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Duncan M Simpson @mac8lay

Writing, about youth hostels, their history and the people and ideas behind them. Three books.

Joined May 2010
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Duncan M Simpson @mac8lay
31 Jan 2017
"The more you circulate on your travels, the better citizen you become." Roosevelt about #hostels 1937 from @YHAOfficial archive @CadburyRL
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Duncan M Simpson retweeted
Kate Ashbrook @CampaignerKate
19 Aug 2024
Remembering Len Clark on what would have been his 108th birthday, friend and wise advisor of @openspacessoc @campaign4parks @YHAOfficial @nationaltrust @FriendSouthDwns & many more. Still much missed.
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Duncan M Simpson retweeted
Emily Thomas @emilytwrites
15 Aug 2024
Sex! Gambling! Babminton! What more could you want from @BBCRadio4’s Moral Maze show on tourism? You can hear me defending the value of travel against infidels again on BBC Sounds: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0021xq…

BBC Radio 4 - Moral Maze, Should Foreign Tourism Be Discouraged?

Live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories.

bbc.co.uk
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Education is a vital part of youth hostels but maybe not in ways immediately obvious today. @YHAOfficial @JamesBlakeYHA @anitakntweets @PeakMcCloy @LakesStiles simplyhostels.substack.com/p…
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Corinne Fowler @corinne_fowler
5 May 2024
LOVE this concept of train walks! I did 9 of my 10 book walks by train. My tobacco walk runs from St Bees (train station) along a dramatic cliff walk to Whitehaven (train station). The concept is inspired (especially once the strikes are resolved...) theguardian.com/travel/2024/…

‘You can walk virtually everywhere in England by using the train’: the man connecting rail-based...

A new website aims to offer a wide network of walking routes from British train stations, and is calling on hikers to add their favourites. Our writer accompanies the founder on a ramble to Bath Spa...

theguardian.com
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For anyone interested in Scotland's youth hostels - a marvel of a book! It's no longer listed for sale but maybe @hostellingscot could reissue? @margo_paterson @LakesStiles
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A hostel a week, this week Wilderhope Manor, the Elizabethan home, built in 1588, of Francis Smallman @YHAOfficial @Fredbat @nationaltrust >>> duncanmsimpsonwriting.com/20…
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Swimming at Tarn Hows. @LakesStiles @TLWforCumbria
Clare Reynolds @clarereynolds20
12 Apr 2024
A swim a day. Joseph Hardman (1893–1972) Swimming at Tarn Hows artuk.org/discover/artworks/… @artukdotorg
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A hostel a week, this week Malham. In 1937 @YHAOfficial's West Riding Region drew up plans for a hostel at Malham. The facility opened in July 1938 and was the first purpose-built hostel in Yorkshire... >>> duncanmsimpsonwriting.com/20… @PeakMcCloy
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A hostel a week, Liverpool, where the first hostels were almost as old as YHA itself. @YHAOfficial @Fredbat >>> duncanmsimpsonwriting.com/20…
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A Hostel A Week - Pen-y-Pass, adapted from the celebrated mountaineers’ Gorphwysfa Hotel, often also identified as the Pen-y-Pass Hotel. @YHAOfficial @Fredbat >>>duncanmsimpsonwriting.com/20…
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A Hostel A week this week Alston where a “youth’s hostel” in the highest market town in England continues with a new owner. @YHAOfficial @Fredbat >>>> duncanmsimpsonwriting.com/20…
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A Hostel A Week this week, one from the past, ramshackle affairs and Woody's Top barn. @YHAOfficial @Fredbat @Elizabethyha #HostelOfTheWeek >>>>duncanmsimpsonwriting.com/20…
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On this day in 1930, youth hostels had their official beginning in Britain. @YHAOfficial @hostellingscot @indiehostelsuk duncanmsimpsonwriting.com/20…

Pushing the boat out

Different people in different places, through the winter of 1929 / 1930 were trying to start youth hostels. None was making progress until the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) took a hand.

duncanmsimpsonwriting.com
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Duncan M Simpson retweeted
Andrew McCloy @PeakMcCloy
5 Mar 2024
Delighted to be chairing this event & sharing the evident enthusiasm for National Parks in Wales. @eryrinpa @PembsCoast @BannauB
Campaign for National Parks @Campaign4Parks
5 Mar 2024
Today we're in @SeneddWales, celebrating our #ProtectedLandscapes which are a vital source of Welsh identity, community and wellbeing 🏞️ On the 75th anniversary of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act we're urging leaders to take urgent action for their future📜
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This week's hostel of the week is Alnwick. @YHAOfficial @Fredbat duncanmsimpsonwriting.files.…
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Duncan M Simpson retweeted
YHA England & Wales @YHAOfficial
29 Feb 2024
Our #HostelOfTheWeek is YHA Alnwick.⭐ Located in the heart of the medieval town of #Alnwick, its central location makes it ideal for a visit to #AlnwickCastle which featured in the early #HarryPotter films as #Hogwarts. 🦉🏰 bit.ly/3uQI43h #StayWithYHA #LiveMoreYHA
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Duncan M Simpson retweeted
An Óige - Irish Youth Hostel Association @HiIreland
22 Feb 2024
This Thursday throwback is of Wheeldale Youth Hostel near Goathland, North Yorkshire, England. The former shooting lodge served as a hostel from 1948 until 1999. This misty, atmospheric pic is of a hostel guest preparing to brave the fog. Awesome photo from 1982 by David Hillas.
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"The location... is truly breath-taking", I agree!
YHA England & Wales @YHAOfficial
22 Feb 2024
Our Hostel of the Week is YHA Idwal Cottage. ⭐ The location of this place is truly breath-taking, located in the Ogwen Valley. Fancying a rambling retreat? We've got you covered with plenty of routes right from the doorstep. bit.ly/3uKeCMg #StayWithYHA #LiveMoreYHA
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This week, a hostel a week, a personal favourite. Who couldn't love it with all those hills around it? @YHAOfficial @Fredbat #hostelaweek >>>duncanmsimpsonwriting.com/20…
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Going south, abandoning alphabetical order, a hostel a week this week is Lands End, and a bonus Penzance. @YHAOfficial @Fredbat #Cornwall duncanmsimpsonwriting.com/20…
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