The Journey: spring 20
Hello and welcome to the first issue of 2020 of The Journey. Bring out the bunting!
This year is a special one for us at YHA, marking nine decades since our formation as a national organisation. Various celebrations will be taking place to tie in with our 90th anniversary, including a bumper souvenir issue of The Journey in early summer.
Plenty has changed in the years since we first came into being, but our core aims and values – inclusion, wellbeing and access for all to nature and culture – remain the same.
On which note, we hope the following pages bring you some inspiration for your travels over the next few months. We visit London, speak to Paralympian Steve Bate and take a look at some of the most family-friendly hostels in the network. Happy reading!
Download the PDF
Articles for this edition of The Journey
What to look for when you’re identifying trees
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...
9 family-friendly hostels
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...
2020: Your year of adventure
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...
How to climb trees safely
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...
Wildflower spotting checklist
Spring 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. Here are five of the most common – how many have you spotted this year?DaisyUsually appears: late...
How to help hedgehogs
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...
YHA is 90!
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...
Four days, three nights, 386 miles in the saddle
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...
Spotted on screen
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 &...
A pivotal journey
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...