Hobbies for Adults in Exeter: 12 Ways to Start Something New (and Meet People)

Most adults do not lack interests. What they lack is a reason to leave the house on a Tuesday. A hobby with a fixed night, a place and the same faces each week gives you that reason, and it quietly solves a second problem too: it is one of the easiest ways to make friends as an adult, because the activity does the talking for you.

This guide is a starting map. It covers twelve hobbies you can pick up in and around Exeter, with one or two places for each, and points to our deeper guides where we have them. Every club and venue named here was checked in September 2026 against its own website, and food-serving venues against the Food Standards Agency register. Timetables change with the seasons, so check before you go.

If you are after painting, pottery or life drawing specifically, our guide to art classes and workshops in Exeter goes into far more detail. This page is the broader view.

What makes a good hobby for adults who want to meet people?

A hobby that builds a social life has three things: it happens on a regular night, it gives you something to do with your hands or your attention, and it lets beginners in without embarrassment. Drop-in is good; a fixed weekly slot is better. The research backs the "doing something together" part. An Oxford study led by Eiluned Pearce, Jacques Launay and Robin Dunbar, published in Royal Society Open Science in 2015, found that adult education classes which sang together bonded faster than craft or creative-writing classes over the first months, although the other groups caught up by the end of the course. The lesson is not "only sing". It is that any shared, repeated activity works, and some just work quicker.

Where can adults try climbing in Exeter?

Exeter has two indoor climbing centres, and both take complete beginners.

Boulder Exe, Tudor Street

Boulder Exe is the bouldering centre on Tudor Street, near the river. It has beginner-friendly areas alongside competition walls and training boards, and the centre describes itself as a place to meet people as much as a gym. Its website lists opening from 10am to 10pm on weekdays and 9am to 7pm at weekends. Bouldering is the easiest form of climbing to start: no ropes, no partner, short problems you can try, fail and retry while chatting to whoever is sitting on the mat next to you. That is exactly why it is so sociable.

Quay Climbing Centre, Haven Banks

The Quay Climbing Centre on the Quayside is run by the same team, and bills itself as the South West's largest indoor climbing centre, with top rope, lead and bouldering. Its Clip 'n Climb arena suits a mixed group where nobody has climbed before. If you catch the bug, roped climbing here is the natural next step, and a regular climbing partner is one of the quickest friendships a hobby can give you.

Can you learn to paddle or kayak in Exeter?

Yes. Exeter Canoe Club is based on the Exeter Ship Canal and covers racing, touring, white water, sea kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding, with pool sessions and a "getting started with paddling" route for newcomers on its website. A club is a better long-term bet than one-off hire because you get coaching, kit and people to paddle with. For more on getting out on the water around the county, see our water sports guide to Devon.

Where can you play chess or board games in Exeter?

Games are a gift for anyone who finds small talk hard. The rules give you something to talk about, and silence over a board is normal rather than awkward.

Exeter Chess Club

Exeter Chess Club was founded in 1895 and meets on Tuesdays from 7pm at Heavitree Social Club, Wingfield Park, East Wonford Hill. It plays in the Exeter and District Chess League and the Devon county leagues, so there is a competitive route if you want one, but plenty of people come for the club night itself.

Board, South Street

Board at 79 South Street is a board game café with a library of hundreds of games, food and drinks, and staff who will recommend something that suits your group. It is closed on Tuesdays and, according to its website, has been card-only since June 2026. For regular gaming nights and groups that welcome newcomers, see our full guide to board game cafés and gaming in Exeter.

Where can adults sing in a choir in Exeter?

Singing is the hobby with the best evidence for fast bonding, and Exeter has choirs at every level.

At the more formal end, the Exeter Philharmonic Choir welcomes prospective members over 18. You attend one or two rehearsals first to see how the choir works, then take an audition with the Director of Music; the choir says auditions are held in the third weeks of September and January. It is heading into a 2026/27 anniversary season with concerts from October.

If an audition sounds like too much, look for a community or "no audition" choir instead; many church and community choirs take singers without one, and they tend to advertise in libraries and community centres. Go to a rehearsal before you commit: the feel of the room matters more than the repertoire.

Where can you learn to dance in Exeter?

Dance AM teaches ballroom, Latin and sequence dancing in a relaxed atmosphere, and invites newcomers to call and book a first class. Besides its regular classes, its website lists a relaunched Thursday evening class at 6.30pm at the Marsh Barton Social Club for new dancers and intermediates. Partner dancing is structured sociability: you rotate, you laugh at your own feet, and you get to know a whole room in a single evening.

Is running a good hobby for meeting people in Exeter?

Running is one of the most accessible hobbies there is, and the social side is stronger than its solitary reputation suggests. The simplest start is a free Saturday parkrun, then a club.

Exeter Harriers holds club training nights at Exeter Arena and offers temporary membership so you can try it before committing. The club posted in September 2026 that the Arena track was being repaired for about two weeks from 21 September, with training disrupted and no new temporary members until it reopened, so check the website for the current position before you turn up.

Our guide to running clubs and parkrun around Exeter covers the beginner groups, the other clubs and the parkrun courses in detail.

Where can adults join a book club in Exeter?

The lowest-pressure bookish hobby in the city is Silent Book Club, run by Exeter City of Literature. You bring whatever you are reading, read quietly for an hour, then chat if you want to. It is free and runs from 6pm to 8pm three times a month: on the first Wednesday and third Monday at Topsham Brewery, and on the last Thursday at 12 Bar Music & Social on Paris Street. It is ideal if you are going alone.

For set-book clubs, writing groups and literary events, see our guide to book clubs in Exeter.

Where can you make, fix and build things in Exeter?

Making things is one of the most satisfying hobbies for adults, and conversation comes easily when your hands are busy.

Men in Sheds Exeter

Men in Sheds Exeter is a workshop for men over 50 (with some discretion) where members refurbish donated tools, repair and upcycle donated items for sale in Hospiscare's Marsh Barton warehouse shop, and build things together over tea. New members enquire through the website; check with the group that sessions are running before you go. If you are newly retired and miss the camaraderie of work, this is exactly what it is for.

Pottery, painting and crafts

For wheel throwing, pottery painting, printmaking and craft workshops, our pottery and craft workshops guide lists the studios and term courses in and around the city.

What hobbies can you learn if you have retired?

Exeter u3a is the obvious starting point. Its interest groups are the core of what it does: members learn from each other rather than from paid tutors, in groups that range from languages and local history to walking and gardening. It is aimed at people who are no longer in full-time work, whatever their age. Our guide for over-50s in Exeter covers u3a alongside walking groups, bowls, the WI and more.

Where can adults try drama or performance in Exeter?

The Cygnet Theatre, an independent theatre and arts centre in Exeter, says it regularly runs courses for the community as well as for professionals. Drama is a surprisingly good hobby for shy people: you are given words to say and someone else's character to hide behind. Check its courses page for what is running this term.

How do you choose a hobby that will actually stick?

Pick by timetable first and interest second. The hobby that fits into a night you are genuinely free every week will beat the more exciting one you can only make once a month. A few rules that help:

• Choose something with a fixed weekly or monthly slot. Regularity is what turns strangers into familiar faces.
• Look for a clear beginner route. Taster sessions, temporary membership or a "come to a rehearsal first" policy all mean the club expects newcomers.
• Stay for the after-bit. The drink after chess, the chat after Silent Book Club, the tea in the Shed: that is where friendships actually form.
• Try two at once. One active, one sitting down. If one fizzles, you still have the other.

Hobbies for adults in Exeter: common questions

A hobby is a standing invitation

The best thing about a hobby is not the skill you gain. It is that every week, somewhere in the city, a group of people expects to see you. That standing invitation is what most adult social lives are missing, and it is the same idea behind our own dinners: a regular table, a mix of people, and a reason to turn up.