Hobbies · Sports
Wellbeing & mindful
Practices taken up primarily to settle the mind or the body.
Chris Hunkeler from Carlsbad, California, USA / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Wild swimming
Swimming in rivers, lakes and sea — enormously rewarding, and the one hobby here that regularly kills people who get it wrong.
£25–£100 to start · outdoors · demanding
GoToVan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Yoga
A 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 start · indoors · moderate effort
Math (Brendel Matyas) at hu.wikipedia. / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5
Sauna building
Building a garden sauna — the stove decision, the regulations nobody mentions, and the bench geometry that makes it work.
Over £1,000 to start · outdoors · demanding
Journaling
HobbyCraftWriting regularly for yourself — as a record, a thinking tool, or a creative practice.
Under £25 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
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
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
Also in this category
Classified but not yet written up.
44 activities in the catalogue, 7 written up so far.
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
Adult ballet
HobbySportClassical ballet technique taught to adults, beginners included.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsDemanding
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
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
Breathwork
HobbyStructured breathing practices taught in classes and used alongside cold exposure.
Under £25 to startIndoorsGentle
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
Flower arranging
CraftHobbyComposing cut flowers, with a competitive club circuit most people never notice.
£25–£100 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
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
Freediving
SportDiving deep on a single breath, with formal training in safety and technique.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
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
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
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
Incense making
CraftBlending and forming incense from resins, woods and binders.
£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
Juggling
HobbyThrowing and catching in patterns — balls, clubs, rings and beyond.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
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
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
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
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
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
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
Pilates
SportControlled core and postural training, on a mat or reformer.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsModerate effort
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
Qigong
HobbyCoordinated movement, breathing and attention, practised in short daily sets.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
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
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
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
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
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
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
Tea appreciation
HobbyLearning tea by type, origin and brewing, and tasting deliberately.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Therapeutic horticulture groups
HobbyStructured group gardening run for wellbeing, usually through a charity or social prescribing route.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Tidal pool swimming
SportHobbySwimming in sea pools and tidal lidos, sheltered from open water risk.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
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