youth hostels, the history, people and ideas behind them
I've long been interested in the influence Quakers had on youth hostels. Quakers gave youth hostels an ethos of simplicity and companionship that endured for years and, more tangibly, they ran regions and brought many properties to the infant YHA. In his memoirs Charles Allen, first regional secretary in Devon and Cornwall, wrote that it... Continue Reading →
In 1932 people around Europe banded together and started an era of travel for all young people. Here's the brief story of those events. You can read the full story of how youth hostels developed in Richard Schirrmann, the man who invented youth hostels, available from Amazon, paperback or kindle. In the early 1930s different... Continue Reading →
The YHA Archive has recently acquired a very special item – a spiral bound typewritten personal memoir of Charles Allen, one of the pioneer organisers of the YHA in Devon and Cornwall from the 1930s to the 1960s. John Martin, YHA's Honorary Archivist, writes that it dates from the late 1970s. Charles Allen, was... Continue Reading →
Youth hostel style is about freedom and sharing and their approach to food shows it. Landed in Seattle after a long flight from London we got lost. It's easy to do in a new city. Seattle is the city of aircraft and software. Once the headquarters of Boeing, the city is the home of Amazon... Continue Reading →
A history of hostels in one walk. When friends suggested a walking trip in Wales, climbing hills and staying in hostels I agreed. The chance was too good to miss. They are friends I like being with, I had never walked any hills in Wales and my friends are great navigators and I am not.... Continue Reading →
