15 new hobbies to you can take up in London this year

From burlesque to bouldering, here’s how to make more of your spare time in 2017

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Liz Connor17 October 2017

The new school term is the time to question whether the majority of your non-working life should revolve around drinking too much red wine, ordering Deliveroo, binge-watching Netflix and aimlessly scrolling through memes.

If this sounds like your year in review, then what you probably need is a hobby.

If you have some time to kill, there are plenty of great ways to learn new skills, meet some new people and unglue yourself from your smartphone.

Before you know it you’ll be fixing up your own bike, home brewing your own beer and wondering how you managed to waste your time so successfully before.

1. Learn to play an instrument

(Image: Shutterstock / Diego Cervo)
Shutterstock / Diego Cervo

If you want to serenade people with something more impressive than Chopsticks, music app Skoove can help you to learn piano online with interactive lessons and tutorials. The app listens to your performance and gives real-time feedback, so you can set the tempo you learn at. If Beethoven and Brahms aren’t your thing, they also have a repertoire of contemporary hits you can play along with (like Bieber and Beyonce) instead.

2. Graduate from trapeze school

(Image: Gorilla Circus)

Fancy taking up a hobby that’s a little more unusual? Gorilla Circus runs two-hour trapeze sessions that will teach you how to fly in the sky. There are a mixture of drop in classes and courses, and the more you take the more advanced tricks you can perform. Don’t let the cold weather put you off: over the summer the school is outside in Regent's Park, but in the winter it moves indoors to the Hanger Arts Trust in North Greenwich.

3. Learn to skateboard

(Image: House of Vans)

House of Vans runs a skate school which can teach you everything from balancing on your board to landing your first kickflip. All levels are welcome and the team will even provide you with a skateboard, helmets and pads. Once you’ve mastered the basics, girls can learn to shred at House of Vans’ all-girl get together. Hit their bowl, mini ramp and street area and enjoy cocktails on the house all night. There’s even a free yoga session.

4. Learn how to street dance

(Image: City Academy London)

City Academy’s London dance classes can help even the most rhythmically challenged people to understand the basics of dance coordination. Street dance classes are held throughout the week, but most run in the evening or on the weekends. There are also tasters and workshops happening throughout the year.

5. Build your own bicycle

(Image: London Bike Kitchen)

The London Bike Kitchen has an open DIY workshop where you can learn how to tweak and fix your own bike yourself instead of paying to give it to someone else. The ‘Do-It-Together education space’ has drop in sessions from Thursday to Sunday, allowing you work on your ride with other cyclists. Don't worry - there’s a mechanic on hand to help guide you through your questions.

6. Learn to ride a motorbike

(Image: Vivianna Gomez Morales)
Vivianna Gomez Morales

Motoden run one-day compulsory basic training classes that can teach you everything you need to know about getting on the road with a scooter or 125 motorbike. Women can meet other female riders too with the help of VC London. As well as all-women CBT training days, it also offers informal advice to new riders, a monthly meetup at the Bike Shed and events throughout the year. Look out for Camp VC this summer, which will bring female riders from all over the UK together for one big weekend of riding, off road dirt biking, flat tracking and… yep, you guessed it, camping.

7. Read more books

(Image: Shutterstock / Vadim Georgiev)
Shutterstock / Vadim Georgiev

How many of these classic books have you lied about reading? If your resolution is to better your reading repertoire this year, Goodreads can help you to find the books you’ll love - from Woolf to Waugh. Set reading targets, read thousands of book reviews, join digital book clubs and keep a track of your progress throughout the year.

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8. Master some butchery basics

(Image: Ginger Pig)

The most talked about butcher in London, Ginger Pig, runs hands-on lessons in meat and traditional butchery skills. Meat-lovers can try their hand at light butchery and learn more about where their meat comes from, pick up new skills and get the most from each cut. A full day’s lesson ends with a two course informal meal with wine.

9. Try your hand at burlesque

(Image: The Cheek of It!)

For more age-old glamour than you can shake a tassel at, head to The Cheek of It! School of Burlesque & Cabaret, which will teach you how to dance with a little more dazzle. Try one of their drop-in classes for a taster or sign up to one of their super advanced six week courses, which ends with an evening performance where you can show off your new skills.

10. Go bouldering

(Image: Shutterstock / Tobias Arhelger)
Shutterstock / Tobias Arhelger

Want to build your upper body strength? Urban Ascent in Parsons Greenteaches aspiring climbers everything they need to know about bouldering. Its climbing hangar boasts well over 100 routes that are clearly graded and cater to all levels of climbers.

11. Homebrew your own beer

(Image: London Fields Brewery)

Stop buying beer immediately because London Fields Brewery’s homebrewing classes can arm you with all the info you need to make your own craft beer at home. Working with raw materials, as opposed to extract, you’ll be taken through a whole brew from beginning to end. The class itself takes just one day and at the end you’ll be able to impress everyone with a demijohn of the beer you’ve brewed.

12. Take a terrarium class

(Image: London Terrarium)

Get your hands dirty and learn how to make your own terrarium jungle with London Terrariums. Its expert florists will show you exactly how to make your own miniature garden while exploring a variety of plants and mosses. They provide everything from the vessel to the succulents - all you have to worry about is where to put it in your house.

13. Learn the basics of ballet

(Image: Shutterstock / Prostock-studio)
Shutterstock / Prostock-studio

You might not have done ballet since you were eight years old, but there are plenty of gentle courses on the art form in London for adult beginners who want to don their leotard once again. Ballet For You’s novice course is specially designed to build week by week, taking you through the basic steps and positions. You’ll be nailing pas de bourrees, glissades and jetés in no time.

14. Life drawing

Shutterstock / Pressmaster

Forget Headspace and meditation, life drawing is a brilliant way to switch off after a hectic day at work: all that concentrating on the human form means you can really switch off from everything else. London Life Drawing run groups every weekday evening from four different venues across Central and East London. All the easels, trestles, papers, charcoals and paints are provided, so all you have to do is pull up a chair and get involved.

15. Comedy

Shutterstock / Jacques Durocher

Think your wit is wasted on your mates? The Comedy School run a number of courses open to members of the public throughout the year, with classes on improv, clowning, mask work - and how to perfect that killer stand up routine.

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