Want to learn a new skill or treat yourself to some quality me-time? Browse through our easy-to-use guide below to find courses near you in the Penny Post area.
Arts, Crafts & Sculpture
• Drawing & Painting
Watercolour Painting weekend workshops with inspiring and witty artist Frankie Cummins. Sat 7 and/or Sun 8 Oct, Sat 11 and/or Sun 12 Nov Great Bedwyn.
Oil-painting with Chris Turner Small class on Mon afternoon termly or one-to-one tuition. 01488 658 587. Wootton Hill.
The White Horse Bookshop Painting and drawing workshops. Marlborough.
Louise Gunnersen Art Classes Newbury.
City Arts Newbury
• Sculpture & Pottery
Diana Pattenden’s Ceramic & Sculpture Courses Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri & Sat. Newbury.
Ele van Schoor Ceramics, pottery wheel tuition. Great Shefford.
The Base, Greenham.
• Craft & Mixed Media
World Crafts – Weekly Fridays 10.30am-12pm (except 4th Friday of month) Newbury Library. FREE. Booking required.
Art of Jaipur candle making, block printing & reed diffuser making workshops. Wilts, West Berks, South Oxon.
Jewellery & Silvermith Classes with award-winning designer, Loucinda Nims, Lambourn
City Arts Crafts & mixed media workshops. Newbury.
The White Horse Bookshop, Craft workshops. Marlborough.
Wendy’s Mosaic Designs Vintage crockery mosaic workshops. Wantage.
Honesty Cookery School Craft workshops. Near Newbury.
Corn Exchange Craft workshops, Newbury.
Hungerford Hub & Library, Crafty groups, Hungerford.
The Wantage Mix Craft & up-cycling workshops. Wantage.
Photography
Cooking
Maymessy Cookery School West Challow.
Music, Dance & Drama
• Music & Singing
Singing Groups at Corn Exchange Newburys for fun, well-being and all abilities.
Newbury Ukulele (NUTS) Strum-along club
Group ukulele tuition, therapeutic singalongs and guitar club, Newbury.
Sing Louder Choir Adult and child community choirs. Thatcham.
Wantage Silver Band Tuition for children and adults. Wantage.
Phoenix Brass Training Band provides instruments and tuition for children and adult beginners. Froxfield.
Marlborough Accordion Orchestra Training for beginners. Froxfield.
Incantata Choir Non- auditioned ladies community choir. Newbury.
• Dance
Newbury College Ballroom & Latin. Newbury.
Cheek2Cheek Dance Ballroom, Latin & Sequence. Boxford, Lambourn and East Challow.
Morris Dancing with Garston Gallopers East Garston.
Ginger Jive Newbury, Thatcham, Burghfield.
Corn Exchange Newbury.
• Drama
Newbury College Performing Arts Level 3. Newbury.
Corn Exchange Newbury.
The Watermill Theatre Newbury.
Act 1 to 1 Drama & Coaching Kintbury.
Stretch the Mind
Newbury College, wide range of courses. Newbury.
Creative writing courses with local author AJ Stone. Swindon, Wantage area.
Online bridge courses for all levels with bridgeimprovers.co.uk (with Rose Somerset in Hungerford).
Free online training courses at Newbury College include business skills, child care, education, teacher training, health, social care and counselling.
eLearning Marketplace, wide range of courses. Online.
Community English language courses free to eligible learners in West Berkshire from Sept: no exam ESOL, English for work/business communication and driving theory.
Wantage Café Scientifique Talks Wantage.
Newbury Bridge Club Newbury, Chieveley, online.
Newbury Geological Study Group various, online.
Languages (including EFL/ESOL)
Spanish Learning Club Small, friendly classes with Angela Quiroga. Kintbury
Newbury College French, Italian & Spanish. Newbury
eLearning Marketplace French, Italian, Japenese and more. Online.
Abingdon & Witney College French, Spanish, Japanese, Polish, Greek & Russian. Online
English as a Foreign Language with Berkshire School of English online & in-person.
Community English language courses free to eligible learners in West Berkshire from Sept: no exam ESOL, English for work/business communication and driving theory.
Sewing & Knitting
Stitch & Sew– Weekly Thursdays 10-11.30am at the Corn Exchange, Newbury. FREE. Booking required.
Quilting, Sewing & Craft Workshops at Lorne Hill Farm. East Garston.
The Mix Getting to know your sewing machine. Contact Jo at wantagemix@gmail.com for next date. Wantage.
Corn Exchange Stitch and Sew, Newbury.
Old Chapel Needlework, Greenham Business Park.
Fitness & Sport
• Fitness
GR Swimming Schools, children, adult & school lessons, aquaphobia courses, DofE rookies. Compton, Thatcham, Pangbourne.
Love Lotte Barre Fitness Hungerford.
Herongate Club Hungerford.
WALX Wessex Nordic Walking Wilts & West Berks.
Audley Club at Inglewood near Kintbury.
Hungerford Leisure Centre Hungerford.
The Lambourn Centre Lambourn.
Aerial Fitness, Pole & Silks Newbury & Brimpton.
• Sports & Clubs
West Berks Indoor Bowls Club Free taster sessions. Newbury.
Phoenix Lacrosse Club juniors & seniors. Newbury
Hungerford Netball Club welcomes players from across the area.
Kintbury Netball Club for adults of all abilities. Contact kintburynetballclub@gmail.com
Thatcham & Newbury Town Ladies & Girls FC Thatcham & Newbury.
Wantage Town Ladies FC Wantage.
Just Play weekly informal football for 16 – 75yrs. Thatcham.
Cycling UK Wantage Wantage.
Newbury Road Club, Newbury.
Newbury Judo Club, Newbury.
Bucklebury Badminton Club, Upper Woolhampton (just off A4 between Newbury and Reading).
Hungerford Cricket Club welcomes new players of all ages.
Theale & Tilehurst Cricket Club welcomes new players.
Seniors & Less Mobile
Ageing Creatively courses & classes for over 55s in West Berkshire. From yoga to line dancing, world crafts to Tai Chi Qi Gong.
Cinema Club for over 55s – Corn Exchange, Newbury. £8.50 includes film ticket, review and tea, coffee and lunch. Booking required.
Coffee Companions – Weekly Thursdays 10.30am-12.30pm at the Corn Exchange, Newbury. FREE. No booking required.
Over 50s Swimming at Hungerford Leisure Centre Hungerford.
Local U3A groups provide educational, creative and leisure activities for retired and semi-retired people:
Hungerford & District U3A
Newbury U3A
Wantage & Grove U3A
Marlborough U3A
Herongate Club Hungerford.
Lambourn Centre Lambourn.
Life Skills
First Aid Courses with Worsley Training, Hungerford & Marlborough.
Free online training courses at Newbury College include business skills, child care, education, teacher training, health, social care and counselling.
CAP Money Budgeting Course West Berks & South Oxon.
The Wantage Mix Eco, craft & life skill courses. Wantage.
Abingdon & Witney College Counselling, support for carers, business skills. Online
Bikeability Training, West Berkshire.
Mindfulness, Healing & Mental Wellbeing
Welcome to Recovery Free 5 week course to help improve your mental health & wellbeing. Newbury.
Rob Donnelly Therapy Mental Health Awareness Training. West Berks.
Abingdon & Witney College A carer’s journey – support for carers’ mental wellbeing. Online.
Sport in Mind Supporting the mental health of children and adults through sport and physical activity. West Berks.
Nature for Health weekly drop-in Gardening at Shaw House, Newbury.
Free weekly mindfulness sessions for teens, Waterside Centre, Newbury.
Mindful Medicine Meditation classes. Online.
Calm Quiet Space Mindfulness courses. Great Bedwyn
The Mix Mindfulness for health course. Online.
The Mix Mindfulness for stress. Wantage.
Yoga & Pilates
New Year, Healthy Habits free yoga & pilates sessions hosted by Educafe. Newbury area.
Be Yoga with Beth Trotter Stockcross, Letcombe Regis, online.
Sheepdrove Yoga Lambourn.
Stable Yoga Kintbury.
Wantage Pilates Studio Wantage.
Wasing Wellbeing & Yoga Wasing Estate near Aldermaston
Herongate Club Pilates. Hungerford
Kalm ‘n’ Kind Yoga online & West Berks.
Tai Chi & Martial Arts
Green Chi Tai Chi Hungerford, Marlborough, Newbury, online.
Matt Ward Karate Junior & adults. Wilts & Lambourn.
Flowers & Gardening
Food growing courses with edge Landscaping. Online & in-person. Market gardening, FarmStart, permaculture, forest gardens, no dig, edible perennials and more.
Marlborough Floral Club Mildenhall near Marlborough.
Weekly Gardening Club, Newbury.
Newbury & District Gardeners Newbury.
Community Gardening at Growing2Gether near Kingsclere.
Nature for Health weekly drop-in Gardening at Shaw House, Newbury.
Outdoor Fun
West Berkshire Countryside Society welcomes volunteers to help with hedge laying, coppicing and habitat maintenance.
WALX Wessex Nordic Walking Wilts & West Berks.
BBOWT Wildlife Trust Volunteering opportunities. West Berkshire.
Shalbourne Gliding Club Shalbourne near Hungerford.
Young Farmers for 10 to 28 yr olds who have a love of the countryside and rural life. Berks, Wilts, Oxon, Hants.
River restoration & surveying with ARK Marlborough, Newbury, Hungerford area.
The Wild Side of Life foraging, wilderness crafts & survival skills.
The Coppice Co woodland experiences, spoon carving and basket weaving.
Bikeability Training, West Berkshire.
