A group based in Oxford took that further by opening a hostel in its own urban base, reshaping the idea and origins of hostels. YHA’s first handbook in 1931 showed towns... Continue Reading →
This photo fascinates me. It’s one of the early hostels in the West Country but it looks more like a shack in the Wild West. Perhaps it’s the casual way the man in the photo leans against the building or something to do with his neckerchief. He looks like he might be hiding a gun... Continue Reading →
SIMPLY HOSTELS 