1. Forage for cocktails
Wherever you live, you can forage for ingredients, whether in your own back garden, a city park or wild woodland. Only pick species that you are certain you have correctly identified, and don’t strip the plant bare. Wildaboutfood.co.uk has a guide to which wild foods grow when, and there are foragers’ fact packs at naturescalendar.org.uk.
The real fun starts when you get your wild produce home. Gather some friends and host a home-brewing session: the Woodland Trust has a “hedgerow tipples” pack with brilliant recipes, from beech leaf noyau to hawthorn schnapps and rosehip liqueur. In a few weeks, when your drinks are ready, invite everyone back for a tasting party. If you can’t wait that long, make blackberry whisky – it is ready to drink immediately.
2. Have a laugh
In the Radio 4 series My Teenage Diary, comedians read out the most embarrassing bits from their old journals. It is painful and amusing in equal measure. You can experience something similar, but live, at Cringe, a comedy night at the George pub on the Strand in London, where regular members of the public – admittedly very brave ones – submit their teen diaries to public ridicule.
There are plenty more places all around the country to have a laugh for nothing. Lots of comedy clubs host free improv nights, showcasing newcomers on the comedy circuit. Try the Stand in Edinburgh, which has a free show on Sunday lunchtimes, and the Frog Bucket in Manchester, free for students on Mondays. You never know, you might spot the next Miranda Hart.
3. Sing your heart out
Pub karaoke is always an option, but first you’ll need to have bought yourself enough dutch courage to belt out My Way to a roomful of strangers. For a more discreet experience, round up some friends and book a private room at Lucky Voice, a nation-wide chain of karaoke bars. At most branches, you get a free hour’s singing on Fridays if any of your group hasn’t been before; there are also discounts on other days for “worthy workers” (public sector or charity) and anyone working in hospitality. Some branches have their own offers, such as free karaoke for Albion fans in Brighton.
4. Try the sculpture triangle
Four fantastic arts venues can be found in the so-called “Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle”. Spend a weekend visiting the Henry Moore Institute, Hepworth Wakefield, Leeds Art Gallery and Yorkshire Sculpture Park – all are completely free and less than 30 minutes apart. The galleries also host free special events, such as expert talks at the Henry Moore Institute, artists in conversation at the sculpture park and family workshops at the Hepworth Wakefield – this month you can turn your hand to print-making and metal sculpting. Find out more at ysculpture.co.uk. But then you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to free galleries and museums in the UK: nearly 200 are listed in a useful directory on moneysavingexpert.com.
5. Play ping pong
Photograph: Deborah Davis/Alamy
One of the best things about ping pong – the casual incarnation of the more organised table tennis – is its accessibility: anyone can play. Last summer, the Ping! initiative saw 40,000 people play ping pong in just one month in Brighton and Hove. The tables will start to reappear this month, with free coaching sessions and events in July and August. There is a trust policy with the bats and it seems to work – though Ping! replaces them if they do go missing.
Each table in Brighton has its own Facebook group. “A real community forms around the game,” says Tim Holtham, a table tennis coach. Brighton also has four pubs with ping pong tables, and he hopes a dedicated ping pong bar will open in the city, similar to schemes such as Bounce in London.
6. Congregate on Sundays
The Sunday Assembly started as an idea between two British friends, Pippa Evans and Sanderson Jones. The concept: lead weekly congregations with singing, readings and moments of reflection in a completely secular way. Two years on, they, and others across the globe from Nashville to Newcastle, meet weekly for hour-long services that mimic the structure of church, but minus the religion.
Instead, the Sunday Assembly and its disciples preach to “live better, help often, wonder more”. Branches have sprung all over the UK, with talks from philosophers and scientists, guests reading out powerful personal stories, and songs by Daft Punk and Aretha Franklin replacing traditional hymns. To find your nearest, visit sundayassembly.com.
7. Join the film critics
You’ll still have to pay for the popcorn… Photograph: PhotosIndia.com LLC/Alamy
It’s not just the reviewers that get to see new releases for free, and before the rest of us: studios hope that preview screenings will lead to positive online comments by members of the public, and that a good word of mouth will later translate to box-office success.
To be in with a chance of a seat at these advance shows, you need to sign up to film preview websites such as showfilmfirst.com, seefilmfirst.com and tellten.co.uk which will send you screening codes for new films. You then enter the code on the website to find participating cinemas and print out two free tickets. (You’ll still need to pay for your popcorn, though). On fmuk.org.uk, users share codes, swap tickets and discuss the films.
8. Go wild outdoors
Adventurous souls can pitch a tent in some of Britain’s wildest and most beautiful regions for nothing, as long as you follow a few rules. Scotland is your best bet for wild camping: the Scottish Outdoor Access Code allows camping on all public hill land except east Loch Lomond – venture to the islands for a total escape. Make sure you camp well away from crops, animals, buildings and roads; stay for only two or three nights; and leave no trace of your visit.
In England and Wales, you will need to get the landowner’s permission with a few exceptions: before camping on Dartmoor, where it is allowed, and in the Lake District, it is “generally accepted if undertaken responsibly by small numbers of people”. Spend your days walking and swimming: go4awalk.com has more than 13,000 routes, and you can find scenic spots and like-minded people at wildswimming.co.uk and outdoorswimmingsociety.com
9. Sweat it out
Try a free taster class with British Military Fitness. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian
Working out doesn’t have to mean shelling out. Sweaty Betty, a chain of sportswear shops, holds free exercise sessions all over the country. It is currently running a ballet conditioning club at its shops in Muswell Hill, London, and Bluewater, Kent. You can you also try its popular ballet bootcamp at home with an online class on the Sweaty Betty website.
Elsewhere, the park-based British Military Fitness gives free taster classes to all newcomers – search online for a promo code to bag yourself a seven-day pass.
Many gyms offer one-day passes, including Fitness First and Nuffield Health, but the best deal is from LA Fitness, which will give you five days for free.
10. Wise up
There is something delicious in the acquisition of new knowledge, and while many of us embark upon programmes of self-improvement through costly night school classes or college courses, there are plenty of ways to wise up for free. Across the country, free public lectures are held every day, often in the space of a lunch break or an hour after work. In London, try the British Museum, Wellcome Trust or the British Library. All UK universities hold regular free talks, as do more unusual places such as Manchester’s Astronomical Society and Middlesbrough’s medieval society Friends of Fairy Dell.
11. Get growing
Swap seeds with other gardeners. Photograph: Alamy
Rather than buying seeds from garden centres or nurseries, gardeners have long swapped them with neighbours to save money and share rare varieties. The practice has now gone national, and the seed-swapping festival Seedy Sunday is an annual fixture in Hove town hall in February. You take along seeds you have saved from plants you grew yourself, and swap them with other gardeners.
The idea has germinated and there is also an active online seed-swapping community. All you have to do is specify what seeds you are sending, and what you’d like in return. Then prepare your beds, scatter your seeds and watch things grow. Find out more at seedswappers.co.uk.
12. Go on TV
Does your favourite TV or radio programme have a studio audience? Then you can watch it being recorded for free. Apply online for BBC shows at bbc.co.uk/showsandtours – they are filmed all over the country, but most commonly in Glasgow, Salford, Belfast and London. Currently available tickets include a new comedy, The Gambler. Like airlines, organisers over-book to ensure there are no empty seats, so make sure you arrive early. Useful websites for other channels’ shows include applausestore.com, sroaudiences.com, chortle.co.uk, tvrecordings.com and lostintv.com – subscribe to their mailing lists to find out what’s coming up. The same sites also list programmes looking for contestants. These are usually new gameshows, so you won’t know exactly what you’re letting yourself in for – you’ve been warned.
13. Be a player
There are groups all over the UK that meet up to play particular games. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian
Whether you like card games, board games, party games, war games … literally any kind of game you can think of, the Royal Society of Gamers can suggest the perfect games groups for you. Find like-minded people to challenge you at anything from Scrabble to Settlers of Catan (a German land-grab board game). We like the sound of the games group Beers, Boards and Bellylaughs, which meets in Southend, and the Refugees from Reality in Chesterfield, both of whom meet weekly.
14. Come dancing
Old-fashioned tea dances are having a revival in London, with people of all ages trying out the foxtrot, quickstep and cha-cha-cha. It must be the Strictly effect. Head to Spitalfields Market for completely free tea dances, held from 12.30-2.30pm on the last Wednesday of the month from April to September. The dancefloor is a lovely light-filled space under a glass roof, and music is provided by the New Covent Garden Dance Orchestra.
The Southbank Centre website is also worth keeping an eye on: there is a free Wurlitzer tea dance on 30 March at the Royal Festival Hall.
15. Have a drink
Go along to a free tasting at a wine shop. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian
Free wine sounds too good to be true, but lots of wine merchants hold tasting nights to tempt in customers. Majestic is the best of the nationwide chains: each of its 200+ shops has a tasting table with at least six wines to try. It offers a free 90-minute introduction to wine, including samples, regular “spotlight tastings” of six wines from a particular region or grape, and twice-yearly tastings of at least 12 of its new wines.
Independents are well worth investigating, too. For example, JN Wine near Belfast holds free tastings every Saturday; Bottle Apostle in London on Fridays; and The Oxford Wine Company on the first Thursday of the month. Most shops offering free tastings also give out discount vouchers to spend in store, but there is no obligation to buy.
16. Join the debate
Modern-day salons are places for education, amusement – and a nice pint of pale ale. Skeptics in the Pub meet monthly to converse about history, science, philosophy and more: typically a speaker presents a topic, then a friendly discussion follows over a beer or two. There are scores of Skeptic “chapters” all over the UK and beyond. Find one at skeptic.org.uk.
At the Ragged University in Edinburgh, people come together to share their knowledge with informal talks in social spaces around the city, such as libraries, cafes and bars. The project was inspired by the Ragged Schools movement that helped educate destitute children in the 19th century. Upcoming talks cover topics from food additives to voter apathy. There are lots of similar, smaller organisations, such as Philosophy for All, which hosts lectures (£2 for non-members), free seminars and philosophical country walks.
17. Make time for music
The faculty of music at Oxford University is one of the largest and liveliest in the country, and puts on several free events every month; recently a harpsichord recital, an aria workshop and a medieval music seminar. Performances have the added benefit of taking place in the city’s beautiful college buildings, including the Holywell Music Room, built in 1748 and thought to be the oldest concert hall in England. Click here for listings.
Elsewhere, you can squeeze in a concert in your lunch hour. The London Symphony Orchestra and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham both put on free lunchtime concerts every Friday; Newcastle University on Thursdays; and Manchester University most Mondays and Thursdays.
18. Go book hunting
Make your local library your first port of call on a free book hunt – if you still have one after all the cuts, that is. But for more of an adventure, you could try bookcrossing. At its simplest, it involves leaving a book in a public place for someone else to enjoy.
If you want to get more involved, you can register at bookcrossing.com/join and tag your book with an identity code. Record where you release it into the wild, and let fellow members race to find it. They’ll pass it on in turn, and you can watch the progress of your book as it moves across your city, country or even the world.
19. Stay calm
Inner Space meditation and personal development centres offer free courses and seminars in Glasgow, Cambridge, Oxford, Chelmsford and London. Most courses are practical: how to relax, how to manage your time, how to meditate on your commute or at your desk. Talks might include digital detoxing or avoiding guilt trips.
In Cambridge, there are even free day retreats by the river with a vegetarian lunch thrown in. Visit innerspace.org.uk for details.
20. Join a craft club
Unlike night schools and formal courses, social sewing clubs feel more informal, friendly and sociable, which is probably why they’re taking off: they are now dotted around the country. At Cafe Sewciety in Clifton, Bristol, you can enjoy a cup of loose-leaf tea, a piece of homemade cake – and a turn on a sewing machine. The bright, modern cafe has a basement sewing parlour where machines can be hired for a fiver an hour, but once a month there is a free sewing bee (12-4pm, fourth Friday of the month). Each month a different skill is taught, and you can bring whatever you’re working on.
Elsewhere, try the Needle Point Sewing and Craft Cafe in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, The Sewing Cafe in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and SewOverIt in Clapham, London.