Hobbies · Sports
History & heritage
Pursuits that reach into the past — research, reenactment and recovery.
Metal detecting
HobbySearching ground with a detector for coins, artefacts and history — under a legal framework that matters.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
Antique collecting
HobbyBuying, researching and living with old objects — furniture, ceramics, silver, clocks and glass.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
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
Also in this category
Classified but not yet written up.
110 activities in the catalogue, 3 written up so far.
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
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
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
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
Atlatl throwing
SportThrowing darts with a spear-thrower, a prehistoric weapon with a modern following.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
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
Banknote collecting
HobbyCollecting paper money for its design, printing, history and security features.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
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
Blackwork embroidery
CraftCounted geometric embroidery in a single colour, from Tudor dress.
£25–£100 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
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
Bottle digging
HobbyExcavating Victorian household tips for glass and stoneware bottles, with landowner permission.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsDemanding
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
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
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
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
Community archaeology
HobbyExcavating and recording with a local group under professional supervision.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsDemanding
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
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
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
Enamel sign collecting
HobbyCollecting vitreous enamel advertising signs, heavy and increasingly valuable.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
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
Experimental archaeology
HobbyCraftTesting how things were actually made by making them with period methods.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
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
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
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
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
Fossil hunting
HobbySearching coast and quarry for fossils, and learning what you have found.
£25–£100 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
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
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
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
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
Hedgerow surveying
HobbyDating and recording hedges, which are readable historical documents.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsGentle
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
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 reenactment
HobbyRecreating a period accurately — kit, craft, drill and living history.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
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
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
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
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 heritage visiting
HobbyVisiting and recording preserved mills, pumping stations and工 works, usually through volunteer sites.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
Military vehicle restoration
HobbyCraftRestoring and showing ex-service vehicles, with an unusual amount of documentary research attached.
Over £1,000 to startIndoors or outdoorsDemanding
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
Monumental inscription recording
HobbySystematically recording gravestone inscriptions and plans before weathering removes them.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsGentle
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
Muzzleloading shooting
SportTarget shooting with black powder originals and reproductions, under its own governing body.
£300–£1,000 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
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
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
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
Palaeography
HobbyLearning to read historical handwriting, which unlocks archives nobody has transcribed.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
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
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
Portrait miniature painting
CraftPainting portraits at a few centimetres, historically on ivory substitutes.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
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
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
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
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
Retro computing
HobbyRestoring, using and programming computers from the 1980s and 90s.
£300–£1,000 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
Seal study
HobbyStudying wax seals and their impressions as historical documents.
£25–£100 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
Silverpoint drawing
CraftDrawing with a metal stylus on prepared ground, unforgiving and precise.
£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
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
Swing dancing
HobbyLindy hop, balboa and charleston, danced to live and recorded jazz.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsDemanding
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
Timetable collecting
HobbyCollecting transport timetables, a precise record of how places connected.
Under £25 to startIndoorsSedentary
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
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
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
Veteran tree recording
HobbyFinding, measuring and recording ancient trees for national inventories.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
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 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
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
Wreck diving
SportHobbyDiving shipwrecks for their archaeology and marine life, with distinct training for going inside.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet