Fun workshops in London: unusual courses to try

If you had the time and money to enrol on every course the Goodlife Centre offers, you’d be a dab hand at woodcarving, upholstery and bookbinding before the year was out. Unfortunately, modern life is busy and expensive, but you can consider a one-day course in basic plumbing, electrics or using drills an investment. Come, arm yourself with DIY tips and tricks, and keep it in your mind tank for next time you have a home emergency. You can use the money you save on pricy repairs to book a spot on a more fun and frivolous class instead.

You’ll be two steps closer to fulfilling those dreams of joining the circus if you get yourself along to one of these trapeze lessons and manage to elevate your bod on to the bar. The third step is wiggling around on it effortlessly. Easier said than done, we reckon. Luckily, trapeze expert Genevieve Monastesse is on hand to guide you through your aerial pursuits. Adult classes offer a playful alternative to exercise and sequences are tailored to the abilities of each student. You’ll be inching your way closer to the big top of your dreams in no time.

Vegetarians look away now. At these tasty-sounding workshops, hosted at a small south London smokehouse, you’ll start the day with a cheeky bacon sarnie. Introductory butchery follows, schooling guests in the key cuts of meat used to make bacon as well as dry and wet curing techniques. If you’re hungry to get right to the source, you can pair a smoking class with an eye-wateringly early visit to Smithfield or Billingsgate market where you’ll be able to stock up on top-class produce. Bacon not your thing? There are also classes focused on bangers, salami and making the ultimate salt beef Reuben.

‘Buy a man a spoon and he’ll have a spoon. Teach a man to carve a spoon and he’ll also have a spoon, but probably a slightly less good spoon.’ Don’t let that old saying put you off, though. Learn to carve with East End ledge Barn the Spoon and find a sense of satisfaction that you just don’t get if you pick one up in Ikea. There’s no previous woodworking skills required to join up and, excitingly, you’ll get to wield an axe while you work.

London Terrariums provide glass demijohns or adorable-sounding tinyjohns to fill with soil and plants on their workshops, or you can BYOV (bring your own vessel). Rather than succulents, their creations are filled with leafy greens such as mosaic plants, climbing fig and ivy. Just how they plant them through such a teeny hole is a secret we're keen to have revealed.

The Ginger Pig's butchery classes are a must for curious carnivores - learn the best cuts to buy and how to roll, chop and slice the meat away from the bone. Not for the faint-hearted. Classes are focused on different kinds of meat from beef to game and everything in between, so choose your fave and get slicing. 

These two-day workshops teach participants how to make their very own bike frames using bamboo. The classes allow you to be as creative as you wish, with help from expert frame builders who'll provide all the skills needed to create strong and sturdy structures to ride home on. Top up days are available if you want to add extra components and each day ends with a little treat of bamboo beer to reward for a hard day of learning.

Learn the difference between a fillet weld and a butt weld (lol) at Walthamstow’s Blackhorse Workshop. Over the course of the class students make their own stylish stool. Presumably at the end, someone will say: ‘Weld done.’ Woodworking courses focused on making pizza servers and chopping boards are also available.

Discover a whole new kink at Anatomie Studio’s shibari rope skills class. The occasionally sexy art of tying yourself up in knots, shibari can be as much about expressing yourself as anything else – and once you’ve learned the basics, you can hang at the studio’s regular ‘rope jams’.

Image: Anna Bones

Make like it’s 1318 by heading to the London Longsword Academy, where a man with a very impressive moustache will teach you how to wield a longsword, sword, rapier and dagger in a safe and visually impressive (eventually, we assume) manner. It’s not a very useful skill to know (we imagine), but at least you can pretend you’re in ‘Game Of Thrones’ while you learn.

Gardening is cool now – the memo’s gone round and everything. Get green fingers at The Calthorpe Project’s garden maintenance and composting sessions. The organisation also runs non-gardening classes too, like Tai Chi, ukulele and painting and drawing.

This life-drawing class is more 5am at Glastonbury than GCSE art lesson. Naked Neon’s life models are doused in dayglo paints, attendees are given glowing pastels to play with, and it’s in a pub. Artistic talent not essential.

Wade through the mud on the banks of the Thames to hunt for hidden treasure, like our ancestors did. London Mudlark meet-ups teach you the proper way to sift for interesting items and how to spot an old beer can at 20 paces. Wash your hands afterwards, yeah?

Image: Ed Marshall

Save the bees, save the world – and there’s no better place to start than with a bit of urban beekeeping. The rooftop bee specialists at The London Honey Company look after the hives on the roof of Tate Modern, and know everything there is to know about raising our honey-making pals.

Looking for a unique new sport to get stuck into? Allow us to present rollerskiing – a combination of roller skating and skiing that doesn’t require any of the white stuff for you to hit the slopes (or streets). You can rollerski around Hyde Park in any weather (except, ironically, snow). A five-week course is all it takes.

If you’ve ever dreamt of taking to the stage, standing in the spotlight and sharing your comedy genius and/or ability to nail a jaw-dropping death drop, Soho Theatre have a series of workshops that can help you make that a reality. Pop into their comedy and cabaret and drag labs and you’ll learn the art of crafting comedic characters and fabulous alter-egos and sharpen your skills to make you more show-worthy than you’ve ever been.

Ecstatic Dance UK want to dispel the notion that dance isn’t something for everyone and their workshops at Hackney’s The Baths will encourage you to let go of your inhibitions and liberate yourself through movement. Expect to get your body moving to an eclectic mix of music, from electronic to ambient before it all wraps up with a soothing sound bath.

Fire-eating is easily the coolest – okay, technically hottest – of the circus skills, and we advise attendees of The Fire School’s workshop to wear something non-flammable. You’ll learn a load of flaming hand tricks as well as how to chow down on fire. Once you’re skilled enough, you can take courses in special effects, in which you’ll learn how to work bubbles, sparkle and more into your fire eating skills. Sounds like great motivation to get learning to us.

Fermentation isn’t just about kombucha, although The Fermentarium will gladly teach you to create your own home brew concoctions. The Walthamstow-based spot also boasts classes in all other kinds of the process, from dairies (we’re talking kefir, cottage cheese and more), veggies (kimchi, sauerkraut), sourdough and condiments. Brace yourself to get a bit smelly and you can leave armed with the knowledge to make a whole meal of fermented deliciousness.

Image: Isaac'licious/Flickr