youth hostels, the history, people and ideas behind them
GM Trevelyan, historian and author, was the first president and great spokesman for the Youth Hostels Association. He epitomised the spartan in youth hostels. He also gave land and money for youth hostels including Black Sail, Castle Hedingham, and Once Brewed. YHA could have chosen his brother, Sir Charles Trevelyan, for their president but instead... Continue Reading →
August and a visit to the Albert Hall for a prom is becoming a habit. Sitting in the hall, waiting for Clemency Burton-Hill to introduce The Sixteen, I counted chairs and wondered how much space 5000 people took. That number of people turned up in August 1950 for YHA's 21st birthday. The celebrations were lavish.... Continue Reading →
To Willersley Castle for a meeting today. I can't help but remember that Richard Schirrmann was here in 1934. He came with delegates from across Europe, from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Danzig, England and Wales, France, Germany, Holland, the Irish Republic, Luxembourg, Northern Ireland, Poland, Scotland and Switzerland. They met here for four days. They pooled their... Continue Reading →
Just back from a week in the Outer Hebrides, that chain of islands on the edge of the Atlantic coast of Scotland that I love so much. Time up there reminds me of a brave experiment in youth hostels that began in 1961. Each year in September, Herbert Gatliff, an unusual and influential Englishman, took... Continue Reading →
About the end of 1928, forty-six people formed the Northumbrian Trampers Guild to provide places where their members could stay when out walking. The group of keen walkers and cyclists, many of them members of young people's organisations, in Newcastle picked Sir Charles Trevelyan as their President. His support was vital to the guild. He... Continue Reading →
