YHA Blog
For many of us, our travels over the past year have come through the pages of books. Here are three recent titles that we highly recommend.The Flightless Traveller By Emma Gregg (Quercus Books) The airline industry has come under the spotlight in recent years, and...
Some birds, such as robins and blackbirds, live here in the UK all year round. Others spend the winter in other parts of the world, then come back every spring to enjoy the warm weather. We call these birds migrants – and below are four of our...
2021 is going to be the year of the Great (British) Escape. An escape from the stress of the past 12 months and, frankly, just a change from your home. We’ve picked out nine hostels in out-of-the-way locations for long walks under big skies, reading books in cosy...
The sight of rainbow-hued wings flip-flapping along hedgerows is one of nature’s surest signs that the warmer months have arrived. But do you know your brimstones from your blues? Here are nine of our most common butterfly species – see how many you can spot this...
Spending time outdoors is one of the healthiest things we can do. But why? It improves our mood When we stay inside all day, we can sometimes feel stressed or tired without really knowing why. When we play outside and feel the breeze in our hair and the sunlight on...
What does the future hold for YHA – and what makes it such a resilient organisation? We asked two of the people who know it best.Duncan Simpson YHA historian, writer and former hostel manager “When news of the pandemic first broke, I talked with friends and old...
In 2022, Hostelling International (HI) will celebrate its 90th anniversary. Over those nine decades, the organisation will have brought together more than 70 National Youth Hostel Associations, collectively covering more than 3,000 hostels. Across the planet, the...
Thousands of young people from diverse backgrounds are being given the chance to connect with nature. Good news hasn’t always been easy to come by recently – but here’s an exception. More than 100,000 young people are being given the opportunity to connect with...
Marian Spain knows a thing or two about the importance of the great outdoors. As chief executive of Natural England – the government's adviser on the natural environment – she also has a CV that includes work with Plantlife International, the New Forest National...
YHA wasn’t alone in celebrating its 90th birthday last year. The same milestone was also reached by hostelling fan Edith Gray, of South London, who remains an enthusiastic advocate for budget adventure in the UK. As recently as October 2020, in fact, just a month...
Rarely straight, rarely level, rarely dull: following coastal paths is markedly different to following inland paths. Trails along cliff edges and beaches are less purposeful, more whimsical, and often exist for no other reason than the views they offer, and the...
