5 clubs and groups you can join, with training nights, fees and the beginner route into each.
A free, informal creative afternoon for LGBTQ+ people aged fifty and over, every other Thursday at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, 2.30 to 4.30, run by Bijou Stories, the queer history and wellbeing project behind Any Old Iron. Try a creative activity or sit with a cup of tea. Fifty-two events on OutSavvy since 2021.
South · Thu · Free · Beginners
Gay men's social events built around doing something: board games at Draughts, a Surrey Hills hike, a supper club, cooking, climbing, canoeing, life drawing, pottery, a Sunday yoga club and a strength class, most of them at The Ministry in Borough, most of them £5 to £20. The pitch on every page is the same: meet gay men, make friends, outside of apps and bars. Tickets on their own site.
Sun · Beginners
The UK's queer Muslim charity, volunteer-led since 2017 and secular in its running: a members' Discord, mentoring, a queer book club that meets in person a few times a year, seasonal walks in London, and theatre trips. Membership is the way in; events are £8 to £12 or free.
Free · Beginners
Line dancing for queers, allies and country lovers: a monthly Monday night at Walthamstow Trades Hall where two blocks of lessons from 7.30pm open up a floor that runs from Dolly Parton to Chappell Roan, and Baby Steps, a ten-class beginners' course on Sunday evenings at Betty and Joan's in Walworth with STRUT. Nearly three thousand people through the door since 2025.
East · Mon, Sun · Beginners
Club Soda's alcohol-free queer night, every third Thursday at its Tasting Room on Drury Lane: a bar of alcohol-free beers, wines and cocktails, small plates from next door, a quieter speakeasy downstairs, and a sharing circle from seven for anyone changing their drinking. Free; most people come alone and are introduced to others.
Central · Thu · Free · Beginners
New clubs, changed training nights, and the occasional weekend. No more than that.
A weekend away with a group of gay men, and nothing to prove.