What will I still be doing in February?
Hobbies that work all year
A strongly seasonal hobby is a hobby you do for four months and think about for eight. These are available throughout the year and are not stopped by weather, which makes them much better bets for building a regular habit. Several are indoors; several are outdoors and simply do not care what the sky is doing.
1097 activities in the catalogue, 68 written up so far.
Subhashish Panigrahi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
3D printing
Making physical objects layer by layer from a digital model — a manufacturing process that became a domestic hobby, with all the calibration that implies.
£100–£300 to start · indoors · sedentary
Christopher J. Fynn / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Amateur perfumery
Blending fragrance from essential oils and aroma chemicals — a craft of structure, patience and a great deal of smelling.
£300–£1,000 to start · indoors · sedentary
Fanny Schertzer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bicycle maintenance
Servicing and rebuilding bicycles, from a puncture to a full wheel build — the rare craft that pays for itself.
£100–£300 to start · indoors · gentle
Antique collecting
HobbyBuying, researching and living with old objects — furniture, ceramics, silver, clocks and glass.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
Balm and cosmetics making
CraftMaking balms, salves and creams at home — the one distinction that decides whether a product keeps, and where a private craft becomes a regulated one.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
Bodybuilding
SportTraining and eating for how the body looks rather than what it lifts — the largest gym pursuit there is, and the worst served.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsVery demanding
Botanical spirit blending
CraftMaking gin and flavoured spirits by infusing a bought neutral base — lawful, cheap, and done in an afternoon.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
Bouldering
SportClimbing short, hard problems close to the ground, with mats instead of ropes — the lowest-friction way into climbing.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
Calisthenics
SportStrength training with your own body as the load — pull-ups, dips, handstands, and the long ladder of steps between them.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
CNC routing
CraftHobbyCutting parts from a digital design on a computer-controlled router — a workshop machine that is genuinely powerful and genuinely unforgiving.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
Comics making
CraftHobbyTelling a story in panels — the sequence, the page, the lettering, and the finishing habit that turns drawings into a comic.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
Composting
HobbyTurning garden and kitchen waste into soil — the methods, what a heap is telling you, and why almost every problem is one of three things.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
Corsetry
CraftMaking structured foundation garments — the branch of dressmaking with real engineering in it, and the least forgiving fit in the craft.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
Crochet
CraftMaking fabric from yarn with a single hook, one stitch at a time, from a £5 starter kit.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
Dressmaking
CraftMaking clothes that fit a real body, from commercial patterns or your own — where the sewing is the easy half and the fitting is the craft.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
Embroidery
CraftDecorating fabric with needle and thread, from six basic stitches to centuries-old traditions.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
Fiction writing
HobbyCraftMaking up stories and writing them down — the cheapest serious craft there is, and one where finishing is a separate skill from writing.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
Film photography
HobbyCraftShooting, developing and scanning film — where every frame costs money, which changes how you take them.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
Fishkeeping
HobbyKeeping a freshwater or marine aquarium — which is really the practice of keeping water, with fish as the beneficiaries.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
Game development
CraftMaking games as a hobby — where the difficulty is not the engine but finishing something small enough to finish.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
Game mastering
HobbyRunning roleplaying games for other people — a distinct craft of preparation, improvisation and table management.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
Hand engraving
CraftCutting lines into metal with a graver — lettering, ornament and inscription, done by hand at a bench.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
Harp
HobbyLearning the harp as an adult — which harp, why the answer is almost never the one in the orchestra, and what it actually costs to find out.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
Historical European martial arts
SportHobbyReconstructing longsword and other historical fighting from surviving manuals — a martial art with a reading list and no unbroken lineage.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
Hobby welding
CraftJoining steel at home — which process to buy, what the hazards actually are, and the work this page will not describe.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
Home automation
HobbyMaking a house respond to sensors, schedules and each other — a systems hobby whose hard part is deciding what should happen, not making it happen.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
Home brewing
HobbyCraftMaking beer, cider, wine or mead at home — a fermentation craft where cleanliness matters more than recipe.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
Home distilling
CraftDistilling spirits at home — what it is, why UK law treats it differently from brewing, and what you can lawfully do instead.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
Home espresso
HobbyPulling espresso at home — where the grinder matters more than the machine and almost all the advice is written by people selling machines.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
Home machining
CraftTurning and milling metal to close tolerances on a lathe or mill in a garage workshop — the craft that makes every other workshop craft possible.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
Hydroponics
HobbyGrowing plants in nutrient solution rather than soil — which system suits which plant, what it genuinely costs, and the gap between the windowsill version and the tent version.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
Indoor climbing
SportRoped climbing on an artificial wall — the route into the sport for almost everybody who now does it outdoors.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
Indoor rowing
SportTraining and racing on the ergometer — a measurable sport in its own right, not a substitute for a boat.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsVery demanding
Journaling
HobbyCraftWriting regularly for yourself — as a record, a thinking tool, or a creative practice.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
Karate
SportA striking art of forms, partner drills and graded belts — taught in several distinct styles that disagree more than beginners expect.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
Knifemaking
CraftMaking a blade from steel — the two routes in, what heat treatment actually does, the grinder that is the real hazard, and where UK law sits for a maker.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
Knitting
CraftMaking fabric from yarn with two or more needles — the yarn craft that produces clothes people actually wear.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
Luthiery
CraftBuilding and repairing stringed instruments, where fine woodworking meets acoustics.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
Machine knitting
CraftProducing knitted fabric on a domestic machine — fast, technical, and reliant on equipment that has not been made for decades.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
Mahjong
HobbyA four-player tile game of drawing and discarding, whose several national rule sets are the single most confusing thing about it.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
Microcontroller projects
HobbyBuilding small devices around Arduino, Pico and similar boards — the cheapest way to make something physical respond to the world.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
Millinery
CraftMaking hats — blocking felt and straw over wooden forms, and the proportion and fit that decide whether one works.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
Miniature painting
HobbyCraftPainting small figures and models to a standard far beyond what their size suggests is possible.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
Mobility training
SportDeliberate work on active range of movement — distinct from stretching, and distinct from strength work, though it overlaps with both.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsModerate effort
Model railways
HobbyCraftBuilding and operating a miniature railway — part modelmaking, part electronics, part landscape painting in three dimensions.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
Mould making
CraftMaking silicone and rubber moulds so an original can be reproduced — the half of casting where the craft actually is.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
Music production
HobbyCraftRecording, arranging and mixing music on a computer — a craft with a very low entry cost and a famously steep middle.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
Navigational rallying
SportCompetitive motoring on public roads decided by map reading and timekeeping rather than speed — the cheapest way into motorsport in Britain.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
Olympic weightlifting
SportThe snatch and the clean and jerk — a technique sport rather than a strength sport, what a session actually looks like, and why the coach is the whole thing.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
Padel
SportA doubles racket sport played in a glass-walled court where the walls are part of the game.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
Pattern drafting
CraftDesigning garment patterns from measurements rather than buying them — the craft that decides whether clothes fit before any fabric is cut.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
Pickleball
SportA paddle sport on a badminton-sized court with a perforated plastic ball and a non-volley zone.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
Pool
SportThe pub and club cue game — and the three different rulebooks everybody assumes are one.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
Pottery
CraftForming clay into objects and firing them permanently hard — by wheel, by hand, or both.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
Prop making
CraftBuilding replica objects from foam, resin and 3D prints for stage, film or shelf — a craft defined by making things look like what they are not.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
Robotics
HobbyBuilding machines that sense and move — from a line follower on a kitchen table to a combat robot in an arena.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
Running
SportCovering ground on foot — the cheapest sport there is, and the parent of a very large family of disciplines.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
Scale modelling
HobbyCraftBuilding plastic kits properly — why assembly is the easy part, what the airbrush question really is, and how a model stops looking like a toy.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
Sewing
CraftJoining and shaping cloth by hand or machine — the root skill that sits under dressmaking, quilting, mending and most of the textile crafts.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
Shoemaking
CraftMaking footwear over a last, from pattern to welted or cemented sole — a craft where an amateur can still outdo anything they could buy.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
Songwriting
HobbyCraftWriting original songs — and the finishing problem that stops most people, which almost nothing written for beginners is about.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
Sourdough
CraftHobbyBread raised by a culture you keep alive — a timing and observation problem rather than a recipe one, which is why recipes keep failing you.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
Table tennis
SportBat and ball across a net on a table — the most accessible racket sport, and at club level a genuinely brutal one.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
Target shooting
SportPrecision shooting at paper and electronic targets — a club sport where the certificate and the club come before the rifle.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
Upholstery
CraftStripping a chair back to its frame and rebuilding it — webbing, springs, stuffing, fabric, and a great many tacks.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
Whittling
CraftShaping wood with a single knife — the cheapest, oldest and most portable making craft there is.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
Wood finishing
CraftOils, waxes, varnishes and shellac — the stage that decides how a finished piece is judged, and the one most often rushed.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
Yoga
SportHobbyA family of movement and breathing practices with a long history, now most commonly met as a class in a hall — and far more varied than that suggests.
Under £25 to startIndoorsModerate effort
Also matching, not yet written up
These meet the same criteria and are in the catalogue; we have not written them up in depth.
3x3 basketball
SportHalf-court basketball to a single hoop, with a shot clock, a twelve-minute game and Olympic status.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
78rpm record collecting
HobbyCollecting shellac discs and the equipment to play them, a separate world from vinyl in every respect.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Abstract strategy games
HobbyPerfect-information games with no theme — hex, hive, twixt and their relatives.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Accordion
HobbyA portable free-reed instrument central to folk traditions across Europe and beyond.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Acrobatic gymnastics
SportBalance and dynamic routines performed in pairs and groups, where partners are the apparatus.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Acroyoga
HobbySportPartner acrobatics with a base, a flyer and a spotter, practised in jams rather than performed.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Acrylic painting
HobbyCraftFast-drying, forgiving paint that works on almost any surface.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Adult ballet
HobbySportClassical ballet technique taught to adults, beginners included.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Adult gymnastics
SportRecreational gymnastics classes for adults, which most clubs now run and nobody advertises.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Adventure caching
HobbyLocation-based puzzle trails completed on foot, a newer branch of geocaching.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Advertising tin collecting
HobbyCollecting printed tins, which are commercial art history in three dimensions.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Aerial hoop
SportCircus performance on a suspended steel ring, taught in classes and genuinely strenuous.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Aerial silks
SportClimbing, wrapping and dropping on suspended fabric. Upper-body strength is the barrier.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Aikido
SportRedirecting an attacker’s movement into throws and joint locks, non-competitively.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Air hockey
HobbySportA fast table sport with a competitive circuit almost nobody outside it knows about.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Air quality monitoring
HobbyRunning a low-cost particulate sensor and contributing to open networks of local air data.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Air-dry clay modelling
CraftModelling with clay that hardens in the air, so no kiln is needed at all.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Aircraft spotting
HobbyRecording aircraft by registration and type, with a fieldcraft and a literature of its own.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Alpaca keeping
HobbyKeeping alpacas for fleece, walking or grazing, which suits small acreages.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur aircraft building
HobbyCraftBuilding a light aircraft from plans or a kit under a national association’s inspection scheme.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur cartography
HobbyCraftMaking maps — surveyed, drawn or digital — of real or imagined places.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur conducting
HobbyDirecting a choir or orchestra, which is score study and people management.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur cryptography
HobbyLearning ciphers and codebreaking as a puzzle and historical discipline.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur geology
HobbyReading landscape and rock, and understanding how a place was made.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur microscopy
HobbyExamining pond life, sections and minerals, with a society tradition going back centuries.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur orchestra
HobbyPlaying in a non-professional symphony or string orchestra, which is where most adult instrumentalists actually play.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur radio
HobbyLicensed two-way radio — contacts, contests, antennas and propagation.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur satellite operating
HobbyWorking orbiting amateur radio satellites with a handheld and a directional aerial.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur seismology
HobbyRunning a home seismometer and identifying distant earthquakes from the traces it records.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amateur sumo
SportSumo practised as an amateur weight-class sport, with a small but real international circuit.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Amigurumi
CraftCrocheting small stuffed creatures worked in tight continuous spirals.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ancient Greek
HobbyLearning classical Greek to read the literature in the original.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Animal tracking
HobbyReading tracks, scat and field signs to work out what passed and when.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ant keeping
HobbyKeeping ant colonies in formicaria and watching a superorganism develop over years.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Antenna building
HobbyCraftDesigning and building aerials from wire and tube, the cheapest way to improve any radio station.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Antique bottle collecting
HobbyCollecting glass and stoneware bottles by maker, closure and colour, often dug rather than bought.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Antique clock collecting
HobbyCollecting longcase, bracket and carriage clocks, where movement, case and dial each date separately.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Antique sampler collecting
HobbyCollecting worked needlework samplers, most of them signed and dated by the girl who stitched them.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Antique silver collecting
HobbyCollecting hallmarked silver, where the marks give maker, town and year with unusual precision.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Antique tool collecting
HobbyCollecting pre-industrial and early machine-age hand tools, usually to use rather than display.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Appliqué
CraftApplying shaped fabric onto a ground cloth by hand or machine, the counterpart to piecing.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Aquaponics
HobbyRunning a fish tank and a growing bed as one nitrogen cycle.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Aquascaping
HobbyCraftDesigning planted underwater landscapes in an aquarium, competitively.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Arcade cabinet restoration
HobbyCraftRestoring arcade machines, part cabinetry part vintage electronics.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Archive transcription
HobbyTranscribing handwritten records for archives and research projects, from home, at your own pace.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Archive volunteering
HobbyCataloguing, repackaging and indexing records in a local record office.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Argentine tango
HobbyImprovised partner dance with a milonga culture and an unusually steep first year.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Arm wrestling
SportA table sport of hand control and specific tendon strength, with a real club and league structure.
Under £25 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Armour making
CraftRaising and dishing plate armour for reenactment and historical combat, from patterns taken off the body.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Arrow making
CraftSportBuilding arrows to a spine and length, which is a precision craft archery clubs still teach.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Art glass collecting
HobbyCollecting decorative glass by factory and designer — Whitefriars, Murano, Scandinavian mid-century.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Artistic cycling
SportGymnastic routines performed on a fixed-gear indoor bicycle, judged like floor gymnastics.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Artistic swimming
SportChoreographed routines in water, judged on execution and difficulty, with adult and masters entry routes.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Artists’ books
CraftHobbyMaking books as artworks — structure, sequence and material rather than text on pages.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Audio drama production
HobbyCraftWriting, recording and editing dramatic audio, where sound design carries what a picture would.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Autograph collecting
HobbyCollecting signatures and signed material, where authentication is most of the skill.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Autoharp
HobbyA chorded zither where bars damp everything but the wanted notes, playable within an hour.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Automata making
CraftBuilding mechanical figures driven by cams and linkages, half toy half sculpture.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Axe throwing
SportThrowing hatchets at a wooden target, usually in a supervised venue.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bachata
HobbyA Dominican partner dance built on a four-step with a hip lift, and the usual second dance after salsa.
Under £25 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Backgammon
HobbyA race game of dice and doubling, where equity matters more than luck.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Backstrap weaving
CraftWeaving on a loom tensioned by the weaver’s own body, which costs almost nothing and stores flat.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Badminton
SportThe fastest racket sport, played indoors with a shuttlecock.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bag making
CraftSewing bags in cloth or leather, where interfacing, hardware and structure carry the design.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bagpipes
HobbyHighland and small pipes, learned on a practice chanter for a year before the bag.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Baking
HobbyCraftCakes, biscuits and pastry, where accuracy matters more than improvisation.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ballroom dancing
HobbySportPartner dancing through a graded syllabus of standard and Latin styles.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Banjo
HobbyFive-string clawhammer or bluegrass playing, with a strong session culture.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Banknote collecting
HobbyCollecting paper money for its design, printing, history and security features.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bantam keeping
HobbyKeeping the small breeds, which suit gardens too small for large fowl.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bar billiards
HobbyA timed pub table game with holes and skittles, played in leagues across southern England.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Barbershop singing
HobbyUnaccompanied four-part close harmony, sung in choruses and quartets with a strong contest circuit.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bartitsu
SportThe reconstructed Victorian self-defence system of cane, boxing and jujutsu, revived from its own manuals.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Basketball
SportFive a side on a hard court, or three-on-three on any playground.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bass guitar
HobbyThe instrument bands are always short of, and the fastest way into one.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bassoon
HobbyThe bass double reed, with awkward fingering, its own reed craft and a permanent shortage of players.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Batik
CraftResist dyeing with hot wax applied by tjanting or stamp, then removed between colours.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Beach cleaning
HobbyOrganised and solo litter picking on the coast, with recording that feeds research.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Beachcombing
HobbyWalking the tideline for sea glass, shells, driftwood and whatever else lands.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Beadwork
CraftStitching tiny beads into patterned fabric, jewellery and ornaments.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Beatboxing
HobbyPercussion made entirely with the mouth, needing no equipment and no space at all.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Befriending volunteering
HobbyRegular visiting or telephone companionship arranged through a charity, matched and supervised.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Belly dance
HobbyMiddle Eastern solo dance built on isolations of hip, ribcage and shoulder rather than travel.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Benchrest shooting
SportPrecision rifle shooting from a supported bench, where the sport is ammunition and equipment consistency.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bharatanatyam
HobbyA South Indian classical dance of fixed positions, rhythmic footwork and codified hand gesture.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bicycle frame building
CraftBrazing or welding bicycle frames from tubing, to your own geometry.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bicycle restoration
HobbyCraftBringing vintage and classic bicycles back to riding condition, and deciding how much patina to keep.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bicycle wheel building
CraftHobbyLacing and tensioning wheels by hand, which is the one bicycle skill that stays hard.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Big band
HobbySectional jazz ensemble playing from charts, with written parts and improvised solos over them.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bike polo
SportThree-a-side polo on bikes in a hard court, with home-made mallets and an urban club culture.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bike trials
SportRiding a bike over obstacles without dabbing, judged on balance rather than speed.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bioactive vivarium keeping
HobbyBuilding self-cleaning enclosures with live plants and a clean-up crew of invertebrates.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bitters and infusions
CraftHobbyMacerating botanicals in spirit to make cocktail bitters and aperitifs, a slow patient hobby.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Blacksmithing
CraftHeating steel in a forge and shaping it on an anvil with a hammer.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Blackwork embroidery
CraftCounted geometric embroidery in a single colour, from Tudor dress.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Blind football
SportFive-a-side football with a ball containing bearings, played blindfolded with a sighted guide.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Blokarting
SportSailing a small three-wheeled land yacht on beaches and airfields.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
BMX
SportRacing and freestyle on small-wheeled bikes, at tracks and skateparks.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
BMX freestyle
SportTricks on a small strong bike, in a park, on street or on a ramp.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Board game collecting
HobbyCollecting published games as objects — editions, printings and out-of-print runs rather than plays.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Board game design
HobbyCraftDesigning, prototyping and testing your own tabletop games.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bobbin lace
CraftTwisting and crossing dozens of threads on a pillow to build lace by hand.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Boccia
SportA precision target ball sport designed for athletes with high support needs, played to Paralympic level.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bodhrán
HobbyThe Irish frame drum, played with a tipper and central to session music.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bokashi composting
HobbyFermenting food waste in a sealed bucket with inoculated bran before burying it.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bone antler and horn carving
CraftCarving bone, antler and horn, materials that predate every other craft material here.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Book clubs
HobbyReading the same book as other people and then arguing about it.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Book collecting
HobbyCollecting books as objects — first editions, bindings, printings and provenance.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Book repair
CraftRepairing damaged books sympathetically, which is a conservation problem rather than a making one.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bookbinding
CraftFolding, sewing and casing paper into books that open properly and last.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bookplate collecting
HobbyCollecting ex libris bookplates as small printed artworks with a traceable ownership history.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Boro mending
CraftJapanese layered patch-and-stitch repair, valued for the record of its repairs.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bothying
HobbyWalking to and staying in unlocked mountain shelters, maintained by volunteers and run on an etiquette.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bowl turning
CraftTurning bowls and hollow forms on a lathe, distinct from spindle work in tools and risk.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bowyery
CraftMaking wooden bows from a stave, where reading the grain decides whether it survives tillering.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Boxing
SportPunching only, in weight classes, with an enormous fitness base underneath.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Boxing training
SportBag, pad and footwork training without sparring — the fitness half of the sport.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bra making
CraftSewing fitted bras from stretch and stable fabrics, where fit is solved before construction starts.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Brass banding
HobbyThe British brass band tradition: graded contests, weekly rehearsals and lent instruments.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Brazilian jiu-jitsu
SportGround grappling and submissions, with full-resistance sparring from early on.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bread baking
HobbyCraftBaking real bread, including sourdough — a craft of time and temperature.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Breakdancing
SportHobbyToprock, footwork, power moves and freezes, battled one against one and now an Olympic sport.
Under £25 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Breathwork
HobbyStructured breathing practices taught in classes and used alongside cold exposure.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Breweriana collecting
HobbyCollecting brewery advertising, pump clips, bottles and beer mats, often around one defunct brewery.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
British Sign Language
HobbyLearning BSL, a full language with its own grammar rather than signed English.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Broad-edge calligraphy
CraftWriting formal letterforms with a chisel-edged pen, from Roman capitals to blackletter.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bronze casting
CraftCasting sculpture in bronze, usually through a foundry but sometimes at home scale.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bullet journalling
HobbyA structured notebook system for tasks, logs and plans, kept by hand.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Burlesque
HobbyTheatrical variety performance built around character, costume and comic timing.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bus and coach enthusiasm
HobbyRecording, photographing and preserving buses, with a substantial preservation movement behind it.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bus and coach restoration
HobbyRestoring and running preserved buses, usually through a group rather than alone.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bushcraft
HobbyLiving skills for the outdoors — fire, shelter, water, cordage, tools.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Butter and yoghurt making
CraftCulturing and churning dairy at home — the simplest end of dairy craft.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Button collecting
HobbyCollecting buttons for material, manufacture and design history.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
CAD modelling
HobbyDesigning parts in three dimensions for printing, machining or simply for the pleasure of it.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cage bird showing
HobbyBreeding and exhibiting budgerigars, canaries and finches to breed standards.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cajón
HobbyA box drum sat on and played with the hands, the standard percussion for acoustic and flamenco settings.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cake decorating
CraftFinishing cakes with icing, sugarcraft and modelling — a craft in its own right.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Calligraphy
HobbyCraftWriting letterforms beautifully and deliberately with a broad or pointed nib.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Camera repair
CraftHobbyServicing mechanical cameras — shutters, light seals, rangefinders — and the tools that make it possible.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Canal boat painting
CraftRoses-and-castles folk decoration from the British canal tradition, on ware and boats.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Canary breeding
HobbyBreeding canaries for type, colour or song, each a separate tradition.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Canasta
HobbyA rummy-family card game for partnerships, with melds, wild cards and a long social club tradition.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Candle making
CraftMelting, scenting and pouring wax into moulds and containers.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Canoe polo
SportFive-a-side ball game played in kayaks, with contact.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Capoeira
SportBrazilian art blending acrobatic movement, music and play in a roda.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Capture the flag security puzzles
HobbySolving deliberately vulnerable systems as timed puzzles, on platforms built for the purpose.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Car audio installation
HobbyCraftDesigning and fitting vehicle sound systems, where the cabin is the hardest part of the problem.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Card making
CraftMaking greetings cards by hand with stamps, dies and layered paper.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cargo cycling
HobbyUsing a cargo bike for loads, children and shopping, as a hobby and a car replacement.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Carnivorous plant growing
HobbyGrowing sundews, pitchers and flytraps, which need rainwater, poor soil and a winter rest.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Carom billiards
SportPocketless billiards scored by caroming off both object balls, the dominant cue sport in continental Europe.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Carrom
HobbySportA flicking board game of South Asian origin, played on a powdered board with pockets at the corners.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cartonnage
CraftMaking fabric-covered card boxes and cases, cut and assembled to a drawn plan.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cartooning & comics
HobbyCraftTelling stories in drawn panels, from single-gag cartoons to full graphic novels.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Carved sign making
CraftCutting and gilding lettered signs in wood, a lettering craft distinct from painting one.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cassette collecting
HobbyCollecting tapes and the machines that play them, revived by a small but real scene.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cat showing
HobbyBreeding and exhibiting pedigree cats to standard at judged shows.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cave diving
SportDiving flooded cave systems on guideline, with no direct route to the surface at any point.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cave photography
HobbyPhotographing underground, where every light source must be carried and placed.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cave surveying
HobbyMeasuring and drawing cave passage to a grade standard, which is how new systems get recorded at all.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Caving
SportHobbyExploring cave systems underground, often wet, tight and dark.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cavy showing
HobbyBreeding and exhibiting guinea pigs to standard — a distinct fancy from rabbits.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ceilidh dancing
HobbyCalled social dancing needing no partner and no prior knowledge. Turn up and be told.
Under £25 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Celestial navigation
HobbyFixing position by sextant sight and almanac, still taught as the backup when electronics fail.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cello
HobbyThe bass voice of the string family, with a large amateur orchestra and chamber tradition.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ceramic restoration
CraftBonding, filling and retouching broken ceramics reversibly, which is the opposite of kintsugi’s intent.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ceramic transfer printing
CraftApplying printed decals to glazed ware and refiring, which brings graphics into pottery.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chainmaille
CraftLinking thousands of metal rings into armour, jewellery and sculpture.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chair caning
CraftReseating chairs in cane, rush or seagrass, a repair craft with a steady supply of work.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chair making
CraftThe hardest thing in furniture: angles in three planes and joints that carry a person.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chamber music
HobbySmall-ensemble playing with one player to a part, rehearsed without a conductor.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Change ringing
HobbyRinging tower bells in mathematical sequences, as a team, from memory.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Charity shop volunteering
HobbySorting, pricing and selling donated stock, which teaches more about objects than any course.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chasing and repoussé
CraftRaising relief in sheet metal by working it from both sides with punches.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cheerleading
SportCompetitive stunting, tumbling and pyramids performed to music, now a sport rather than a sideline.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cheese making
CraftHobbyMaking cheese at home, from a same-day soft cheese to an aged hard one.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chess
HobbyThe classical two-player strategy game, playable in a park or a tournament.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chess boxing
SportAlternating rounds of speed chess and boxing, won by checkmate, knockout or the clock.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chess problems
HobbyComposing and solving constructed positions, a discipline distinct from playing games.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chess variants
HobbyPlaying the family of games around chess — Chess960, bughouse, three-check and others.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chicken keeping
HobbyKeeping hens in a garden for eggs, and everything that comes with them.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chip carving
CraftCutting precise geometric chips out of flat wood with one or two knives.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chiptune
HobbyCraftComposing music with the sound chips of vintage computers and consoles.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Choral singing
HobbySinging in a choir, in parts, to a conductor.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Church crawling
HobbyVisiting and recording parish churches for their architecture, fittings and monuments.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Church recording
HobbySystematically recording church fittings, monuments and glass for national archives.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cigarette card collecting
HobbyCollecting the illustrated card sets issued with tobacco from the 1880s to the 1940s.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Circuit bending
CraftRewiring toys and cheap electronics to make instruments nobody designed.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Circus skills
HobbySportAerial hoop, silks, trapeze, acro and hand balancing, taught in classes.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Citizen river monitoring
HobbyTesting and recording water quality on a local river to a shared protocol.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Citizen science
HobbyContributing structured observations to real research projects.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Clamshell box making
CraftBuilding fitted protective boxes for books and objects, measured from the object rather than to a plan.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Clarinet
HobbyA woodwind with a wide amateur repertoire from classical to klezmer, and a reed to manage.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Classic car restoration
HobbyBringing an old car back to running, usable or concours condition.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Classical guitar
HobbyNylon-string guitar played with the fingers from notation, a distinct tradition with its own repertoire.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Classical singing
HobbyTrained solo voice — lieder, oratorio and opera — built on breath support and resonance over years.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Clay pigeon shooting
SportBreaking flying clay targets with a shotgun across a course of stands.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Clay pipe collecting
HobbyCollecting the fragments of clay tobacco pipes, datable to within a few decades.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Clay sculpture
CraftModelling figures and forms in clay, fired or cast rather than thrown.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Clock repair
HobbyCraftDismantling, cleaning and regulating mechanical clocks and watches.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Clockmaking
CraftMaking clock movements and cases from scratch, distinct from repairing existing ones.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Clog dancing
HobbyPercussive step dance in wooden-soled shoes, with distinct northern English traditions.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Clog making
CraftCarving alder soles and fitting leather uppers, with a knife set specific to the trade.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Close-up magic
HobbySleight of hand performed at arm’s length, where the method must survive scrutiny.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Clowning
HobbyPhysical comedy performance as a trained discipline, taught through play and status work.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Coarse fishing
HobbySportFishing for non-game freshwater species on lakes, canals and rivers.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Coastal navigation
HobbyChartwork, tidal heights and streams, and pilotage in sight of land — a certificated skill in its own right.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cocktail making
HobbyCraftMixing drinks properly — balance, dilution, ice and technique.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Coffee roasting
CraftHobbyRoasting green beans at home, where a thirty-second difference changes the cup completely.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Coil building
CraftBuilding pots from rolled ropes of clay, which scales to sizes a wheel cannot reach.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Coin collecting
HobbyCollecting coins by period, mint, metal or error, and learning to grade them.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Coin research
HobbyStudying coinage as economic and political evidence rather than as a collection.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Collage
HobbyCraftBuilding images from cut and torn paper, photographs and found material.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Collagraph
CraftPrinting from a plate built up with glued materials, which prints texture as much as line.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Colourwork knitting
CraftStranded and intarsia knitting in several colours at once, where tension across the float is everything.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Combat archery
SportTeam archery with foam-tipped arrows, run as a venue-booked group activity.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Combat robotics
HobbySportDesigning and fighting radio-controlled machines to weight classes, from ant weight upwards.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Comic book collecting
HobbyCollecting comics by run, key issue, variant or grade.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Commonplace books
HobbyKeeping a book of gathered quotations, notes and observations over years.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Community choir
HobbyNon-auditioned group singing, which is the lowest-barrier social hobby that exists.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Community first responding
HobbyVolunteering to attend ambulance calls near home in the minutes before a crew arrives.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Community radio
HobbyProducing and presenting on a licensed local station, run almost entirely by volunteers.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Competitive diving
SportSpringboard and platform diving, judged on entry and execution, learned from dry land upwards.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Competitive jigsaw
HobbySpeed jigsaw assembly, now with national and world championships.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Competitive programming
HobbySolving algorithmic problems against a clock, individually or in teams, on judged platforms.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Concert band
HobbyWind band playing — the woodwind and brass equivalent of the amateur orchestra, and usually more welcoming.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Concertina
HobbyA small free-reed instrument central to English and Irish traditional music, in several incompatible systems.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Constructed languages
HobbyInventing languages with consistent grammar and phonology, for worlds or for their own sake.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Contact juggling
HobbyRolling and manipulating a ball across the hands and body without throwing it.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Contemporary a cappella
HobbyArranged unaccompanied group singing of popular repertoire, with vocal percussion and close harmony.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Contemporary dance
HobbyModern technique and improvisation, taught in open classes.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Contra dance
HobbyLong-set American folk dancing, called as you go, so no experience is needed to join a line.
Under £25 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Contract bridge
HobbyPartnership trick-taking with bidding as a language of its own.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Coopering
CraftMaking barrels from shaped staves held only by hoops and their own geometry.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Copper foil glasswork
CraftBuilding glass panels with copper tape and solder rather than lead came — the smaller-scale method.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Coppersmithing
CraftRaising vessels from copper sheet by hammering, with annealing between each stage.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Corkscrew collecting
HobbyCollecting patent corkscrews, a field of several thousand recorded mechanisms and its own societies.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cornhole
HobbySportPitching bean bags at a raised board with a hole, a American lawn game with a serious league scene.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cornish
HobbyLearning Cornish, a revived Brittonic language with a small, organised and welcoming learner base.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Correspondence chess
HobbyChess played over days per move, where preparation matters more than clock nerve.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cosplay
CraftHobbyBuilding and wearing costumes of characters, combining sewing, foam and prop work.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Costume jewellery collecting
HobbyCollecting non-precious jewellery by maker and period, where signatures and construction date a piece.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Creative writing
HobbyCraftWriting fiction and narrative non-fiction, and learning to revise it.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cribbage
HobbyA counting card game played on a pegged board, fast once the counting sticks.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Crokinole
HobbyA dexterity board game of flicked discs on a circular board, with a competitive circuit.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cross stitch
CraftCounted embroidery worked in X-shaped stitches on evenweave fabric from a charted design.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Crossbow target shooting
SportTarget shooting with a crossbow at a club, under its own governing rules.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
CrossFit
SportConstantly varied high-intensity training in a coached class.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Crosswords
HobbySolving word grids, from quick puzzles to full cryptics.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cryptic crosswords
HobbyCrosswords where every clue is a small piece of coded wordplay.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Crystal growing
HobbyGrowing crystals from solution, which is chemistry that produces something to keep.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Custom motorcycle building
HobbyCraftRebuilding a motorcycle to a chosen style — cafe racer, scrambler, bobber — rather than to original spec.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Cyr wheel
HobbySportA single large ring the performer rides and spins inside, learned at circus schools.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Damascening
CraftInlaying gold or silver wire into a keyed steel ground, used on arms, ironwork and jewellery.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Darkroom printing
CraftPrinting photographs by hand under an enlarger, in chemistry.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Darts
SportThree darts, a board, and more arithmetic than anyone expects.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Deck-building games
HobbyBoard games where constructing your engine during play is the game.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Decorative paint finishes
CraftBroken-colour techniques — dragging, stippling, colourwashing — used to age or enrich a surface.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Decorative ropework
CraftTraditional knot work — mats, bell ropes, Turk’s heads — a sailor’s craft that survives ashore.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Decoupage
CraftLayering cut paper onto objects and varnishing until the joins disappear.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Demoscene
HobbyWriting audiovisual programs under severe size limits, judged at parties — a computer art form.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Diabolo
HobbyA Chinese yo-yo spun and thrown on a string between two handsticks, with a deep trick tree.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Dialect recording
HobbyRecording and transcribing regional speech, vocabulary and pronunciation before the speakers are gone.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Diatom arranging
CraftArranging microscopic algae into patterns on slides, a Victorian micro-craft.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Die-cast model collecting
HobbyCollecting die-cast vehicles by maker, scale and variation.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Digital art
HobbyCraftDrawing and painting on a tablet or computer with pressure-sensitive tools.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Digital mapping
HobbyContributing to open map data by surveying and editing the places you already know.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Digital preservation
HobbyRescuing data from obsolete media and formats, and keeping it readable — floppies, tapes, dead formats.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Diorama building
CraftHobbyBuilding a scene around a model — groundwork, structures, figures and light.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Djembe and hand drumming
HobbyWest African hand drums played in circles and community groups, learned by ear and by imitation.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
DJing
HobbySelecting and mixing records or files for a room, on decks or controller.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Dodgeball
SportThrowing, dodging and catching foam balls, played seriously in leagues.
Under £25 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Dog showing
HobbyExhibiting dogs against a breed standard, with its own handling craft and circuit.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Doll collecting
HobbyCollecting dolls by maker, material and period, from bisque heads to twentieth-century fashion dolls.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Dollhouse miniatures
CraftHobbyMaking tiny furniture, food and fittings at 1:12 and smaller.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Domino toppling
HobbyBuilding and filming large chain-reaction constructions, a patience and engineering hobby with a big online scene.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Dominoes
HobbyTile games from simple blocking to fives-and-threes scoring.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Dorset button making
CraftMaking thread-wound buttons over rings, a revived Dorset cottage industry.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Double bass
HobbyThe largest orchestral string instrument, in demand in orchestras, jazz groups and folk bands alike.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Doubles squash
SportSquash played four to a court, on a wider court where positioning replaces retrieving.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Drag performance
HobbyCraftPerforming in drag, combining costume, makeup, lip sync and stagecraft.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Draughts
HobbyA short-rules capture game with far more depth than its reputation.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Drawing
HobbyCraftMaking images with pencil, charcoal or ink — the root skill under most visual art.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Drone photography
HobbyAerial stills and video, with a registration and flight-restriction regime attached.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Drums
HobbyPlaying a kit — the instrument with the loudest practice problem.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Dry slope skiing
SportSkiing on brush matting, which is how most British skiers actually learn.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Dry tooling
SportClimbing rock with ice axes and crampons, competed indoors and used to train for winter routes.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Drypoint
CraftScratching directly into a plate and printing the burr, the simplest intaglio method to start.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Early music performance
HobbyPlaying pre-classical repertoire on period instruments and at period pitch.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Egg tempera painting
CraftPainting with pigment bound in egg yolk, the pre-oil European technique.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Electric vehicle conversion
HobbyCraftReplacing a combustion drivetrain with motor and battery, and the paperwork that legalises the result.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Electronics
HobbyCraftDesigning, building and repairing circuits, from a first LED to real instruments.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Electronics repair
HobbyCraftFixing consumer electronics rather than replacing them, starting with a soldering iron.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Electroplating
CraftDepositing metal onto a surface by electrolysis, used in restoration and jewellery finishing.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Enamel sign collecting
HobbyCollecting vitreous enamel advertising signs, heavy and increasingly valuable.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Enamelling
CraftFusing powdered glass onto metal in a kiln or with a torch for permanent colour.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Encaustic painting
CraftPainting with heated pigmented wax, worked and fused with heat.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
English billiards
SportThree balls, cannons, pots and in-offs on a full-size table — the game snooker displaced.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
English country dance
HobbyFigured set dancing from Playford onwards, walked to live music and called from the front.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
English paper piecing
CraftHand piecing patchwork over paper templates, which makes accurate hexagons possible on a lap.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Épée fencing
SportWhole-body target, no right of way, and the fencing weapon closest to a duel in logic.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ephemera collecting
HobbyCollecting printed matter never meant to survive — tickets, handbills, packaging, timetables.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Equestrian vaulting
SportGymnastics performed on a cantering horse on the lunge, judged as a team or individual routine.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Erhu
HobbyA two-string Chinese fiddle with no fingerboard, bowed between the strings.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Escape room design
HobbyCraftDesigning puzzle rooms and hunts, a hobby that has grown its own amateur scene.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Escape rooms
HobbySolving a themed room of puzzles against a clock, in a small team.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Escapology
HobbyPerformed escapes from restraints and containers, built on rehearsed method and hard safety limits.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Esperanto
HobbyLearning a constructed international language with a real speaker community.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Esports
HobbySportCompetitive video gaming in teams and leagues, trained for like a sport.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Etching & intaglio
CraftBiting lines into a metal plate with acid and printing them under a press.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Etymology
HobbyTracing word histories and sound changes, using dictionaries and corpora as primary tools.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Eurogames
HobbyStrategy board games built around resource management and low luck rather than direct conflict.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Family photo archiving
HobbyScanning, dating and cataloguing inherited photographs so they survive and stay identifiable.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fan fiction writing
HobbyCraftWriting fiction in somebody else’s world, with an enormous online culture.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fancy pigeon keeping
HobbyKeeping and showing ornamental pigeon breeds, distinct from racing them.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fancy rat keeping
HobbyKeeping and sometimes exhibiting fancy rats, which are kept for temperament as much as looks.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Felting
CraftMatting wool fibres into fabric by needle or by water and friction. Almost no equipment.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fencing
SportSword sport in three weapons, decided by electrical scoring.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fermentation
HobbyCraftKimchi, sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha — preserving with live cultures.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fermenting
CraftMaking kraut, kimchi, kefir and kombucha with controlled microbial cultures.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ferret keeping
HobbyKeeping working or pet ferrets, with their own housing and handling requirements.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Field archery
SportShooting a course of targets at unmarked distances through woodland.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Field recording
HobbyCraftRecording places and soundscapes, which teaches you to hear where you already live.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Field target shooting
SportAir rifle shooting at knockdown metal targets over a woodland course, at unmarked ranges.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Figure skating
SportJumps, spins and edge work, choreographed and judged.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Filigree
CraftBuilding jewellery from twisted and flattened fine wire soldered into open patterns.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Filipino stick fighting
SportStick and blade-based martial arts from the Philippines, drilled in flowing partner patterns.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Film and TV memorabilia collecting
HobbyCollecting props, scripts and production material, a field where provenance is the entire subject.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Film poster collecting
HobbyCollecting original release posters, and learning to spot reprints.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Film scoring
HobbyWriting music to picture against timecode, where the cut rather than the phrase sets the structure.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fingerstyle guitar
HobbyPlaying bass, melody and accompaniment together on one steel-string guitar, arranged rather than strummed.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Finswimming
SportRacing in a monofin or bifins, on the surface or below it, at very high speeds.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fire performance
SportHobbySpinning and manipulating burning props, taught with strict safety protocol.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
First aid volunteering
HobbyProviding event and community first aid through a voluntary aid society, trained and re-assessed annually.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Five-a-side football
SportShort-sided football on a small pitch, usually one booked hour a week.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Flag study
HobbyStudying and collecting flags, their design rules and their history.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Flamenco
HobbySpanish dance, guitar and song as a single tradition, learned through palos and compás.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Flight simulation
HobbyFlying realistically simulated aircraft, with real procedures and charts.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Flint knapping
CraftHobbyShaping stone tools by controlled fracture, an experimental archaeology craft with real hazards.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Floor loom weaving
CraftWeaving cloth on a multi-shaft loom, where the threading is the design.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Floorball
SportIndoor stick hockey with light sticks and a perforated ball, huge in the Nordics and cheap to start.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Flute
HobbyA transverse woodwind that is portable, quiet to practise and unusually well supplied with local groups.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fly tying
CraftHobbyTying artificial flies at the vice, a craft with a deep tradition that outlasts any one fishing trip.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Flyball
SportRelay racing for dog teams over hurdles to a ball box.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Foil fencing
SportThe fencing weapon with right of way and a torso target, and the one most beginners start on.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Foley and sound design
HobbyCraftMaking sound effects physically, for film, games and radio drama.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Folk sessions
HobbyPlaying traditional tunes by ear in a pub circle, with etiquette nobody writes down.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Footgolf
SportGolf played by kicking a football into oversized holes, on courses that already exist.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fore-edge painting
CraftPainting a scene on the fanned page edges of a book so it vanishes when the book is closed.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Forest bathing
HobbySpending unhurried, attentive time among trees, deliberately and slowly.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Forge building
CraftBuilding a solid-fuel or gas forge and the shop around it, before any smithing happens.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fossil preparation
HobbyCraftCleaning and stabilising fossils out of their matrix, a patient specialist craft.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fountain pen collecting
HobbyCollecting, restoring and using fountain pens, nibs and inks.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fountain pen restoration
CraftHobbyRepairing vintage pens — sac replacement, nib adjustment and filling systems — rather than collecting them.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
FPGA projects
HobbyDescribing digital hardware in code and running it on a reconfigurable chip, rather than programming a processor.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Frame restoration
CraftRepairing gilded and composition picture frames, which is modelling, gesso and gold leaf together.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Free-form dance
HobbyUnchoreographed movement practice in a facilitated group, with no steps to learn.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
French
HobbyLearning French, the language with the deepest supply of British classes, exchanges and material.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
French horn
HobbyThe orchestral horn, notorious for its partials and unusually rewarding in an ensemble.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
French polishing
CraftBuilding a shellac finish with a rubber over many sessions — the traditional furniture surface.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Frontenis
SportTwo players striking a ball against a front wall with strung rackets, from the Basque court tradition.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Furniture making
CraftDesigning and building furniture, from flat-pack alternatives to fine cabinetmaking.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Furniture restoration
CraftRepairing and refinishing furniture without erasing its history, which is the whole argument in the craft.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Futsal
SportIndoor five-a-side on a hard court with a low-bounce ball and real rules.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Gamelan
HobbyIndonesian percussion orchestra played as a group, usually on an instrument set owned by the group.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Garden pond keeping
HobbyBuilding and maintaining an outdoor pond, for wildlife or for fish.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Genealogy
HobbyResearching your own family history from records, and proving each link.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Generative art
CraftHobbyMaking images from code and rules rather than by hand, with plotters and screens as output.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Generative music
HobbyBuilding systems that compose rather than composing directly, in patchers, code or hardware.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Genetic genealogy
HobbyUsing DNA test matches alongside documents to break through gaps in a family tree.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Geocache hiding
HobbyDesigning, placing and maintaining caches rather than only finding them.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Geoguessing
HobbyIdentifying where a street-level photograph was taken from vegetation, kerbs, bollards and sun angle.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
German
HobbyLearning German, where the case system is the early wall and the compounding is the late pleasure.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Gilding
CraftApplying gold leaf to wood, plaster and glass, a trade skill kept alive by hobbyists.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Glass casting
CraftKiln-casting glass into refractory moulds taken from a wax original, over long controlled schedules.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Glass engraving
CraftCutting decoration into glass with a rotating burr or by hand with a diamond point.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Glass etching
CraftCutting designs into glass by sandblasting or acid, for panels and vessels.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Glass fusing
CraftMelting layered glass together in a kiln into dishes, panels and jewellery.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Glassblowing
CraftShaping molten glass on a blowpipe, almost always learned and practised at a shared hot shop.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Glaze chemistry
CraftHobbyFormulating and testing your own glazes rather than buying them ready-mixed.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Glima
SportIcelandic folk wrestling fought upright on a fixed belt grip, with throws rather than groundwork.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Globe collecting
HobbyCollecting terrestrial and celestial globes, datable by the borders and the places not yet on them.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Go
HobbyThe ancient territory game with the simplest rules and the deepest play.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Goalball
SportA Paralympic team sport played blindfolded with a bell ball, where everybody plays blind.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Gold tooling
CraftImpressing heated brass tools through gold leaf into leather bindings, one impression at a time.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Goldwork embroidery
CraftEmbroidery with metal threads laid and couched onto the surface.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Gouache painting
HobbyCraftOpaque water-based paint prized for flat colour, illustration and travel sketching.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Gramophone collecting
HobbyCollecting acoustic gramophones and phonographs, played with steel needles and no electricity at all.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Granulation
CraftFusing tiny metal spheres onto a surface without solder, an ancient goldsmithing art.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Gravel cycling
SportRiding unsurfaced lanes and tracks on a drop-bar bike built for them.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Great books reading
HobbyWorking through a long sequence of canonical texts, usually with a group and a schedule.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Green lane and byway walking
HobbyWalking the unsurfaced rights of way that predate the road network, with map and access knowledge.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Green laning
HobbyDriving legal unsurfaced rights of way, where route research and access etiquette are the whole hobby.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Grip sport
SportCompetitive gripping — grippers, pinch, thick bar and holds — with standardised implements and records.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Guitar
HobbyPlaying acoustic or electric guitar, by ear, by tab or by notation.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Guitar pedal building
CraftHobbyBuilding effects pedals from kits and stripboard, the most common route into practical electronics.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Guzheng
HobbyA large Chinese zither played with picks, where the left hand bends pitch behind the bridges.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Gyotaku
CraftJapanese fish printing, taking impressions directly from the specimen.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Haiku writing
HobbyWriting to the short Japanese forms, with a seasonal reference and a cut rather than a syllable count.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hammered dulcimer
HobbyA trapezoidal box of doubled strings struck with light beaters, laid out by fifths rather than by scale.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hand balancing
SportHobbyHandstand training as a discipline in itself — line, wrist conditioning and slow strength.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hand lettering
HobbyCraftDrawing letters as artwork rather than writing them — signs, cards and posters.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hand papermaking
CraftMaking sheets by hand from pulp, including from recycled and plant fibre.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hand spinning
CraftHobbyDrawing raw fibre into yarn on a spindle or a spinning wheel.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hand tool restoration
CraftHobbyBringing old planes, chisels and saws back into use, which is cheaper than buying new.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hand tool woodworking
CraftWorking entirely with planes, saws and chisels, without machines.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hand-building
CraftMaking pottery with pinch, coil and slab techniques, no wheel required.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Handbell ringing
HobbyTuned handbells rung in teams, from tune ringing to change ringing on the table.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Handbuilt pottery
CraftMaking pots by pinch, coil and slab without a wheel, which is most of ceramic history.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Handpan
HobbyA tuned steel percussion instrument played with the hands, forgiving to start and hard to master.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hapkido
SportA Korean art combining strikes, joint locks and throws, closer to jujutsu than to taekwondo.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hardbat table tennis
SportTable tennis with pimpled rubber and no sponge, producing longer rallies and a different game entirely.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Harmonica
HobbyA pocket instrument that plays a whole key with almost no theory needed.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Harpsichord
HobbyA plucked keyboard with no dynamics, where articulation and timing do all the expressive work.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Heir hunting research
HobbyReconstructing family trees to trace living relatives, a research discipline.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Heraldry
HobbyThe study and design of armorial bearings, with a formal grammar and a live regulatory system.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Heritage railway volunteering
HobbyRestoring and running preserved railways as a volunteer.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hi-fi restoration
CraftHobbyRecapping and realigning vintage amplifiers, turntables and tape machines back to specification.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
High-altitude ballooning
HobbySending instruments to the stratosphere on a weather balloon and recovering them.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Historic building recording
HobbyMeasuring, drawing and describing buildings to an archive standard, usually through a local group.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Historical costuming
CraftHobbyReconstructing period dress from extant garments and patterns, to a chosen level of accuracy.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Historical wargaming
HobbyRefighting real battles with miniatures and rules that model period tactics.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hnefatafl
HobbyThe Norse tafl family — asymmetric board games with a besieged king and unequal sides.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Home butchery
CraftHobbyBreaking down primal cuts at home, usually learned on a course, with real hygiene requirements.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Home foundry casting
CraftMelting and pouring aluminium or bronze into moulds you made yourself.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Home server
HobbyRunning your own services on hardware you own, for storage, media and privacy.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Home weather stations
HobbyRunning and maintaining a personal weather station, and feeding its data to a public network.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hoop dance
HobbyDancing with one or more hoops on and off the body, on and off beat.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Horn working
CraftFlattening, shaping and polishing horn into cups, combs and spoons, a heat-and-press craft.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Horse brass collecting
HobbyCollecting decorative harness brasses, a rural craft tradition in miniature.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Horseball
SportA mounted team ball sport, part rugby and part basketball, played at a canter.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
House history research
HobbyTracing who built and lived in a particular building, using deeds, census and map evidence.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Houseplants
HobbyKeeping indoor plants alive, and then keeping a great many of them alive.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hurdy-gurdy
HobbyA cranked string instrument with a drone and a buzzing bridge, undergoing a revival.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hyrox
SportA standardised indoor fitness race — eight runs alternating with eight stations.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Iaido
SportThe solo art of drawing, cutting and resheathing a sword, performed as precise set forms.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ice dyeing
CraftMelting ice through dry dye powder onto cloth, so the dye separates into its component colours.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ice skating
SportSkating on a rink for its own sake, before any discipline is chosen.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Icon painting
CraftPainting religious icons to traditional canon, in egg tempera and gold.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Improv comedy
HobbyMaking scenes up on stage with a group, to learned formats and rules.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Incense making
CraftBlending and forming incense from resins, woods and binders.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Indigo dyeing
CraftDyeing in a reduced vat where colour appears on contact with air, and the vat is kept alive for weeks.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Indoor bowls
SportBowls played year-round on an indoor carpet rink.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Indoor skydiving
SportBodyflight in a vertical wind tunnel, which is a real discipline rather than only a taster for the sky.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Industrial archaeology
HobbyRecording mills, mines, canals and railways before they disappear entirely.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Industrial site recording
HobbyDocumenting disused industrial and institutional buildings, with real legal and physical risk.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ink making
CraftMaking writing and printing inks from oak gall, soot or plant matter, and testing them for permanence.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Inkle weaving
CraftWeaving narrow bands on a small frame loom, portable and quick to learn.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Inline hockey
SportFour-a-side hockey on skates on a hard floor, with no offside and no icing.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Intarsia
CraftPicture-making from shaped and fitted pieces of solid wood rather than veneer.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Interactive fiction
HobbyWriting and playing parser and choice-based text games, with an annual competition culture.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Iris folding
CraftBuilding a spiral of folded paper strips behind an aperture, worked from a numbered pattern.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Irish
HobbyLearning Irish, with a strong adult class network, Gaeltacht courses and its own broadcasting.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Irish bouzouki
HobbyA flat-backed long-necked accompaniment instrument invented for Irish sessions in the 1960s.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Irish dance
SportHobbyStep dancing in soft and hard shoes, with a competitive feis circuit and a strict body carriage.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Isopod keeping
HobbyKeeping and breeding woodlice for colour morphs and as vivarium clean-up crews.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Italian
HobbyLearning Italian, often taken up for music, food or a place rather than for work.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Janggi
HobbyKorean chess, played on the lines of the board with a distinctive palace and cannon.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Japanese
HobbyLearning Japanese, where the grammar is regular and the three writing systems are the long work.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Japanese joinery
CraftCutting interlocking wooden joints without glue or fasteners, worked with pull saws and chisels.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Japanese knife care
CraftMaintaining and sharpening single-bevel Japanese knives on water stones.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Jaw harp
HobbyA framed lamellophone held against the teeth, shaped entirely by the player’s mouth cavity.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Jazz dance
HobbyThe theatre dance vocabulary behind musicals — isolations, turns and travelling combinations.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Jazz improvisation
HobbyLearning to solo over changes — a studied discipline with its own literature, not a matter of instinct.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Jewellery making
CraftMaking wearable pieces from wire, beads, resin, clay or metal.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Jigsaw puzzles
HobbyAssembling picture puzzles, from 500 pieces to competitive speed puzzling.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Jodo
SportJapanese short-staff forms practised in paired sets against a swordsman, with no free sparring.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Judo
SportThrows, holds and submissions from a jacket grip, on a mat.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Juggling
HobbyThrowing and catching in patterns — balls, clubs, rings and beyond.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Jujutsu
SportThe Japanese grappling and joint-locking tradition judo and aikido came out of, still taught in its own right.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Jukebox restoration
CraftHobbyRestoring the selection mechanisms, amplifiers and lighting of coin-operated record players.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kabaddi
SportA raiding and wrestling team sport played on breath, enormous in South Asia and growing in Britain.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kalimba
HobbyA tined thumb piano, tuned to one scale, and one of the very few instruments with no wrong notes.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kantha stitching
CraftRunning-stitch quilting from Bengal, made from layered worn cloth.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Karting
SportRacing small open karts on short circuits, the usual entry to motorsport.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kendama
HobbyCatching a ball on the cups and spike of a Japanese skill toy, with a graded trick ladder.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kendo
SportJapanese sword sport in armour, with bamboo shinai and full-voice strikes.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kettlebell training
SportBallistic and grind lifts with a single implement, in a corner of a room.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kickboxing
SportStriking with hands and feet, widely taught as a fitness class as well as a sport.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kiln building
CraftBuilding a wood, gas or raku kiln, which is a refractory and combustion problem.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kinetic sculpture
CraftMaking sculpture that moves, by motor, wind or hand.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kintsugi
CraftRepairing broken ceramics with lacquer and gold, making the break part of the object.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kirigami
CraftPaper art that cuts as well as folds, including architectural pop-ups cut from a single sheet.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kit car building
HobbyCraftAssembling a car from a manufactured kit and a donor vehicle, ending in a road-legal registration process.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kitchenalia collecting
HobbyCollecting domestic kitchen equipment — jelly moulds, scales, enamelware — as a history of how people cooked.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kite making
CraftHobbyBuilding kites from spar, sail and line, where small changes in bridle transform how one flies.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kizomba
HobbyAn Angolan close-embrace partner dance, walked rather than stepped, with a strong European scene.
Under £25 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Knife handle making
CraftFitting scales and handles to blades in wood, bone and composite — the accessible half of knifemaking.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Knife sharpening
CraftPutting and keeping an edge on tools and knives, which underlies half the crafts here.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Knife throwing
SportThrowing knives and hatchets at wooden targets, with a governed competitive circuit.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Knitwear design
CraftWriting knitting patterns — grading, sizing and test-knitting — rather than following somebody else’s.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kobudo
SportThe Okinawan weapon arts — bo, sai, tonfa, nunchaku — usually studied alongside karate.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Koi keeping
HobbyKeeping koi in a filtered outdoor pond, judged on form and pattern at shows.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Koji fermentation
CraftHobbyCultivating the mould behind miso, soy and sake, which is temperature control more than cookery.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kombucha brewing
HobbyFermenting sweetened tea with a culture, and the gateway most people take into fermenting.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Krav maga
SportA self-defence system taught as scenario drills rather than as a graded competitive sport.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kumihimo
CraftJapanese braiding of silk or cord on a disc or stand into round and flat braids.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kumiko
CraftAssembling delicate geometric lattice from thin wood strips with no fasteners at all.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kung fu
SportThe Chinese martial arts as a family — forms, conditioning and application across many named styles.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Kyudo
SportJapanese archery practised as a discipline of form, where how you shoot matters more than where it lands.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Lampworking
CraftMelting glass rod in a torch flame to make beads and small sculpture.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Landscape photography
HobbyPhotographing land and sky, which mostly means being somewhere at the right hour.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Language exchange
HobbyLearning a language by regular conversation with a speaker learning yours.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Language learning
HobbyLearning to use another language, deliberately and over years.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Lapidary
CraftHobbyCutting, grinding and polishing stone into cabochons and faceted gems on wheels and laps.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Laser cutting
CraftHobbyCutting and engraving sheet material from vector artwork, usually at a makerspace before at home.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Latin
HobbyLearning Latin to read original texts, with a large amateur reading-group culture.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Leather tooling
CraftCutting and stamping damp vegetable-tanned leather into relief patterns.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Leatherwork
CraftCutting, stitching, tooling and dyeing leather into bags, belts and cases.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Legacy board games
HobbyCampaign board games that are permanently altered as you play, over a fixed number of sessions.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
LEGO building
HobbyBuilding sets and original models, and collecting the parts to do it.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Letter carving
CraftCutting letterforms in stone or wood by hand, a lettering discipline as much as a carving one.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Letter cutting in stone
CraftCutting lettering into stone by hand, a lettering craft as much as a carving one.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Letter writing
HobbyCorresponding by post, often with strangers, at length.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Letterlocking
CraftHobbyFolding and securing letters as they were before envelopes, a small historical craft with a research base.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Letterpress printing
CraftSetting metal or wood type by hand and printing it under real pressure.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Lichen recording
HobbyIdentifying and recording lichens, which are excellent air-quality indicators and everywhere.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Life casting
CraftTaking moulds directly from a living body, for sculpture, prosthetics and prop work.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Life drawing
CraftHobbyDrawing from a live model in timed poses, the standard training exercise in observational drawing.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Lifeboat volunteering
HobbyCrewing or shore-supporting a volunteer lifeboat station, on call and trained to a service standard.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Light aircraft flying
HobbySportLearning to fly and then flying small aeroplanes under a private licence.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Lindy hop
HobbyThe original swing partner dance, danced to live big band tempo with an eight-count base.
Under £25 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Line dancing
HobbyChoreographed group dancing in rows, no partner required.
Under £25 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Lino printing
CraftCutting a design into linoleum and printing it by hand or press.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Linocut printing
CraftCutting a design into lino, inking it and pressing prints by hand.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Literary translation
HobbyCraftTranslating poetry and prose for its own sake, which is writing more than it is language.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Litter picking
HobbyOrganised or solo clean-ups, free to start and with an unexpectedly strong community.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Live sound engineering
HobbyMixing bands and events in the room, on desks and systems learned largely by doing.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Live streaming
HobbyBroadcasting yourself playing, making or talking, live to an audience.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Local history
HobbyResearching one place in depth — its buildings, people and records.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Locksport
HobbyLearning lock mechanisms by picking them, as a puzzle discipline with a strict ethic.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Longboard surfing
SportSurfing on boards over nine feet, where trim, noseriding and small waves are the point.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Lost-wax casting
CraftCarving a model in wax, burning it out of a mould and casting metal in its place.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Loudspeaker building
CraftDesigning and building speaker cabinets and crossovers.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Lucet braiding
CraftMaking square cord on a two-pronged fork, a medieval technique that fits in a pocket.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Luggage label collecting
HobbyCollecting hotel and shipping line labels from the age of long-distance travel.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Lunar observing
HobbyObserving and sketching the Moon, the one target light pollution cannot spoil.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Macramé
CraftKnotting cord into hangings, bags and plant holders without needles or hooks.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Magic
HobbyLearning and performing close-up or stage conjuring.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mammal tracking
HobbyReading prints, trails and signs to work out what has passed through.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mancala
HobbyA family of seed-sowing board games played across Africa and Asia for centuries.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mandarin Chinese
HobbyLearning Mandarin, with simple grammar, four tones and several thousand characters to recognise.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mandolin
HobbyA small paired-string instrument at the centre of folk and bluegrass sessions.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mantis keeping
HobbyKeeping praying mantids, which need live food and careful humidity.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Manuscript illumination
CraftDecorating letters and pages with gold and pigment in the medieval manner.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Map and compass navigation
HobbyLand navigation as a taught skill — bearings, pacing, contour interpretation and relocation.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Map collecting
HobbyCollecting antique and historical maps, which is local history with a wall to hang it on.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Marble collecting
HobbyCollecting glass and clay marbles by maker and pattern, from handmade German canes to machine-made runs.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Marquetry
CraftCutting and fitting wood veneers into pictures and patterns on a flat surface.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Masters swimming
SportStructured adult squad swimming with age-group competition, open to anyone over about twenty-five.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Matchbox label collecting
HobbyCollecting matchbox and matchbook labels, a large international field with almost no barrier to entry.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mathematical origami
HobbyCraftFolding as geometry, including constructions impossible with compass and rule.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mead making
HobbyCraftFermenting honey into mead, the simplest ferment to start and the slowest to finish.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mechanical keyboards
HobbyCraftBuilding and modifying keyboards — switches, keycaps, dampening and sometimes hand-wired firmware.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mechanical puzzle design
CraftDesigning and making burr, sequential-movement and packing puzzles.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Medal collecting
HobbyCollecting campaign and gallantry medals, where researching the named recipient is the point.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Meditation
HobbyA trained attention practice, sat daily, with a long tradition behind it.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Megagames
HobbyLarge multi-team games run for a day with dozens of players and a control team.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Melodeon
HobbyA diatonic button accordion, the standard instrument behind English and French traditional dance music.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Memory sport
HobbyCompetitive memorisation of cards, numbers and names using loci and encoding systems.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Men’s Sheds
HobbyA community workshop where the making and the company matter equally.
Under £25 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mental calculation
HobbyTraining fast arithmetic by method rather than by memory, with its own competitive circuit.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mentalism
HobbyThe branch of magic performed as apparent mind-reading, built on scripting far more than props.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Metal clay
CraftModelling with clay that fires to solid silver, bypassing most traditional metalwork.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Metal spinning
CraftForming sheet metal over a mandrel on a lathe with hand tools, one of the few chipless metal processes.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Meteorite collecting
HobbyCollecting and identifying meteorites, a small field where authentication and provenance dominate.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mezzotint
CraftRocking a plate to full black and then burnishing the lights back out, working from dark to light.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Milestone recording
HobbyFinding, recording and conserving road milestones and mileposts, most of them unlisted and unrecorded.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Militaria collecting
HobbyCollecting military insignia, uniform, medals and equipment, with careful provenance.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Military ancestry research
HobbyTracing service records, medal rolls and unit war diaries, a distinct set of archives with its own conventions.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mime
HobbyCorporeal mime and illusion technique, a trained physical discipline rather than a party trick.
Under £25 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mine exploration
SportHobbyVisiting disused mines with the appropriate club, training and permission.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Miniature book collecting
HobbyCollecting books under three inches tall, a category defined by its binding rather than its subject.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mixed martial arts
SportStriking and grappling combined under one rule set.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Model car collecting
HobbyCollecting production die-cast and resin models by marque, scale or maker rather than building them.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Model engineering
CraftHobbyMachining working miniature engines and locomotives from raw metal on a lathe.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Model gliding
HobbyFlying unpowered model aircraft on slope lift or thermals, often on the same hills.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Model tramways
HobbyBuilding and operating tramway layouts, which model street running rather than rail.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Model yachting
HobbySportRadio-controlled sailing on ponds, raced competitively in classes with strict rules.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Modern board gaming
HobbyPlaying designer board games — the hobby, the collection and the group.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Modern jive
HobbyA simplified partner dance with no footwork requirement, designed to be danceable on a first night.
Under £25 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Modular synthesis
HobbyCraftBuilding sound from patched modules, where the instrument is assembled rather than bought.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mokume gane
CraftLaminating and forging patterned metal billets, wood-grain metal from Japan.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Monoprinting
CraftPrinting one-off images from an unetched plate, the most immediate and forgiving printmaking route.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Moped and scooter restoration
CraftHobbyRestoring small two-strokes, which are cheap, simple and have an unusually helpful parts scene.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Morse code operating
HobbyWorking stations by hand-sent Morse, which gets through when voice cannot and is learned by sound.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mosaic
CraftSetting cut tile, glass or stone into patterned surfaces and pictures.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Moss gardening
HobbyCultivating moss for shade planting and containers, a slow craft with a strong Japanese tradition.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Motorcycle restoration
HobbyRebuilding old motorcycles — smaller, cheaper and more tractable than cars.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Motorcycle trials
SportRiding a lightweight bike over obstacles without putting a foot down, scored on balance rather than speed.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mountain biking
SportRiding off-road trails, from forest singletrack to alpine descents.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mountain dulcimer
HobbyA diatonic fretted lap instrument, arguably the easiest stringed instrument in the world to start.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mountain rescue volunteering
HobbyServing on a volunteer rescue team, with years of training before a first callout and a pager after it.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mountainboarding
SportRiding an off-road board with pneumatic tyres down tracks and dedicated parks.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Muay Thai
SportThai boxing using fists, elbows, knees and shins.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mudlarking
HobbySearching tidal foreshore for historical objects, which requires a permit on the Thames.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Museum volunteering
HobbyFront of house, collections care or interpretation in a local museum.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Music composition
HobbyCraftWriting music down for others to play, from song to score.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Music transcription
HobbyWorking out recorded music by ear and writing it down, which is how most players actually learn to hear.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Musical arranging
CraftRewriting existing music for different forces — a choir, a band, a quartet.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Musical box restoration
CraftRestoring cylinder and disc musical boxes, part horology part cabinetwork.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Naginata
SportThe Japanese polearm art, practised as form and as armoured competitive striking.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Naked-eye stargazing
HobbyLearning the sky without equipment — constellations, planets and the year’s motion.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Nålbinding
CraftA single-needle looping technique that predates knitting, producing a dense non-unravelling fabric.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Nature journalling
HobbyCraftDrawing and writing observations in the field, sitting between sketching and recording.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Naval wargaming
HobbyRefighting naval actions with models and rules, at fleet or squadron scale.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Needle felting
CraftStabbing loose wool with a barbed needle until it sculpts into a solid shape.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Needle lace
CraftBuilding lace entirely from buttonhole stitches over a drawn outline, with a needle rather than bobbins.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Neon bending
CraftBending and filling glass tube to make neon signs, a small and shrinking craft.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Neon sign making
CraftBending and filling glass tube for luminous signs, a craft with very few remaining practitioners.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Net making
CraftKnotting netting by hand with needle and gauge, for fishing, sport, fruit cages and rigging.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Netsuke collecting
HobbyCollecting Japanese carved toggles, a field where attribution and later copies dominate the study.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Nine men’s morris
HobbyA medieval mill game found scratched into cathedral cloisters across Europe.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Nixie clock building
CraftHobbyBuilding clocks around cold-cathode display tubes, which need a high-voltage supply to light at all.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Nordic walking
SportWalking with poles that recruit the upper body, taught as a technique.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Oar and paddle making
CraftShaping oars and paddles from timber, a satisfying single-object craft.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Oboe
HobbyA double-reed woodwind where reed-making is part of the instrument rather than an accessory.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Oil painting
HobbyCraftPainting in slow-drying oil colour, the medium most Western masterworks were made in.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Old English
HobbyLearning Anglo-Saxon to read Beowulf and the chronicles directly.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
One-name studies
HobbyResearching every occurrence of a surname worldwide rather than one line of descent.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
One-place studies
HobbyResearching every inhabitant of a single village or street over centuries, rather than one family line.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
OpenStreetMap surveying
HobbySurveying and editing the open map of the world, from a phone or from a GPS trace.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Oral history
HobbyRecording and archiving people’s memories, with a methodology and an ethics of its own.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Orchestral percussion
HobbyTimpani, tuned percussion and the kit of small instruments an orchestra needs one person to own.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Orchid growing
HobbyGrowing orchids, which need different care from almost every other houseplant.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Organ building
CraftMaking and maintaining pipe organs, an intersection of joinery, metalwork and acoustics.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Organ playing
HobbyPlaying the pipe organ, which needs feet as well as hands and an instrument you cannot own.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Origami
HobbyCraftFolding a single sheet of paper into a form, with no cuts and no glue.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ornamental turning
CraftCutting geometric patterns with a rose engine or ornamental lathe, a Victorian machine craft.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Othello
HobbyA minute to learn and a lifetime to master, on an eight-by-eight board of flipping discs.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Oud
HobbyThe fretless Arabic lute, played with a plectrum in a maqam tradition of microtonal modes.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Outdoor gym training
SportTraining on free public outdoor gym equipment, which is a genuinely different problem from indoor kit.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Overtone singing
HobbyProducing two audible pitches at once by shaping the vocal tract.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Palaeography
HobbyLearning to read historical handwriting, which unlocks archives nobody has transcribed.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Paper engineering
CraftDesigning pop-up and movable paper structures.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Paper flower making
CraftShaping crepe and tissue into botanically accurate flowers, cut from templates and coloured by hand.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Paper marbling
CraftFloating pigment on a thickened bath and lifting the pattern onto paper.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Paper repair
CraftRepairing and stabilising paper and books, using reversible methods.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Papercraft
CraftCutting, scoring and assembling paper into models, cards and sculpture.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Papercutting
CraftCutting intricate designs from a single sheet with a scalpel, a tradition in several cultures.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Paperweight collecting
HobbyCollecting glass paperweights by factory and cane, where the canes identify the maker.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Papier-mâché
CraftBuilding forms from paper and paste over a mould or armature, the cheapest sculptural material there is.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Para swimming
SportCompetitive swimming within a functional classification system, from club galas upwards.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Parkour
SportMoving through built environment efficiently, taught in gyms before it is done outdoors.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Parkrun
SportA free, timed, weekly 5k in a local park — the usual on-ramp into running.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Passementerie
CraftMaking decorative trimmings — tassels, cords, fringes — for furnishing and dress.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pasta making
HobbyCraftMaking fresh pasta by hand or machine, and the shapes that go with each sauce.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pastel drawing
HobbyCraftDrawing with soft or oil pastels, blended directly with the fingers.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pastry
CraftHobbyLaminated and shortcrust doughs, where temperature discipline separates good from disappointing.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Patchwork
CraftPiecing small fabric shapes into a larger design, by hand or machine.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pattern welding
CraftForge-welding layered steels into a patterned billet, usually for blades.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pattern-welded steel
CraftForge-welding layered steels into patterned billets for blades and jewellery.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
PC building
HobbySpecifying, assembling and tuning your own computer.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
PCB design
HobbyCraftDesigning printed circuit boards and having them fabricated, now cheap enough to be a hobby.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pedal steel guitar
HobbyA pedal- and knee-operated lap instrument that retunes itself while you play, and the steepest curve in popular music.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pelota vasca
SportThe Basque family of court games played with hand, basket or racket against a fronton wall.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pen turning
CraftTurning pen bodies onto manufactured kits, the standard first project on any lathe.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pencak silat
SportThe Indonesian and Malay martial art, taught as combat, as form and as cultural performance.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Perfume bottle collecting
HobbyCollecting scent bottles for their glass, atomisers and labels, from cut crystal to commercial flacons.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Permaculture
HobbyDesigning growing systems that work with ecology rather than against it.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pewter casting
CraftCasting a low-melting alloy in simple moulds, the gentlest introduction to metal casting.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pewter smithing
CraftRaising and spinning pewter, a soft metal that forgives beginners in a way silver does not.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Phenology recording
HobbyRecording first leaf, first flight and first song each year, feeding national datasets.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Philosophy reading groups
HobbyReading primary texts slowly with other people, which is the only way most of them work.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Photo bookmaking
CraftSequencing and binding photographs into a book, where editing matters more than shooting.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Photogrammetry
HobbyBuilding three-dimensional models from overlapping photographs, used for heritage and printing.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Photography
HobbyCraftMaking photographs deliberately — the parent of every specialism below it.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Piano
HobbyPlaying piano or keyboard, the instrument most other music theory is taught on.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Picture framing
CraftCutting mounts and mouldings and assembling frames, including the conservation choices behind the glass.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pigment making
CraftGrinding and levigating earth and mineral pigments and mulling them into paint.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pilates
SportControlled core and postural training, on a mat or reformer.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pin badge collecting
HobbyCollecting enamel badges by theme — clubs, events, places or brands.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pinball
HobbyCompetitive play on electromechanical and solid-state machines, with leagues and rankings.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pinch pots
CraftForming vessels entirely by hand from a ball of clay — the oldest pottery method there is.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pinhole photography
CraftHobbyCameras with no lens at all, often made from a tin, with exposures measured in minutes.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pixel art
HobbyCraftDrawing at deliberately low resolution, where every pixel is a decision.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Place-name study
HobbyWorking out what place names mean and what they record about language and settlement.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Plaited leather work
CraftPlaiting leather into whips, lanyards and bosals, a precise craft with a small dedicated following.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Planted aquariums
HobbyGrowing aquatic plants as the point of the tank, balancing light, carbon and nutrients.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Plaster casting
CraftCasting in plaster from moulds, for sculpture, architectural detail and restoration.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Play-by-mail gaming
HobbyLong-form games conducted by post or email over months, with turns rather than sessions.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Play-by-post gaming
HobbyRoleplaying or wargaming asynchronously in writing, over months, with no scheduled session.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Podcasting
HobbyCraftPlanning, recording, editing and publishing an audio show.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Poetry
HobbyCraftReading and writing poems, in form or free, and reading them aloud.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Poi spinning
HobbySwinging weighted tethers in patterns, from Māori origins into a large modern flow-arts scene.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Poker
HobbyBetting games decided by incomplete information and long-run decision quality.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pole fitness
SportStrength and technique on a vertical pole, with competitive and fitness branches.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Polymer clay
CraftModelling with an oven-hardening plastic clay — jewellery, miniatures and canes.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Porcelain
CraftWorking the least forgiving and most translucent of the clay bodies.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Portrait miniature painting
CraftPainting portraits at a few centimetres, historically on ivory substitutes.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Portrait photography
HobbyCraftPhotographing people, where lighting and direction matter more than the camera.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Postal history collecting
HobbyCollecting covers for their routes, rates and markings rather than the stamps stuck to them.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Postcard collecting
HobbyCollecting old postcards for their images, their messages, or their places.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Poultry showing
HobbyBreeding and conditioning birds to a published standard and exhibiting them at shows.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Powder coating
CraftElectrostatically applying and oven-curing a powder finish, now within reach of a home workshop.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Powerlifting
SportSquat, bench and deadlift, contested on total weight moved.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Practical shooting
SportTimed courses of fire scored on accuracy and speed together, under strict range discipline.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Programme collecting
HobbyCollecting match, theatre and concert programmes, which are often the only record an event leaves.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Programming
HobbyWriting code for its own sake — tools, puzzles, side projects.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Public speaking
HobbyPractising speaking to an audience, usually in a structured club.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Punch needle
CraftPunching loops of yarn through backing fabric to build a soft textured surface.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Puppetry
HobbyCraftBuilding and performing puppets, from rod and glove to full marionettes.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Push hands
SportThe partnered half of tai chi, testing balance and structure against somebody actively taking it.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Puzzle hunts
HobbyTeam events solving chained cryptic puzzles against the clock, often across a city.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Puzzle setting
HobbyCraftConstructing crosswords, logic puzzles or cryptics, which is a craft with its own conventions.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pyrography
CraftBurning images and lettering into wood or leather with a heated point.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Qigong
HobbyCoordinated movement, breathing and attention, practised in short daily sets.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
QRP operating
HobbyAmateur radio at five watts or less, often on home-built sets, where the challenge is the constraint.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Quail keeping
HobbyKeeping quail for eggs in a small space, considerably easier than chickens for a suburban garden.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Quilling
CraftRolling and shaping narrow paper strips into filigree designs, needing almost nothing to start.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Quilting
CraftStitching layers of fabric and wadding together into quilts, usually from pieced patchwork.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Quiz writing
HobbyWriting and hosting quizzes, which is question construction, difficulty balancing and performance at once.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Quizzing
HobbyCompetitive general knowledge, from the pub league to national championships.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rabbit hopping
HobbySportTraining rabbits over a course of jumps, a Scandinavian sport now run in Britain.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rabbit showing
HobbyBreeding and exhibiting rabbits to breed standards at judged shows.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Racket stringing
CraftHobbyStringing tennis, squash and badminton rackets — a paid skill most club players never learn.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Racketball
SportPlayed on a squash court with a shorter racket and a bouncier ball.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Racquetball
SportFast indoor court game with a hollow rubber ball and no tin, played off every wall.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Radio astronomy
HobbyDetecting hydrogen line emission and solar activity with a home-built dish and software radio.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Radio contesting
HobbyCompetitive amateur radio, making as many contacts as possible in a defined window.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Radio direction finding
SportHobbyLocating hidden transmitters on foot with a directional aerial — orienteering with radio.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Radio-controlled car racing
HobbySportBuilding, tuning and racing radio-controlled cars on and off road.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rag rug making
CraftHooking or prodding fabric strips through hessian, a thrift craft with a strong revival.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Railway enthusiasm
HobbyRecording, photographing and following the railway network, of which number-taking is only the oldest part.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Railwayana collecting
HobbyCollecting signage, nameplates, lamps and paperwork from the railways, with a strong auction culture.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rainwater harvesting
HobbyCollecting and storing roof runoff for garden or household use.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Real tennis
SportThe medieval ancestor of tennis, played indoors off sloping roofs and buttresses.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Recorder
HobbyA serious early-music instrument with a whole consort tradition, badly served by its school reputation.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Recreational mathematics
HobbyExploring mathematics for pleasure — tilings, number curiosities, paradoxes and constructions.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Recreational tree climbing
SportClimbing standing trees on rope, using arborist technique for its own sake.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Repair café volunteering
HobbyFixing other people’s broken things at a community repair session.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Repoussé and chasing
CraftRaising relief in sheet metal by working it from both sides over pitch.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Reptile keeping
HobbyKeeping reptiles and amphibians, with exacting heat, light and humidity needs.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Resin 3D printing
HobbyCraftPrinting in photopolymer resin for fine detail, with a chemical handling problem filament printing does not have.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Resin art
CraftCasting and pouring epoxy resin into coasters, tables and jewellery.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Resin casting
CraftCasting polyurethane and epoxy resin into moulds for models, parts and jewellery.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Retro computing
HobbyRestoring, using and programming computers from the 1980s and 90s.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Retro console modding
HobbyCraftRepairing and modifying old games consoles — recapping, video output mods, region freeing.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Reuse and freecycling
HobbyRehoming usable goods through local giving networks, as an organised habit rather than a clearout.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rhythmic gymnastics
SportApparatus work with hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope, judged on difficulty and artistry.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rigid heddle weaving
CraftWeaving cloth on a simple frame loom, the practical way into weaving without a floor loom.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ring making
CraftSizing, forming and finishing rings — the usual first project in silver jewellery.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Risograph printing
CraftHobbyPrinting in layered spot colours on a stencil duplicator, a zine and small-press staple.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rocket stove building
CraftHobbyBuilding high-efficiency combustion stoves for cooking or outdoor heating.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rocking horse making
CraftCarving and finishing traditional rocking horses, a long single-project craft.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rod building
CraftHobbyBuilding fishing rods from blanks — guides, wraps and finish — to a specification you choose.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Roller derby
SportA full-contact team sport on quad skates, with a distinctive volunteer-run club culture.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Roller skating
SportQuad skating in rinks and parks, revived hard and with a strong social scene.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rope making
CraftLaying rope from yarn on a ropewalk or hand machine, which is how twist becomes strength.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rucking
SportWalking distance with a weighted pack, borrowed from military training.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rug hooking
CraftPulling loops of wool strip through hessian to make hard-wearing rugs.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rug tufting
CraftShooting yarn into a stretched backing with a powered tufting gun to make rugs fast.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rummikub and tile rummy
HobbyRummy played with numbered tiles, where rearranging the table is the whole game.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sabre fencing
SportThe fastest fencing weapon, scored on cuts as well as thrusts, with right-of-way rules.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Saddlery
CraftMaking and repairing riding tack in leather, a trade craft with a live apprenticeship route.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sail making
CraftCutting and sewing sails to a designed shape, with hand finishing at the corners and edges.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Salsa dancing
HobbySocial Latin partner dancing, learned in classes and danced at socials.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sambo
SportThe Soviet grappling sport, close to judo with leg locks and its own combat variant.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sand casting
CraftCasting metal into bonded sand moulds, the accessible route into home foundry work.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sashiko
CraftJapanese running-stitch embroidery, originally for reinforcing and mending workwear.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sauna and cold plunge
HobbyAlternating heat and cold immersion, increasingly organised around coastal saunas.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sauna culture
HobbyRegular sauna practice with cold contrast, as a social ritual rather than a gym facility.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Savate
SportFrench kickboxing fought in shoes, with a distinct emphasis on precision and footwork.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Saxophone
HobbyA reed instrument with an unusually quick first year and a long road after it.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Scenic painting
CraftHobbyPainting flats, cloths and textures for the stage, at a scale and speed easel work never demands.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Scientific illustration
CraftDrawing specimens and structures for clarity and record rather than effect.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Scientific instrument collecting
HobbyCollecting microscopes, barometers, surveying and drawing instruments, usually still in working order.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Scottish Gaelic
HobbyLearning Gaelic, with immersion courses, singing groups and a strong island learner tradition.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Scouting volunteering
HobbyRunning sections of a uniformed youth group, which is a training, safeguarding and logistics commitment.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Scrabble
HobbyWord placement for score, with a competitive scene built on word lists.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Scrapbooking
CraftHobbyArranging photographs and mementoes into designed, annotated albums.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Screen printing
CraftPushing ink through a stencilled mesh screen onto paper or fabric.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Screenwriting
HobbyCraftWriting for screen, to a format with unusually strict conventions.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Scrimshaw
CraftEngraving and inking bone or synthetic ivory, a sailors’ craft with strict material rules.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Scroll sawing
CraftCutting intricate curves and fretwork in thin wood on a scroll saw.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sea glass collecting
HobbyBeachcombing for tumbled glass, with a grading culture and a strong identification literature.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Seal study
HobbyStudying wax seals and their impressions as historical documents.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Search and rescue dog handling
HobbyTraining and working a search dog to national assessment standard, which takes years with one dog.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Segmented turning
CraftTurning vessels glued up from hundreds of cut segments, which is joinery before it is turning.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Segmented woodturning
CraftTurning vessels glued up from hundreds of cut segments, where the geometry is done before the lathe.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sepak takraw
SportVolleyball played with the feet and head over a net, with a rattan ball and overhead kicks.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sewing machine repair
CraftHobbyServicing vintage machines, most of which are mechanically simple and built to last.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sgraffito
CraftScratching through coloured slip to the clay beneath, a drawing technique on pots.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shakuhachi
HobbyThe Japanese end-blown bamboo flute, historically a meditation practice as much as a musical one.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shanty singing
HobbyGroup singing of work songs and maritime folk, usually unaccompanied and in a pub.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Share certificate collecting
HobbyCollecting historic share and bond certificates for their engraving and the companies behind them.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sheep keeping
HobbyKeeping a small flock, often of a rare or primitive breed, on a few acres.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sheet metal fabrication
CraftCutting, folding and joining sheet into boxes, panels and enclosures, worked out flat before it is bent.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sheet music collecting
HobbyCollecting printed music for its covers, its history and its performance record.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shell collecting
HobbyIdentifying and cataloguing marine shells, an old natural-history discipline.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shepherd’s hut building
CraftBuilding a small wheeled timber hut, a revived form now used as a garden room.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shibori
CraftJapanese resist dyeing — binding, folding and stitching cloth before it meets the dye.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ship spotting
HobbyLogging and photographing shipping, using coastal vantage points and vessel tracking.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ships in bottles
CraftBuilding a rigged model that folds flat, then raising it through the neck of a bottle.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shoe repair
CraftResoling, reheeling and stitching footwear, a far shorter road than making from a last.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shogi
HobbyJapanese chess, where captured pieces change sides and return to the board.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Short tennis
SportTennis on a reduced court with soft balls, used as a junior route in and as an adult social game.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shorthand
HobbyLearning a phonetic writing system for speed, which is a genuine skill acquisition with a plateau.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shortwave listening
HobbyListening for distant broadcast and utility stations, logging what you hear and collecting confirmations.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shove ha’penny
HobbyA pub board game of sliding coins into scoring beds, still played in leagues in parts of England.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Show pigeon breeding
HobbyBreeding and exhibiting fancy pigeon breeds, distinct from racing them.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shrimp keeping
HobbyKeeping freshwater shrimp, where water parameters matter far more than in a fish tank.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Shuffleboard
HobbySliding weights down a long table, revived in bars and requiring almost no fitness.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sign language
HobbyLearning a signed language as a language, with its own grammar and community.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sign painting
CraftHand-lettered signage with brush and enamel, revived hard after near-extinction.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Silverpoint drawing
CraftDrawing with a metal stylus on prepared ground, unforgiving and precise.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Silversmithing
CraftForming, soldering and finishing silver into jewellery and vessels.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sim racing
HobbySportRacing in simulators on a wheel and pedals, competitively or for practice.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Singing
HobbyLearning to use your own voice properly, alone or in a group.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Single-board computer projects
HobbyBuilding small always-on machines — media servers, sensors, retro consoles — on a credit-card computer.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sitar
HobbyThe North Indian long-necked lute, learned inside a raga tradition rather than from notation.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sitting volleyball
SportVolleyball played seated on a smaller court with a lower net, at club and Paralympic level.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Skateboarding
SportStreet and park riding, now an Olympic sport with a large adult beginner population.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Skin-on-frame boatbuilding
CraftBuilding kayaks and canoes as a light lashed frame under a stretched skin, in a few weekends.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Skirmish wargaming
HobbySmall-scale miniature games with a handful of figures each.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Skittles
HobbyRegional pin-bowling games played in pub alleys, with rules that change by county.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Slide guitar
HobbyPlaying with a bottleneck or tube against the strings, usually in open tunings.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Slide rule collecting
HobbyCollecting slide rules and mechanical calculators, and learning to use them, which is half the point.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Slingshot shooting
SportTarget shooting with catapults, a precise and very cheap discipline.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Slip casting
CraftPouring liquid clay into plaster moulds to reproduce a form repeatedly.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Slot car racing
HobbyRacing electric cars on a grooved track, with club leagues, tuning and scratch-built chassis.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Smocking
CraftGathering fabric into decorative elastic pleats, a technique from English agricultural dress.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Smoking and curing
CraftPreserving fish and meat with salt and smoke, where the safety margin is the whole craft.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sneaker collecting
HobbyCollecting trainers for their design, releases and resale market.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Snooker
SportThe long-table cue game of position play and safety exchanges.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Soap making
CraftMaking soap from oils and lye, cold or hot process.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Soapstone carving
CraftCarving soft stone with hand tools, the usual entry point to carving stone at all.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sock knitting
CraftKnitting socks in the round — heels, gussets and toes at a small gauge.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Soft tennis
SportTennis with a soft rubber ball and light rackets, played competitively across East Asia.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Soft toy making
CraftSewing stuffed animals and dolls from patterns or your own designs.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Software-defined radio
HobbyListening across the radio spectrum with a cheap USB receiver and software rather than tuned hardware.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Solar observing
HobbyWatching the Sun safely with dedicated filters or telescopes — the one daytime astronomy.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Solo board gaming
HobbyBoard games designed to be played alone against a system, a fast-growing corner of the hobby.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Solo wargaming
HobbyPlaying wargames against a system rather than an opponent.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Somatic movement
HobbySlow attention-led movement practices that retrain habitual patterns rather than build strength.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Spanish
HobbyLearning Spanish, phonetically regular at the start and spoken across two continents.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Speed climbing
SportRacing a standardised route against the clock, now an Olympic discipline.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Speed skating
SportRacing on long or short track blades.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Speedcubing
HobbySolving twisty puzzles as fast as possible, using learned algorithm sets.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Speedrunning
HobbyCompleting games as fast as possible, to a verified ruleset and leaderboard.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Spider recording
HobbyRecording spiders and harvestmen, a group where most identification needs a microscope and a key.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Spindle spinning
CraftSpinning yarn on a drop or supported spindle, which needs no wheel and travels in a pocket.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Spinning tops
HobbyThrowing and controlling string-launched tops, a competitive tradition in several countries.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Spinning wheel restoration
CraftRestoring and tuning antique spinning wheels back into working order.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Spoken word
HobbyPerforming poetry and monologue live, at open mics and slams, where delivery is half the work.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Spoon carving
CraftCarving eating and cooking spoons from green wood with an axe and two knives.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sports memorabilia
HobbyCollecting programmes, shirts and ephemera around a club or a sport.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sprang
CraftAn ancient stretchy fabric technique worked under tension, predating knitting.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Square dancing
HobbyCalled dancing in sets of four couples, with a graded international programme of calls.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Squash
SportA punishing enclosed-court game where both players share the whole space.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stage combat
SportHobbyChoreographed fighting for theatre and film, where the whole craft is looking dangerous and being safe.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stained glass
CraftCutting coloured glass and joining it with lead came or copper foil.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stair climbing
SportTower running as a sport, with a race circuit and no need for good weather.
Under £25 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stamp carving
CraftCutting your own stamps from rubber blocks, the fastest way into relief printing.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stamp collecting
HobbyCollecting and studying postage stamps, postal history and the marks they carry.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stand-up comedy
HobbyWriting and performing your own material at open mics and clubs.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Steam bending
CraftSoftening timber with steam and bending it around a form, for boats, chairs and hoops.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Steel pan
HobbyPlaying tuned steel drums, usually in a band, with a repertoire from calypso to classical.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Steel tongue drum making
CraftMaking tuned steel tongue drums by cutting and tuning sheet steel.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stencilling
CraftCutting and applying stencils to walls, furniture and cloth, in registered layers where needed.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stone setting
CraftSecuring gemstones into metal — the jewellery skill with the least margin for error.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stonemasonry
CraftCutting and shaping building stone to a template — banker work rather than sculpture.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stop-motion animation
HobbyCraftAnimating physical models one frame at a time.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Storytelling
HobbyTelling traditional and original stories aloud to an audience, without a script.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Straw marquetry
CraftSplitting, flattening and laying dyed straw into patterns on boxes and panels, which shine like inlay.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Street dance
HobbySportThe social club styles — hip hop, house, popping and locking — taught in classes and danced in cyphers.
Under £25 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Street photography
HobbyPhotographing public life as it happens, unposed.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
String figures
HobbyMaking figures from a loop of string, with a recorded international repertoire.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Strongman
SportLifting, carrying and dragging awkward heavy objects against the clock.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Studio pottery collecting
HobbyCollecting twentieth-century and contemporary studio ceramics, identified largely by impressed seals.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stumpwork
CraftRaised, three-dimensional embroidery worked over padding and wire.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Stunt scootering
SportPark and street riding on a stunt scooter, a discipline in its own right rather than a children’s version of BMX.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Succulents & cacti
HobbyCollecting and propagating drought-adapted plants, indoors or under glass.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sudoku & logic puzzles
HobbySolving number-placement and logic grids by deduction alone.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sugarcraft
CraftModelling flowers and figures in sugar paste, judged at shows to an exacting standard.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Suminagashi
CraftJapanese floating-ink marbling, older and quieter than the European method.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sumo
SportAmateur sumo, where the whole contest is decided by leverage, timing and a very short burst of power.
Under £25 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sundial making
CraftHobbyDesigning and building sundials, which is applied astronomy and craft together.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sungka
HobbyThe Philippine sowing game, played on a sixteen-hole board with simultaneous opening moves.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Surf ski paddling
SportPaddling a long sit-on-top ocean racing kayak, in open water and downwind runs.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Surfboard shaping
CraftShaping and glassing boards from foam blanks, in a garage or a shared bay.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sushi making
CraftRice, knife work and fish handling, where the rice is the actual discipline.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Swimming
SportPool swimming for fitness, technique or competition.
Under £25 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Swing dancing
HobbyLindy hop, balboa and charleston, danced to live and recorded jazz.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Sword dancing
HobbyRapper and longsword traditions, danced in teams with linked steel rather than sticks.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Synthesiser building
CraftHobbyAssembling modules and instruments from kits or from scratch, where calibration is half the work.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Systema
SportA Russian martial practice built on breathing, relaxation and structure rather than fixed technique.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tabla
HobbyThe North Indian drum pair, taught through spoken syllables before hands ever touch the skins.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Table football
HobbySportCompetitive foosball, which has a governing body, a ranking system and a serious technique.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Table shuffleboard
HobbySportSliding weighted pucks down a long waxed table to score in the far zones.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tablet weaving
CraftWeaving patterned bands by turning a pack of cards, a technique older than the loom.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tabletop roleplaying
HobbyCollaborative storytelling with dice and rules, run by one player for the rest.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tabletop wargaming
HobbyPlaying battles with miniatures on terrain, under a published rule set.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Taekwondo
SportKorean striking art built around fast, high kicking.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tai chi
SportHobbyA slow martial form practised for balance, health and continuity of movement.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Taiko drumming
HobbySportJapanese ensemble drumming, physically demanding and as much choreography as music.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tailoring
CraftConstructing structured garments with canvas, padding and pressing rather than pattern and seam alone.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tap dancing
HobbyRhythm made with the feet — as much a percussion instrument as a dance.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tapestry weaving
CraftWeaving pictorial designs by hand on a simple upright loom.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Target archery
SportThe Olympic form: fixed distances, round faces, scored ends.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tatting
CraftBuilding lace from a series of knotted rings and chains using a shuttle or needle.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Taxidermy
CraftMounting animal skins over sculpted forms, a preparation craft with strict rules about what may be used.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tchoukball
SportA non-contact indoor team sport where the ball is rebounded off angled frames at either end.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tea appreciation
HobbyLearning tea by type, origin and brewing, and tasting deliberately.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tea blending
CraftHobbyBlending leaf teas and botanicals to a repeatable recipe, which is a tasting skill first.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Teddy bear collecting
HobbyCollecting bears by maker and period, where eyes, seams and stuffing identify an age.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Telephone collecting
HobbyCollecting and reconnecting historic telephones, which mostly still work on a modern line with an adapter.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Telescope making
HobbyCraftGrinding and figuring your own mirror, which is how amateur astronomy began.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ten-pin bowling
SportRolling a heavy ball at ten pins, socially or in a serious league.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Teqball
SportFootball played over a curved table, no hands, no contact, and unusually easy on the joints.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Terrain building
CraftMaking the hills, ruins and roads that miniatures are played over.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Terrarium building
HobbyCraftBuilding closed or open glass gardens that mostly look after themselves.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tesla coils
HobbyCraftBuilding resonant transformers that produce visible discharge, a display and demonstration hobby.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Textile block printing
CraftPrinting repeat patterns onto cloth with carved blocks.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Textile conservation
CraftStabilising historic cloth by support stitching and controlled storage rather than by repair.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Theatrical costume making
CraftBuilding costume for the stage — period shapes, quick changes and clothes that survive a run.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Theremin
HobbyPlayed without being touched, and the only instrument where the hardest part is the first note.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Thimble collecting
HobbyCollecting thimbles, a compact field with real craft history behind it.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tiddlywinks
HobbyA genuinely tactical adult game of squidging counters into a pot, with national associations and a rulebook.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tie-dyeing
CraftBinding cloth before dyeing so the ties resist colour, with a folded geometry behind the apparent chaos.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Time banking
HobbyExchanging skills by the hour within a local network, where everyone’s hour is worth the same.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Time-lapse photography
HobbyCraftBuilding motion from stills over hours or months, which is a planning and consistency problem.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Timetable collecting
HobbyCollecting transport timetables, a precise record of how places connected.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tin whistle
HobbyThe cheapest real instrument there is, and the standard route into Irish traditional music.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tinsmithing
CraftMaking and repairing objects in tinplate, a light-metal trade craft.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tool sharpening
CraftPutting genuine edges on chisels, plane irons and knives, and understanding why.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Torch enamelling
CraftFusing powdered glass to metal with a hand torch rather than a kiln.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Torchon lace
CraftThe geometric bobbin lace style most beginners learn, worked on a pricking from a pillow.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
TouchTennis
SportA codified short-court tennis format with foam balls, its own ranking system and adult tournaments.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Toy soldier collecting
HobbyCollecting lead and plastic figures by maker and set, a field with its own auction houses.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Track cycling
SportFixed-gear racing on a banked velodrome, no brakes.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tractor restoration
HobbyCraftRestoring vintage agricultural machinery, with a rally circuit and a parts culture of its own.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trade token collecting
HobbyCollecting the private tokens issued by traders when small change ran out, each tied to one shop.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trading card collecting
HobbyCollecting and grading trading cards, from sports to modern card games.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trading card games
HobbyCompetitive card games with constructed decks from a collectable card pool, played at organised events.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Traditional archery
SportShooting longbow or horsebow without sights or stabilisers.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trail mountain biking
SportRiding singletrack for its own sake, on natural and built trails.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trail orienteering
SportPrecision navigation without a running element, designed to be inclusive of mobility.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trampolining
SportA gymnastic sport with graded skills, coached at clubs and requiring a proper rig.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tramway enthusiasm
HobbyFollowing tramways and light rail — surviving systems, closed routes and the museums that preserve them.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tree identification
HobbyLearning to name trees in every season, including the hard half of the year without leaves.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trigpointing
HobbyFinding and logging Ordnance Survey triangulation pillars across the country.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trombone
HobbyThe slide brass instrument, with no valves and therefore no fixed notes to hide behind.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trug making
CraftSteaming and shaping chestnut and willow into Sussex garden baskets over a frame.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trumpet
HobbyPlaying the trumpet or cornet, with a strong British brass band tradition behind it.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tuba
HobbyThe bass of the brass family, in constant demand in bands and almost never chosen first.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tune ringing
HobbyPlaying melodies on handbells as a team, distinct from the mathematical sequences of change ringing.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tunisian crochet
CraftCrochet worked with a long hook, holding many loops at once for a dense woven-looking fabric.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Turntablism
HobbyUsing turntables as instruments — scratching, beat juggling and cutting — judged in battles.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Type design
CraftHobbyDrawing typefaces, which is drawing, systems thinking and an unusually long feedback loop.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Typewriter collecting
HobbyCraftCollecting and restoring mechanical typewriters, which are repairable and increasingly used.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ukulele
HobbyFour nylon strings, and the fastest route to playing songs with other people.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Umbrella repair
CraftRepairing and reframing umbrellas, an almost vanished trade.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Underwater hockey
SportA six-a-side sport played on the bottom of a pool with short sticks and a weighted puck.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Underwater rugby
SportA three-dimensional pool sport played on the bottom with a negatively buoyant ball, on breath-hold.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Unicycle hockey
SportFive-a-side hockey played on unicycles, with an established league structure.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Unicycling
HobbySportRiding one wheel — for transport, trials, or the sheer difficulty of it.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Urban birding
HobbyBirdwatching in cities and industrial edgeland, which has its own species list and its own patience.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Vacuum forming
CraftShaping heated plastic sheet over a mould with suction, for props and parts.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Valve amplifier building
CraftBuilding and restoring thermionic valve audio equipment, at lethal voltages.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Variable star observing
HobbyMeasuring stars that change brightness and submitting the data, which professionals use.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Veneering
CraftLaying thin decorative wood over a stable substrate, the basis of most fine furniture surfaces.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Ventriloquism
HobbySpeaking without visible articulation, and the character work that makes it worth watching.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Veteran tree recording
HobbyFinding, measuring and recording ancient trees for national inventories.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Video game collecting
HobbyCollecting games and hardware by console, region and completeness.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Video gaming
HobbyPlaying games seriously — as a hobby with its own depth and community.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Videography
HobbyCraftShooting and editing video, from documentary to short film.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Vinegar making
CraftHobbyTurning wine, cider or beer to vinegar with a mother, over months in an open crock.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Vintage calculator collecting
HobbyCollecting early electronic calculators and pocket computers, most of which still run.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Vintage camera collecting
HobbyCollecting and often restoring film cameras, and shooting with them.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Vintage clothing collecting
HobbyFinding, dating and caring for period garments, where textile knowledge decides what is worth buying.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Vintage radio collecting
HobbyCraftCollecting and restoring valve radios, where the electrical restoration is the real hobby.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Vintage sewing machine restoration
CraftHobbyRestoring hand-crank and treadle machines, which are simple, indestructible and still usable.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Vintage toy collecting
HobbyCollecting tinplate, clockwork and mid-century toys, where original boxes carry much of the value.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Vinyl record collecting
HobbyCollecting records — pressings, labels, conditions and the gear to play them.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Viola
HobbyThe alto of the string family, read in its own clef and always wanted by amateur orchestras.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Violin
HobbyBowed strings, from classical training to folk fiddle.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Violin bow making
CraftMaking bows for stringed instruments from pernambuco and horsehair, a specialism within luthiery.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Visible mending
CraftRepairing clothes so the repair shows and is part of the garment.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Voice acting
HobbyPerforming with the voice alone for audio drama, animation and games, usually recorded at home.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Volleyball
SportSix a side over a high net, three touches at a time.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Volunteering
HobbyGiving regular time to an organisation — the most reliable way to meet people.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Walking football
SportFootball with running banned — designed to keep older players playing.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Walking netball
SportNetball without running, designed for returning and older players and growing fast.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
War memorial research
HobbyResearching the people behind local memorials and recording what is found.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wargame army painting
CraftHobbyPainting a whole army to a consistent tabletop standard, which is a different problem from a display piece.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Watch collecting
HobbyCollecting mechanical and quartz watches, and learning what is inside them.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Watch modification
CraftAssembling and customising mechanical watches from parts.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Watch servicing
CraftHobbyStripping, cleaning and regulating mechanical watch movements, at a scale that punishes impatience.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Watchmaking
CraftBuilding and servicing mechanical watch movements to tolerances measured in hundredths of a millimetre.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Water polo
SportSeven a side in deep water, treading water for the whole game.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Watercolour painting
HobbyCraftPainting with transparent water-based pigment, where the paper does half the work.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Waterfowl keeping
HobbyKeeping ducks and geese, which need water and forage rather than a run.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Weather observing
HobbyRecording weather at home with real instruments, and learning to forecast.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Weaving
CraftInterlacing warp and weft on a loom to make cloth, from a frame loom to a floor loom.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Welsh
HobbyLearning Welsh, which has an unusually well-supported adult learner route and a live speaking community.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Western riding
SportThe stock-horse tradition — reining, trail and western dressage — ridden one-handed on a loose rein.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wet felting
CraftMatting wool fibres with hot water, soap and friction into flat or hollow felt.
Under £25 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wet plate collodion
CraftHobbyMaking photographs on hand-coated glass or metal, developed within minutes, using period chemistry.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wheel throwing
CraftForming pots on a spinning potter’s wheel — the hardest and most addictive part of ceramics.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wheelchair basketball
SportA fast Paralympic team sport played in sport chairs, open to disabled and non-disabled players.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wheelchair fencing
SportFencing from frames fixed to the piste, with the full weapon set and no footwork.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wheelchair rugby
SportA full-contact indoor team sport in purpose-built chairs, classified by functional ability.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wheelchair tennis
SportTennis with a two-bounce rule, on a full court and integrated into mainstream competition.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wheelwrighting
CraftMaking wooden wheels, one of the most demanding and least practised of the traditional trades.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Whisky collecting
HobbyCollecting bottlings by distillery, cask and release rather than opening them, which is a different hobby from tasting.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Whisky tasting
HobbyTasting and collecting whisky by region, cask and distillery.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Whist
HobbyA trick-taking card game with a long club and village-hall drive tradition in Britain.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wikipedia editing
HobbyWriting and sourcing encyclopaedia articles, to a strict citation standard.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wild yeast culturing
CraftHobbyKeeping and understanding live cultures — starters, kefir grains, ginger bugs — as a practice in itself.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wildlife gardening
HobbyManaging a garden for insects, birds and amphibians rather than for tidiness.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Windsor chairmaking
CraftBuilding stick chairs from green wood with a shave horse, drawknife and a pole lathe.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wine cellaring
HobbyBuying and storing wine to age it, which is a stock-keeping and storage problem as much as a taste one.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wine tasting
HobbyLearning to taste and describe wine systematically, often towards a qualification.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wing chun
SportA close-range southern Chinese martial art built on structure, centreline and sticking hands.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wire wrapping
CraftBinding stones and beads in shaped wire with no soldering at all.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wood carving
CraftShaping wood with chisels, gouges and mallets, from relief panels to figures.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wood engraving
CraftCutting into the end grain of hard blocks with gravers, printed as relief at very fine detail.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wood graining
CraftPainting one timber to look convincingly like another, using combs, rockers and glazes.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wooden boat building
CraftBuilding small craft in wood — dinghies, canoes and kayaks — over months or years.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Woodturning
CraftCutting spinning wood on a lathe into bowls, spindles and hollow forms.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Worldbuilding
HobbyCraftInventing consistent fictional places, histories and cultures in detail.
Free or near-free to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wormery keeping
HobbyComposting kitchen waste with worms, which works indoors and in a flat.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wrestling
SportFreestyle and Greco-Roman grappling for control and pins.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wushu
SportThe modern competitive codification of Chinese martial arts, judged on form, difficulty and execution.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Xiangqi
HobbyChinese chess, played on the intersections with a river across the middle of the board.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Yo-yo
HobbyTrick play across five competitive divisions, from string tricks to offstring and freehand.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Zine making
HobbyCraftWriting, laying out and photocopying small self-published magazines.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
This is one hand-picked cut through the catalogue. If your constraints are more specific than a single question, the hobby finder takes several at once and shows you why each suggestion matched.