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,...
A new life in National Landscapes
National Landscapes are places for relaxation and contemplation, for exercise and fun; they are places where we can harness the healing powers of the great outdoors. They are protected not only for the nation to enjoy, but for the flora and fauna that live within...
YHA’s year in numbers
What a year! 2023 was a year of getting back to a new normal. Here are a few of the highlights from our annual report for 2022/23.Overnight stays 817,220 people stayed overnight in a YHA property, including 265,207 young people. We supported stays for 8,382 young...
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...
A word to the wise
Over the past few years, The Journey has been lucky enough to run exclusive interviews with some of the most inspirational personalities in the UK. Here are some of the pearls of advice we’ve picked out. “We shouldn’t think of being outdoors as anything other than...
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...
Interesting red squirrel facts
Here in the UK, we have two different species of squirrel: grey and red. Grey squirrels are far more common, even though they were only introduced from North America about 150 years ago. Have you seen them scuttling through woodland or scampering up trees in the...
Let’s go to… Tower Bridge
It’s 130 years since the arrival of one of the UK’s most famous landmarks. Tower Bridge was finished in 1894, after a building project that took eight years. The iconic river crossing is now a world-famous part of the London skyline — but how much do you know about...
Top dogs with surprising stories
Dogs are the most popular pets in the country. They’re loyal, playful and intelligent — and they can also do some incredible things, as these five tales (or should that be tails?) demonstrate. JinxIn 2023, a cocker spaniel called Jinx became the first conservation...
King Charles III England Coast Path
The longest walk in England leads right the way around the country’s coastline. It’s called the King Charles III England Coast Path, and when it’s finished it will stretch for 2,700 miles. If you were hiking for 10 miles a day, it would take you almost nine months...
Our 24 adventures for 2024
Looking for unforgettable, affordable experiences for the months ahead? Here are 24 ideas for hostel trips in 2024 — 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… start landscape painting
Emma Robinson was YHA’s Wales Development Manager until December 2023. She now runs Little Tree Studio and is Wales’ only Bob Ross certified instructor; specialising in teaching landscapes using the oil paint ‘wet on wet’ technique, made famous by Bob Ross and his...
Three of the best headtorches for outdoor lovers
The first stirrings of spring may be not far away, but the early months of the year are still a time of limited daylight. A reliable headtorch should be an essential inclusion in your backpack at any time of year, but never more so than over winter. Here we review...
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...
WIN A Goal Zero Venture 75 power bank worth £120
Can you name the National Parks? England and Wales currently have 13 National Parks between them – with plans afoot for more. But how well do you know them? To be in with a chance of winning the prize, simply tell us the five National Parks in which these natural...