youth hostels, the history, people and ideas behind them
Youth hostels are about travel and, at their start, that was travelling on foot, from place to place, from one hostel to the next. A chain or chains of youth hostels had been the dream of many when they first entertained the idea of hostels; the dream of leaving the place where you lived and... Continue Reading →
Orchard House, near Ninebanks in Northumberland, has been a hostel for 75 years, and for 31 years of those years has been run by its owners. They are now planning to sell the hostel, creating an opportunity for someone else to own this hostel in the beautiful North Pennines. The sale of a privately owned... Continue Reading →
A visit by Tom Fairclough, one of the founding members of YHA, to Germany in 1929 is well recorded. That visit inspired him to found the first youth hostel group in Britain at the end of 1929. Less known are earlier visits by others, that help to show the widespread, grassroots nature of YHA at... Continue Reading →
S.P.B. Mais was another prolific writer and promoter of walking and travel. Like Morton, Mais was a journalist, and had also worked on the Daily Express newspaper, as a book reviewer and leader writer. Mais claimed to have walked over most of England. He wanted people to stuff their pockets with maps, “to wander about... Continue Reading →
Since 2020 the government’s Culture Recovery Fund has awarded more than £2 million to support YHA’s recovery from the impact of Covid. The funding marks the widespread support for youth hostels and their importance to communities. Government support for youth hostels is not new. Amidst increasing concern for the health of the nation with war... Continue Reading →
SIMPLY HOSTELS 