Castles, country estates, villages, gardens…

Britain is awash with inspirational historic places and getting out to experience them is always an enjoyable way to spend a morning.

If it’s a nice day you can pack up a picnic, or stop off on the way home for a bite of lunch to round off an interesting, educational morning.

Search using the National Trust’s website below to find an interesting place to visit in your area:   

National Trust

There are few more enjoyable ways of getting your hands really dirty than squidging, pummelling and squeezing sticky wet clay between your fingers.

Many adult education centres and course organisers offer free pottery taster classes to give you a feel for it before you plunge in.

Use the websites below to find a class or course near you.

Websites:

Hot Courses

Craft Tracker

Education & Learning

Great exercise and enjoyable company. Well, that’s how the experts sum it up.

If you thought it was just for the country set, think again.

There are golf driving ranges all over the country when you can pop along and have a bash at hitting balls.

It’s the best way to get a feel for the game, and then you can think about booking a few lessons to get your swing right, etc.

Use the websites below to get started:                         

www.golfrangefinder.co.uk

www.golflinks.co.uk/driving-ranges.php

Take the children (if you have them) and pop down to your local pool for a dip.

You don’t need to be a swimmer to enjoy the pool. The shallow end is rarely more than 1 metre deep (waist level) and there is usually a selection of floats and inflatables to keep you and little ones buoyant while you splash around.

If you’re feeling really energetic you could join a water aerobics class and meet new people, or sign up for swimming lessons – it’s never too late to learn.

Helpful websites:

www.swimmingwithoutstress.co.uk

www.learn-to-swim.co.uk

Don’t be put off by thoughts of grey-haired grannies, everyone’s doing it these days.

Clack-clickety-clack. The comforting sound of knitting needles as they stab, dip and loop, drawing the wool into another handmade, one-off original…

If you’ve never tried it, you might be surprised how enjoyable this craft can be.

Nip down to the haberdashery store, grab yourself a beginner’s level pattern and a pair of needles, choose your wool and off you go – come back and tell us how you get on – maybe send a picture of your first ever attempt!

Websites worth a look:
www.learn2knit.co.uk
http://learn-to-knit.com
www.knittinghelp.com

Blogs:
Yarn Harlot
The Knitting Den

Dip your toes in this relaxing exercise to see if it’s for you.

There’s no questioning the health benefits of yoga; it’s been practiced for thousands of years so it must be good.

But if you haven’t yet experienced it and fancy finding out if it’s as relaxing and calming as they say, why not start off by learning the basics in your own home?

There’s a great community website called gaiam.com full of tips to get started, or use this link to learn the ten most essential yoga positions in just a morning, and it has downloadable videos that show you exactly how to do each one.

And once you’ve got the basics under your belt, you may be inspired to take it further and join a class where you can meet other relaxed, flexible enthusiasts!

Websites worth a look:
Yoga-videos.net
Yogadownload.com

Find a class near you:
Yoga.co.uk

Blogs:
Everything Yoga
My Yoga Blog