YHA Blog
Ever been frustrated by whether you’re looking at a beech or a birch? You just need to know what to look for. This quick guide to tree identification – from Louise Hackett, Treescape Development Lead at the Woodland Trust – will give you a few basic hints and...
Wide-open spaces and curious ruins. Hidey-holes, beach gates and secret passageways. Buildings loaded with myth and legend. YHA’s hostel network always feeds the imagination of children, and when you add in a wide range of activities, proximity to world-class...
Getting into a new outdoor activity can be utterly life-changing. You may already be a fan – or even a devotee – of one or more of the five activities included here, but the benefits of trying something new can be extraordinary. Why not make 2020 the year you...
Are you a tree-climber? Follow these tips to make sure you stay safe! Choose the right sort of tree, always using a grown-up to help you. The best climbing trees are healthy, with strong trunks and lots of thick branches close to the ground. Don’t climb if you see...
Spring and summer is when wildflowers start to appear in our woodlands, gardens and hedgerows. They’re very important, because they help provide food for pollinators like bees, butterflies and moths. Here are six of the most common wildflowers in the UK – how many...
This is the time of year when hedgehogs start to appear again, after their winter hibernation. But how much do you know about these adorable spiky mammals – and how can you help them?Five hedgehog facts Hedgehogs are solitary, which means they spend their time...
It’s going to be a monumental year for YHA (England & Wales), as we celebrate 90 years since the organisation was founded. That’s a lot of candles – but the year ahead isn’t about cake (at least, it’s not just about cake). We want to use our 90th anniversary...
A Business Intelligence Developer with YHA for the past three years, Rob Abrey set himself a mammoth fundraising challenge in late 2019: a self-supported cycle across England and Wales. He’s this issue’s hostel hero. Rob Abrey knows plenty about staying on the...
Lights… camera… action! Our landmark 90th anniversary isn’t passing unnoticed. In mid-February, the BBC’s Inside Out East Midlands dedicated a 10-minute prime-time slot to the history and evolution of “one of our best-known British institutions”: YHA (England &...
This photo shows a group of friends from Merseyside (and an assortment of nattily dressed bystanders) on a trip to Germany in July 1929. Their mission? To experience for themselves the youth hostels which had been opening there since 1909. They returned home deeply...
