Guide
How to Meet Singles in the UK: 12 Ways That Actually Work
Pair one online route with one sociable habit you’d enjoy anyway, and tell your friends you’re looking.
Meet more people by doing two things at once
The easiest way to meet singles in the UK is to combine a dating site, where people have already said what they want, with one regular group activity such as a running club, an evening class or a weekly quiz. Add the odd singles night and a word in your friends’ ears, and you’ve covered every route.
Below are twelve ways to do it, in big cities and small towns alike, followed by a table of what suits which age and how to turn a good chat into an actual date. Our other dating guides pick up from there.
The quickest ways to meet someone new
- Online, join a site where people say what they want, and look close to home first.
- Offline, pick one regular activity and stick with it for a couple of months.
- Singles nights and speed dating are the most direct route: everyone in the room is single.
- Tell friends you’re looking. An introduction from someone who knows you both comes with a reference.
- When a chat is going well, suggest a short, specific plan within a week or so.
Where can you meet singles online?
1. Join a site built around what you want
People join a dating site to meet someone, which is more than you can say for most bars. The trick is to choose one where people want the same thing as you, and that’s why Encounters.uk has four sections, each with its own members: Single Encounters for relationships, Mature Encounters for the over 40s, Casual Encounters for adult fun without strings, and Milf Encounters, our newest, where older women and younger men meet.
2. Search close to home
A match who lives an hour away turns into a date you keep putting off. Distance is one of the things your daily match suggestions on Encounters.uk weigh up, and our singles near me page explains how it works. If you live in or near a city, our location pages show the age mix of our members in 18 places, from Plymouth to Glasgow.
3. Join in, don’t just browse
A profile that never changes is easy to scroll past. Post a status update or a new photo, comment on other people’s posts and have a go at the polls and quizzes. It gives people an easy reason to say hello, and a comment is a far gentler opener than a cold message.
Where can you meet singles in person?
4. Go to a singles night or speed dating
This is the most direct route offline, because everyone in the room is single. Speed dating gives you a few minutes with each person and a card to tick at the end; singles nights are looser, often built around a bar, a quiz or a supper club. Search for singles events near you, choose one with an age range that suits you, and bring a friend if you’d rather not walk in alone.
5. Take a class you’d enjoy anyway
An evening class puts you in a room with the same people every week, which is how attraction tends to creep up on you. Choose something with a sociable side:
- Cookery
- Salsa
- Modern jive
- Pottery
- Life drawing
- A new language
- Wine tasting
- Improv comedy
- Photography
Partner dances are especially good, because you swap partners every few minutes and end up talking to everyone.
6. Run, walk or cycle with a group
Running clubs, cycling clubs and walking groups are some of the friendliest places in the UK to meet people, and conversation comes easily when you’re side by side. A Saturday-morning parkrun is a gentle way in, and plenty of runners head for a coffee afterwards. Prefer a slower pace? Try a walk with your local Ramblers group.
7. Volunteer
A few hours a week in a charity shop, a food bank or a conservation group puts you beside people who care about the same things you do. It’s low pressure and useful, and suggesting a drink after a shift is the most natural thing in the world.
8. Join a team, a club or a choir
Five-a-side, netball, tennis, rowing, a book club, a community choir: anything with a regular fixture and somewhere to go afterwards. Mixed clubs give you a reason to see the same faces every week, and a ready-made topic of conversation.
9. Make up a pub quiz team
The weekly pub quiz is about as British as meeting people gets. Join a team or start one with a friend, become a regular, and get to know the other tables over the weeks. Losing gracefully on the music round is very attractive.
10. Say yes to friends of friends
Tell your friends you’re single and would like to meet someone. Then go to the birthday drinks, the barbecue and the wedding where you only know the couple. A friend who knows you both has already done some of the matching for you.
11. Try a singles holiday or group trip
Singles holidays, walking breaks and group tours put you with other solo travellers for a week or so, which is plenty of time to get to know someone. If romance doesn’t happen, you still come home with new friends and a tan, or at least the memory of one.
12. Become a regular somewhere
The same café on a Saturday morning, the same gym class, the same climbing wall. Being a familiar face makes small talk easy, and small talk with someone you see every week has a habit of turning into a coffee.
What’s the best way to meet singles at your age?
Everything on this page works at any age, but some routes suit some stages of life a little better. Use this as a starting point.
| Your age | Good places to start | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| 20s | Dating sites, running clubs, five-a-side, pub quizzes, friends’ parties | Your circle is still growing, so say yes to invitations. |
| 30s | Sites where people say what they want, dance and cookery classes, friends of friends | If you want a relationship, say so early. It saves time on both sides. |
| 40s | Mature Encounters, singles nights for over 40s, walking groups, volunteering | Daytime dates fit around work and children. |
| 50s and beyond | Walking groups, choirs, singles holidays, Mature Encounters | A club that meets every week lets friendship grow into something more at its own pace. |
Over 40 and starting again? Our guide to dating over 40 in the UK covers first dates, profiles and when a new partner should meet your children.
How do you turn a chat into a date?
Plenty of good chats fizzle out simply because nobody suggests meeting. Be the one who does.
- Ask questions that need more than a yes. “What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?” gets further than “How was your day?”
- Find the thing you share. A place you both love, a sport, a terrible taste in films. That’s your first date idea.
- Suggest something specific. “Fancy a coffee at the market on Saturday morning?” is easier to say yes to than “we should meet up sometime”.
- Offer a quick video chat if either of you would like one first. Ten minutes is plenty.
- Keep the first meet short and public, and make your own way there. Our first date ideas will help you choose where.
If someone keeps finding reasons not to meet, take the hint kindly and move on. A good profile gets you to this point sooner, and our dating profile tips show you how to write one.
Meet singles near you on Encounters.uk
Encounters.uk has been online since 2014, with members in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: London and the West Midlands lead the way, followed by Hampshire and West Yorkshire. Choose the section that fits what you’re after and make a profile with a few recent photos. Each day you’ll be shown people who match on age range, distance, what they’re looking for and the things they’re into.
There’s nothing to install: it works through the web browser on your mobile, tablet or laptop. If someone catches your eye, swipe right or send a message.
Meeting singles: your questions
Where is the best place to meet singles?
The best place to meet singles is somewhere you’ll keep going back to. A dating site puts the most single people in one place, while a regular club, class or quiz puts you in a room with the same people every week, which is how attraction tends to grow.
How can I meet singles near me?
To meet singles near you, join a dating site that matches by distance, such as Encounters.uk, look for singles nights and speed dating in your town, and join a local club, class or walking group. The singles near me page explains how distance works in your matches.
Are singles nights worth going to?
Singles nights are worth a try because everyone there is single, which takes the guesswork out of who’s available. Go with a friend, choose an event with an age range that suits you, and treat it as a night out rather than a test.
How do you meet singles if you don’t drink?
Plenty of ways to meet singles have nothing to do with a bar: running and walking groups, parkrun, evening classes, volunteering, board game cafés and coffee dates. On Encounters.uk, match suggestions take lifestyle into account, including drinking and smoking.
How do you meet singles over 40?
To meet singles over 40, combine a site where people your age are looking, such as Mature Encounters, with something regular offline: singles nights for the over 40s, a walking group or an evening class. The Encounters.uk guide to dating over 40 has more ideas.
More ways to meet someone
Say hello to someone new this week
Choose your section, make a profile and start a conversation.