The Journey: Autumn 19

Each issue we print a reader’s picture that’s grabbed our attention.Share your adventures, email [email protected] or tweet using #LiveMoreYHA"My kids, roped off by bunting, enjoying the river view from YHA Keswick" - Jim...

Hillwalking enthusiast Daniel Neilson argues that technology isn’t such a bad thing in the outdoors. Here’s how to make the most of technology. The great outdoors. It’s for escaping. It’s for disconnecting. It’s a break from our everyday lives of tapping keyboards...

Unfurl a map of England and Wales, and before you know it your feet start to itch. All those hills, all those valleys, all those coastal paths. It’s no exaggeration to say that the vast majority of our rural hostels – and a fair few of our city properties too –...

The woods are great for making dens. Here’s some advice! Choose a flat place in the woods to build your den. Some people like a big, strong tree to build a den against. Find lots of long branches and pieces of fallen wood. Remember to be careful near other people –...

Why do leaves fall off trees? Every year, the leaves of trees like oaks, beeches and willows lose their green colour and fall to the ground. But why? The answer to 'why do leaves fall off trees?' is simple. Without growing new leaves every year, trees wouldn’t be...

You don’t need to wait until Halloween to enjoy tasty autumn treats! If you’ve got a grown-up to help you, baked apples are easy to make. You can even use the hostel kitchen. Here’s how to cook baked apples.You’ll need the following things:Sugar (muscovado is...

You don’t need a paintbrush or felt tips to make a picture. Some of the most creative pieces of art don’t even use drawing at all. A rainbow collage is a great example - and it’s also a lot of fun to make! Here’s what to do. Go outside in your garden or during your...

Stretching 100 miles from Winchester to Eastbourne, the South Downs Way is perfect for a hostel-to-hostel mountain bike ride, as Daniel Neilson discovers. The sun glimpsed over the Georgian townhouses and lit the face of King Alfred the Great. Well, his statue. The...

We welcome two exciting new city properties to our portfolio. There’s magic on the Mersey and treasure on the Tyne. Liverpool and Newcastle would sit near the top of any list of colourful British cities, so we’re thrilled to have recently taken over city-centre...

Summer may be in the rear-view mirror but there are still some fantastic festivals taking place across England and Wales. Here are six autumn festivals to hitch a trip around.Bath Children’s Literature FestivalWhen? 27th September - 3rd October This 10-day...

Outdoor-loving YHA Eskdale team member Kirsten Shaw spent last winter working at the British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Research Station – and she’s heading back this year for another season-long stint. She’s this issue’s hostel hero. There are times, in the Lake...

In 2019, Waitrose & Partners gave YHA a grant of £170,000 to roll out water refill stations across the network to eradicate the use of single use plastic bottles. The refill stations can be used by both residents and non-residents, providing an invaluable...