What we’re about
If you're aged between 25 and 50 and looking to meet more people / make new friends, then why not take a bold (but easy) step towards doing something about it, and attend one of the many social events with members of the super-sociable group, the Friendly Faces of Warwickshire.
We enjoy a variety of scheduled events in Leamington, Warwick, Stratford and the surrounding area, where new and regular members meet as a group to network as part of sociable / enjoyable activities. The events to choose from usually take place at the weekend, and can include countryside walks and hikes, gathering in bars, coffee shops or restaurants, going to indoor / outdoor cinemas, pool halls, festivals, tribute bands, stage shows… the list goes on.
To get involved simply browse the events page and then click the 'Attend' button on the events you like the look of.
At each of these events, you’ll meet the members - potential new friends from all walks of life and just like you in wanting to improve their social lives. They will make you feel very welcome as another valued contributor to what makes our events into special occasions to remember for all involved. It's normal to feel a little bit of apprehension about your first meeting, which is something we all have to go through. After you've broken the ice for the first time, you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about and be eager to put your name down to attend another!
If you keep attending, you'll recognise people you met at past events and start to grow commonalities and friendships with the people you connect well with.
Attending a FFW event by yourself is perfectly fine and it's what many people do. The attendees at each event are never the same.. each one consists of a combination of first-timers, seasoned members and everything in between, so there will be other new like-minded attendees just like you, whatever your situation.
The reality is, we're all like you and looking for opportunities to be sociable. We genuinely hope that you decide to get involved. When you do, we will look forward to meeting you.
Months from now you’ll look back on this moment that you took action with a smile, and be really glad you did!
You are always free to leave an event early should you decide at any stage that you want to / need to leave for whatever reason. You will not be judged.
Whatever you do, don't assume that you know how an event will be - just rock up for one and see what you think. Many members have done so and since said they were glad they did.
So ask yourself out loud: "What have I got to lose?"
And then hit that join button. 😊
Here's a sneak preview of the current events schedule that's waiting for you to choose from when you join:
- Friday Sept 5th : Leamington Monthly Social night out🍹
- Sunday Sept 7th : Leamington FREE Food & Drink Festival 🍔🍷
- Friday Sept 12th: Ibiza Orchestra Experience - Warwick 🎵
- Sunday Sep 14th : Edstone Aqueduct / Wootton Wawen (7-mile hike) 🚶♀️
- Friday Sept 19th : Warwick Monthly Social night out🍹
- Saturday Sept 20th : Stratford FREE Food & Drink Festival 🍔🍷
- Sunday Sep 28th : Kineton Circular & Optional Curry (7-mile hike) 🚶♀️
- Friday Oct 3rd : Leamington Monthly Social night out🍹
- Sunday Oct 12th : Compton Verney and surrounding (7-mile hike) 🚶♀️
- Friday Oct 17th : Warwick Monthly Social night out🍹
- Saturday Oct 25th : Daytime Drum&Bass DJ Event - Digbeth 🎵
- Friday Oct 31st : Leamington Halloween Fancy-Dress / Social
- Sunday Nov 2nd : Burton Dassett / Fenny Compton (8-mile hike) 🚶♀️
- Saturday Nov 15th : Leamington Saturday night out🍹
- Sunday Nov 23rd : Malvern Hills - along the hilltops (6-mile hike) 🚶♀️
- Saturday Nov 29th : Soul House DJ-night at the Micro Pug 🎵
- Friday Dec 5th : Warwick Monthly Social night out🍹
- Sunday Dec 7th : Cotswolds / Broadway Tower (7-mile hike) 🚶♀️
- Friday Dec 19th : Christmas Jumpers night out in Leamington🍹
- Friday Dec 26th : Boxing Day walk through the parks (2.5-mile walk) 🚶♀️
- Sunday Dec 28th : Christmas Week Hike - Edgehill (7-mile hike) 🚶♀️
More events are being scheduled all the time, so join now to be kept informed.
Upcoming events
12
FF: Warwick Monthly Social
The Globe, Theate Street CV34 4DP, Warwick, GBWhat better way to get out and meet more people... whether you're a first-timer or a regular, get your name down to join this mixed casual group-tour around downtown Warwick on a relaxed Friday evening, and we'll descend together upon its most popular bars one at a time, staying long enough for a drink or two before we all move on to the next one.
What is a Friendly Faces Monthly Social?...
Either read on for a written explanation of the format of this event, or watch this YouTube video that I put together in 2023 when we first started doing them...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st6irM814UM
To the untrained eye this event looks like a pub-crawl, but rather than being about getting drunk (as pub-crawls are) this monthly meetup event instead focuses on the social aspects : getting out there and meeting new people, mingling, and expanding your social circle.
Don't waste your energy trying to find someone you know to come with you - coming alone is perfectly normal and is what 99.9% of attendees do.
The changing of venues helps encourage the mingling upon us, and typically by the end of the evening - each attendee will...
(1) have met most (if not all) of the other attendees present,
(2) feel pretty chuffed about having chatted with a group of nice friendly people and made some cool new connections,
(3) feel like they fit right in,
(4) be checking the diary to see if they can make another event!
If you're driving, or (like me) alcohol isn't your thing, then do as I and any other non-drinkers do, and instead sip on a glass of cordial, coke, or zero beer. There is no pressure to buy drinks. If you decide to skip the bar and just enjoy the social occasion, its fine.
Big Win #1...
Unlike the usual sit-down or stand-still-all-night meetups, this style of event will keep mixing us up as a group every time we change venue, and the mingling will happen automatically as we go with the flow.
Big Win #2...
As a big group of people it will be great fun and a guaranteed laugh watching the bewildered faces of the non-meetup people in the bars as we all walk in the door together and fill the place, and then after an hour or so of meetup chatter - all leave together and empty it again!
Venues...
As you may know there are several cool bars in central Warwick so we wont have to walk far between venues. We'll visit around 3 or 4 venues throughout the evening, and stay close to the Market Square in the town centre.
I'll keep our location-changes communicated as the evening progresses so you can join at any point along the route, but lateness is not recommended. Obviously if you're on time at the start you'll be present for introductions, and you'll get much more out of the evening.
So to start we'll meet in the very laid back and pleasant "The Globe" pub at 7:30pm and let the socialising commence.
Meet-point here... https://maps.app.goo.gl/vjEaVpbCLKCJMhyx9
Take advantage of the free parking in the Cape Road car park which is free from 6pm on Friday.
Car park here... https://maps.app.goo.gl/4JSpR2ZoavrPPNP8A
Click the 'Attend' button now so you don't forget.
If you hadn't guessed by now this is a monthly event, and as always, I'm looking forward to it!
Important Note...
A polite reminder that Friendly Faces events are for meeting new people, networking and expanding social circles. This means positive energy only.
The following 4 rules apply, as a way of safeguarding members from a few things...
- Friendly Faces events are not dating / singles events. Anyone engaging in persistent or unwelcomed attention towards others (either at an event or afterwards) may be removed from the group.
- Anyone being disrespectful or unpleasant towards others may be removed from the group.
- We are all Friendly Faces group ambassadors at the places we visit. Anyone misusing/abusing a venue/location (or the property within it) may be removed from the group.
- Anyone pitching or promoting products, events, or social groups may be removed from the group.
I feel very privileged that members of the Friendly Faces group are known for being so warm and welcoming to each other (and the expectations of first-timers are often exceeded) so good times and happy vibes naturally flow at our events.
With these rules in place and acknowledged we shouldn't need to refer back to them, but we have them and can use them if needed.
With that out of the way - lets do what we do so well, and enjoy these super social group experiences and meeting new people.
If we haven't met you before we are all looking forward to meeting you, and if we have met you before - we're looking forward to seeing you again!
Finally...
Attendees new to the group are always welcome to check out an event as a 'first-timer' to see how we do things, but to find out how to become a full Friendly Faces group member, read here...
https://www.meetup.com/friendlyfaces/events/305407432/51 attendees
FF: Cotswolds / Broadway Tower Loop (VERY hilly 7-mile hike)
Broadway War Memorial, High Street, Broadway, GBSo there's good news and bad news about this event.
The bad news first : This route is the most challenging hike that the Friendly Faces have ever taken on.
As usual this route has been tested beforehand, and throughout the route there are three tough ascents - the first of which endures for about a mile and is sure to beat anyone who is not a fit and able regular hill-walker. Please consider this before clicking the attend button. Running out of steam and giving up half way is not an option, and having to keep stopping for long breaks will not make you popular with the other attendees.
As a point of reference - if you have conquered other very challenging / undulating 7/8-mile hikes (such as the Malvern Hills) without issue then you should be ok with this one as well, but please be warned that this hike is not for the strollers.
If anyone would like more detail on the specifics of the difficulty level of this hike, please drop me a message and I'll be happy to discuss.
The good news : This route is the most scenic hike that the Friendly Faces has ever taken on.
Make no mistake, the reward for battling up those tough hills is an abundance of quite incredible scenery. Anyone who has walked in the Cotswolds countryside before will tell you that its a special place, this superb route is a perfect introduction and has to be seen to be believed.
If you are a regular walker, you can be sure of a stunning day out exploring some of the finest countryside that this country has to offer.. Amazing scenery, picturesque views, fresh air in your lungs, the sound of birds singing and cattle in the distance... nature at its finest.
An incredible outdoorsy place that will leave you in need of a good sit down and rest at the end, and you'll feel a warm satisfied glow at having seen it and conquered it.
The town of Broadway (not to be confused with Broadgate Park which is another popular similarly named Friendly Faces hiking route) is beautiful, and there are several carparks scattered around the town, however each one is small and therefore often busy.
For this reason, I'll leave it up to each of you to decide which carpark you would like to aim for.
The meet point that we will all converge on will be a 20-minute walk away from all of the car parks, so you are strongly advised to plan to arrive in town at least half an hour early so that you've got 30 minutes to find a parking space and then to walk over to the meet point. Its not nice to make the group wait because you didnt plan your journey, and if you dont make it to the starting point for midday we'll start without you.
Need a lift?...
If you aren't a driver and would like a lift to and from the starting point, leave a message here on the event page (as soon as you sign up) asking if anyone is kind enough to offer. Do that now, because leaving that question until the last few days before the event is too late.
Don't forget to offer a few pounds to your driver towards petrol money.
Other things to note...
- Unfortunately dogs are not allowed 🐶❌ to attend this event due to there being lots of wild animals and livestock all along the route.
- At this event you'll have a fantastic outdoorsy afternoon out, you'll meet a like-minded group of super-social Friendly Faces (including first-timers as always) and you'll be amazed at how easy it is to make new acquaintances / connections along the way.
- Trainers will not suffice for this route. I do my best to advise people in the event descriptions to invest in good, purpose-made, ankle-protecting footwear, and there are always a few who either ignore it or dont read it and arrive in trainers. Dont let that be you!
- This is one of several hiking events through the summer that you are welcomed and encouraged to join as we all keep fit and active, and soak up the amazing English countryside!
Please plan your journey!...
Give yourself some extra time to get to the meet point because you'll need it. The first-choice carpark has been known to be busy. Also, its a 10/15-minute walk to the meet point, so factor time in for that too. As always, its with you to make sure you arrive at the meet-point on time.
Pack a waterproof jacket just in case, and bring ankle-protecting footwear as always.
An outstanding day of hiking in the Cotswolds awaits! 😀
The carparks :
The Milestone ground carpark (1st choice)...
https://maps.app.goo.gl/whg1Be7sqPvoVSt98
The Leamington Road carpark (2nd choice)...
https://maps.app.goo.gl/faWNM9g9i59hLJgx9
Broadway Station carpark (20+ mins walk)...
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Uve4rWUYPmbrusu36
Feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions.
If not - click the big red "Attend" button now to be kept in the loop, and so you dont forget.
If you're a fan of good quality challenging hikes, then trust me when I say that this will be a truly amazing day out that you will not forget.
EVENT SUMMARY / IMPORTANT POINTS
- To find out how to become a full Friendly Faces group member, read here... https://www.meetup.com/friendlyfaces/events/305407432/
- This event starts at 12:00. Do not be late. Make sure you arrive early enough to get parked, and be ready at the start point for this time or we may leave without you.
- To attend this hiking event you must be physically active, in good health, and free from injury. If you are not all of these things - please remove yourself from the attendees list.
- Dogs are NOT allowed 🐶❌ to attend this event.
- Hard-wearing trainers will not suffice for this route, bring (or invest in) some good quality ankle-protecting waterproof footwear. This is an essential requirement for attending this hike.
30 attendees
Leamington parks, along the canal to Warwick and back (7-mile hike)
Newbold Comyn Carpark, Leamington Spa, GBEither read on for the event description, or save time and watch this 2-minute briefing video that explains all you need to know about this event, which I recorded just before we walked the same route in early 2024...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlHc9LNwRhc
Check out this tried and tested, flat, local route - guaranteed to help you tick your boxes to (a) get out more, and (b) meet more people.
This hike will take in the amazing parks and countryside scenery right on our doorstep, starting in central Leamington, trekking along the footpaths out of town, all the way out to St Nicholas' park in Warwick, before returning to the start point in Leamington again.
This is a superb route which will get you outdoors, breathing the fresh air and rubbing shoulders with like-minded Friendly Faces group members - both new and regular.
Despite the fantastic views and peaceful natural beauty throughout the route, please be warned that at 7 miles this is not a short stroll and you should not sign up if you have any recurring injuries that could flare up, or you do not have a good level of stamina for physical and enduring exercise for this distance.
We will take a half-way stop outside the cafe in St Nicholas park to consume one or more of...
- a home-made sandwich,
- an icecream (from the shop), or
- a coffee (from the shop)
...and then when we finish we'll take a well-earned sit down and drink back at the Newbold Comyn Arms pub.
We'll meet in the free-to-park Newbold Comyn overflow carpark to commence. (not the one outside the pub)
I really hope you can make this relatively easy Friendly Faces walk.
Notwithstanding the warm and sociable Friendly Faces group members (first-timers and regulars) that you will share this experience with - this is a very pleasant walking route out in the local countryside, providing scenery and company well worth coming along for.
Hit the Attend button now so you don't forget.
Feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions in the meantime.
EVENT SUMMARY / IMPORTANT POINTS
- To find out how to become a full Friendly Faces group member, read here... https://www.meetup.com/friendlyfaces/events/305407432/
- This event starts at 12:00. Do not be late. Make sure you arrive early enough to get parked, and be ready at the start point for this time or we may leave without you.
- To attend this 7-mile hiking event you must be physically active, in good health, and free from injury. If you are not all of these things - please remove yourself from the attendees list.
- Well-behaved dogs ARE allowed 🐶✔️ to attend this event, but must be kept on a lead at all times.
- As a member of this group you need to own strong ankle-protecting hiking boots. If you do not own any - buy some in advance.
2 attendees
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