Bookworms, take note. Many of our hostels sit in destinations with strong links to some of the country’s most legendary writers. We’re highlighting nine of them here — all of which are available this winter.
YHA Bath
Evoke the world of you-know-who
Bath is synonymous with Jane Austen, who not only lived here in the early 1800s but used the city as a setting for two of her novels: Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Today the destination still oozes Georgian charm, and there’s a dedicated museum, the Jane Austen Centre, to visit. Regency gowns optional.
YHA Brighton
Step back into 1930s gangland
Graham Greene wasn’t a Brighton local — he lived mainly in London — but one of his best known works is umbilically linked with the city. Brighton Rock is a murder thriller full of unforgettable characters, including teenage antihero Pinkie. YHA Brighton is right on the seafront, in the heart of the book’s action.
YHA Grasmere Butharlyp Howe
Wander lonely as a cloud
The Lake District is William Wordsworth territory, and no part of the region is more closely associated with the great Romantic poet than Grasmere. Wordsworth and his wife Dorothy lived in the village for 14 years, and he described it as “the loveliest spot that man hath ever found.”
YHA Cambridge
Revisit the university days of old
If the University of Oxford has Brideshead Revisited, the University of Cambridge has Jacob’s Room by Virginia Woolf. Her third novel, it follows the protagonist’s life through the ages, including his studies here at Trinity College. YHA Cambridge sits a 20-minute wander from the city centre.
YHA Ambleside
Potter around in the Lakes
It wasn’t just Wordsworth who found endless inspiration in the Lakes. Beatrix Potter spent much of her life up here and was a passionate advocate for conservation. Her characters, among them Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck, remain children’s favourites. YHA Ambleside is a few miles from the World of Beatrix Potter attraction.
YHA Whitby
Stay next to a Gothic ruin
Bram Stoker’s Dracula has long turned the coastal Yorkshire town of Whitby into a magnet for fans of horror and Gothic literature. The hugely atmospheric ruins of Whitby Abbey still stand high above town, looking out at the waves — and YHA Whitby is located almost next door.
YHA Bristol
Set sail for the past
Bristol’s maritime links are inescapable — particularly in the Llandoger Trow pub near the harbourside. Here since the 1660s, it’s said to be the basis for the Admiral Benbow pub in Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island, and was also where Daniel Defoe met real-life castaway Alexander Selkirk, which inspired Robinson Crusoe.
YHA Stratford-upon-Avon
In the realm of the Bard
William Shakespeare is everywhere you turn in Stratford-upon-Avon, whether you’re heading to a play at the Swan Theatre or delving into the Bard’s life by visiting his birthplace. But hostel, hostel, wherefore art thou, hostel? It’s a mere couple of miles out of town, on the banks of the River Avon.
YHA Manchester
Learn about the city’s past
Victorian writer Elizabeth Gaskell was known for her detailed depictions of the everyday, and her debut novel Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life remains one of her most popular works. Manchester’s 19th-century heritage is still a big part of its identity, although YHA Manchester provides the perfect 21st-century base to explore the city.
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