- Women only
- Friendship, not dating
- Free to join
- Local guide
- October 19, 2026
Make Friends in Kirkby, around The Kirkby Centre
Lone-parent families account for over 21% of Kirkby households, comfortably above the North West, so other parents are never far away.
45,500+
living in the Kirkby built-up area of Knowsley, per the 2021 census (ONS)
21%
of all Kirkby households sit in the single-parent category; North West: 12% (ONS, 2021, four wards)
21%
of Kirkby’s residents are aged 15 or below across the four wards; the regional share is 19% (Census 2021)
Kirkby Market trades six days a week
Kirkby Market, the covered market in the town centre, trades six days a week, so it is a familiar place to make friends in Kirkby. Upstairs in The Kirkby Centre on Norwich Way, Kirkby Gallery opens without charge, and the library downstairs runs Knit and Knatter and Cuppa and Craft groups. Millbrook Park carries a 2026 Green Flag. Gofrendly offers Kirkby women another route to friends.
Kirkby, your questions on new friends
Which days does Kirkby Market trade?
Kirkby Market, the covered market in the town centre, opens from 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Saturday, with Tuesday, Friday and Saturday as its traditional market days. It has been refurbished recently, and a regular visit helps Kirkby shoppers get to know the traders.
What is in The Kirkby Centre?
The Kirkby Centre on Norwich Way houses Kirkby Library, the Knowsley archive search room and Kirkby Gallery. The gallery charges nothing to enter and opens every weekday and on Saturday mornings, so Kirkby residents can combine a library visit with an exhibition.
What are Kirkby's Green Flag parks?
Millbrook Park Millennium Green, known locally as The Chad, holds a 2026 Green Flag, along with St Chad’s Gardens, Acornfield Plantation and Webster Park. Millbrook has woodland and wetland walks, a peaceful route for Kirkby friends to explore side by side on a quiet afternoon.
How can Kirkby mums find friends nearby?
Gofrendly, a women-only friendship app, helps Kirkby mums and other women spot women living close by and say hello. A stroll round Millbrook Park after the school run or a coffee near the covered market is a simple first plan to suggest.
Kirkby, a Knowsley new town
Kirkby was built as an overspill town for Liverpool after the war and sits in northern Knowsley, with Tower Hill, Northwood and Westvale among its estates. In its four wards, about 21% of households have just one parent, and a similar share of residents are under 16, both well above the North West. With young families on every street, mornings after the school run are a natural time to start new friendships.
When the school run and errands fill your days, Kirkby can feel lonely. The Kirkby Centre brings the library, an archive search room and Kirkby Gallery under one roof, the refurbished market trades six days a week, and Millbrook Park, St Chad’s Gardens and Webster Park all hold Green Flags. On Saturdays, Croxteth Hall parkrun takes place a short drive south in Liverpool. Kirkby Market’s traditional market days are Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, and Kirkby Gallery upstairs is a calm place to wander with someone new. To get going:
1
Kirkby Market, the covered market, open Monday to Saturday.
2
Kirkby Library in The Kirkby Centre, with Knit and Knatter.
3
Kirkby Gallery on the first floor of The Kirkby Centre.
4
Millbrook Park Millennium Green, with woodland and wetland paths.
5
Croxteth Hall parkrun, a short drive south on Saturday mornings.
LOCAL TIP
Cuppa and Craft at the library is a low-pressure way in.
How to
How to meet friends in Kirkby
1
Take your crafting to Cuppa and Craft at Kirkby Library.
2
Do your weekly shop at Kirkby Market and learn the stallholders’ names.
3
Suggest a Kirkby Gallery visit to a Kirkby woman you connect with on Gofrendly.
4
Walk the woodland paths at Millbrook Park with a neighbour.
Finding old friends again, and a fresh start story
Kirkby page: the team
Gofrendly founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja and our editors produced the Kirkby page for women in this Knowsley town who are bringing up children, starting again or wanting more people to talk to.
Friendship looks different at every stage
More guides for women in this area – each with its own local advice.
Friendship looks different at every stage
More guides for women in this area – each with its own local advice.
Find women near you
See who’s nearby and say hi — it’s free to start.