Play a game of lawn bowls
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
The bowls are weighted to curve, so every delivery is a judgement of line and weight. It is tactical, sociable and far harder to do well than it looks.
GentleUnder £100 / $130An afternoonOutdoorsWith othersUK and USSummer on outdoor greens
How to start
- Find a club through Bowls England or Bowls USA.
- Ask about an open day or taster session, where bowls are lent to newcomers.
- Wear flat-soled shoes to protect the green and ask a member to show you the delivery.
Where to go
- Bowls England UK
- Bowls USA US
We opened these links on 6 October 2026 and found them to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
Plan this
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. The hard part of a day out is the timing: the right season, tickets and getting there. The plan watches the calendar for you.
Read next
No one left behind on the Expresso trail: fifteen years of Tuesday rides with Girls Outside
How a group of women in Colorado's Roaring Fork Valley turned a Tuesday mountain bike ride into a 15-year habit: the motto, the tailgate and why the group keeps them riding. How to start mountain biking on easy graded trails, or ride harder terrain with a group if you already ride.
Watching a swimmer from an exercise bike led Sola Alegbe from a lifelong fear of water to teaching it
How a Londoner who nearly drowned as a child learned to swim at 48, left her job at Transport for London and qualified as a swimming teacher. What the first lesson is really like, and how to start if water frightens you, or go further if you already swim.