- Women only
- Friendship, not dating
- Free to join
- Local guide
- October 19, 2026
Make Friends in Eastleigh, the railway town named in 1868
Eastleigh took its name in 1868 and grew fast once the railway carriage works moved here in 1891, followed by the locomotive works in 1909.
32,200+
residents in the Eastleigh Central, North and South wards, Bishopstoke and Chandler’s Ford left out (Census 2021, ONS)
23%
of Eastleigh’s central-ward homes are social rented, against 14% regionally (ONS, 2021)
15%
of Eastleigh homes there are cohabiting couples, compared with 11% across the South East (2021, ONS)
Eastleigh Library runs knitting clubs
Eastleigh Library, upstairs in the Swan Centre, is a handy place to make friends in Eastleigh, with knitting clubs on alternate Thursdays and Fridays, three reading groups and an adults’ colouring club on Tuesday mornings. Eastleigh parkrun loops the old golf course at Fleming Park at 9am on Saturdays, while WalkTogether Eastleigh runs volunteer-led walks all year. Gofrendly opens another door to Eastleigh women nearby.
Eastleigh questions, from library to lakes
Which clubs meet at Eastleigh Library in the Swan Centre?
Eastleigh Library in the Swan Centre hosts knitting clubs on alternate Thursdays and Fridays, a crime reading group and a Thursday reading group each month, and a drop-in colouring club for adults on Tuesdays from 11am. New Parents Meet and Connect runs on Friday mornings.
Is Eastleigh Museum still open?
No. Eastleigh Museum closed in April 2022, and Hampshire Cultural Trust stopped running it in April 2025. For a day out in Eastleigh today, Lakeside Country Park, where a miniature steam railway runs by the water, is a better bet with a friend.
What is WalkTogether Eastleigh?
WalkTogether Eastleigh is the new name, from July 2026, for the borough’s volunteer-led health walks. The walks run every week all year round across Eastleigh borough and are aimed at anyone who wants to get active and meet new people, so they suit almost anyone.
Eastleigh women looking for friends: where to start?
Gofrendly, a women-only friendship app, lets women in Eastleigh browse who is close by and propose a meet-up. A circuit of the Lakeside lakes or a coffee near the Swan Centre after a library club is an easy first plan.
Eastleigh, built around the railway works
Eastleigh sits between Southampton and Winchester, a junction town shaped by the railway works that arrived in 1891 and 1909, with Southampton Airport, where the Spitfire prototype first flew in 1936, just to the south. In the three central wards, social housing makes up nearly 23% of homes and nearly 15% belong to unmarried couples living together, well beyond the regional shares. With so many people renting, one dependable weekly date is the simplest way to turn neighbours into friends.
Weeknights can feel quite lonely when work and commuting take up most of your day. The Point on Leigh Road has run adult modern dance classes on Tuesday evenings, Lakeside Country Park south of the centre picked up a 2026 Green Flag and has a miniature steam railway, and Places Leisure Eastleigh at Fleming Park has an eight-lane pool. Leigh Road Recreation Ground hosts the summer festival. A few ideas:
1
Eastleigh Library in the Swan Centre, with knitting clubs and reading groups.
2
Fleming Park, home of Eastleigh parkrun and the leisure centre.
3
Lakeside Country Park and its steam railway beside the lakes.
4
The Point on Leigh Road, with adult dance classes.
5
Leigh Road Recreation Ground, the green space in the town centre.
LOCAL TIP
Drop in to the Tuesday colouring club and see who saves you a seat next time.
How to
Ways to make friends around Eastleigh
1
Join a library knitting club and bring the same project each fortnight.
2
Walk with WalkTogether Eastleigh, the volunteer-led group for meeting new people.
3
Suggest a lakeside walk to Eastleigh women you have messaged on Gofrendly.
4
Ask The Point about its next term of adult modern dance.
A September reset, backed by the numbers
Who wrote our Eastleigh guide, and why
Our editors and Gofrendly founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja put together this Eastleigh page for women in a busy railway town, whether they rent, commute to Southampton or live with a partner and want friends of their own.
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.