The Journey: winter 24
Hello… and welcome to the first issue of The Journey in 2024. The early part of the year is often a time for planning and self-evaluation. What can be achieved over the next few months? What are the experiences, challenges and adventures that lie ahead? What might be learned, or created, or changed?
With this spirit of discovery in mind, in this issue we’ve suggested 24 ideas for trips to plan in 2024, from beat-heavy urban festivals to remote mountain escapes. England and Wales can seem small in a global context, but on the ground they become vast: potential-packed worlds full of hidden corners to explore.
Over the following pages you’ll also find inspirational words from some of the celebrities that have spoken to The Journey in recent years, as well as features that touch on everything from winter escapes to landscape painting. And with this being a time of year when daylight can still be in short supply, we round up some of the best headtorches in the market.
On which note, we hope the following pages help shine a light on your plans for the year ahead. Here’s to a fruitful, uplifting and activity-filled 2024. Happy reading.
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Articles for this edition of The Journey
£2.5m pledged to connect young people to nature
The Government has pledged £2.5 million to improve young people’s access to the outdoors. The welcome news builds on the success of Generation Green, a Defra-funded project delivered by the YHA-led Access Unlimited coalition, which also comprises Girlguiding,...
Walk of the season: Trevose Head, Cornwall
On a crisp winter’s day, there’s nothing quite like a Cornish coastal walk to snap your synapses into gear: wind stippling the waves, seabirds wheeling overhead and the immensity of the Atlantic stretching out to the horizon. The Gregorian calendar might be a...
Beautiful art walks in England and Wales
For almost all of human existence, mountain environments have been seen as places to avoid. They were climbed only to drove livestock for trade, or to meet with people from the next village. And even then, the end-goal for those on foot was always the passes, the...
Our 24 adventures for 2025
Looking for unforgettable, affordable experiences for the months ahead? Here are 24 ideas for hostel trips in 2025 — because after all, calendars are there to be filled. Happy travels!1. YHA Ambleside for wild swimming Lake Windermere, on the hostel’s wonderfully...
Nine hostels for cosy winter breaks in the UK
Winter can be a beautiful time of year. Snow on the high ground, frozen spider webs on the hedges, semi-frozen lakes. And what better than a warm hostel, a mug of tea and games to entertain you through the long evenings? Here’s our pick of properties for a...
How to dress for winter walking
Winter walking in the hills of England and Wales is its own experience. It’s colder and wetter than summer, and the days are shorter. That said, with a low sun shining on the slopes, for our money it’s the best time of the year. Snow on steep ground requires an ice...