Play a game of pickleball
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
Played with a solid paddle and a perforated ball on a small court, pickleball is quick to pick up and produces long, lively rallies. Doubles is the usual format, so you meet people from the first game.
ModerateUnder £100 / $130An afternoonIndoors or outWith othersUK and US
How to start
- Find a club or court through Pickleball England or USA Pickleball's places to play page.
- Look for a taster or open play session where paddles are provided.
- Learn the serve and the kitchen rule, then join a doubles game.
Where to go
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.
More like this
Moderate
Try indoor rock climbing
Moderate
Swim in open water
Moderate · Virginia
Hike Shenandoah National Park with your dog
Moderate
Paddle in a dragon boat crew