- Women only
- Friendship, not dating
- Free to join
- Local guide
- October 19, 2026
Make Friends in Cwmbran, around the Boating Lake and Llantarnam Grange
Social tenancies make up 25% of Cwmbran households, and its parkrun loops the Green Flag Boating Lake on tarmac, grass and woodchip.
47,600+
residents across ten Cwmbran wards, from Coed Eva to Upper Cwmbran (Census 2021, ONS)
25%
of Cwmbran homes are let by Torfaen’s social landlords, compared with 16% in Wales (Census 2021)
11%
of Cwmbran households rent privately, well under the Welsh 17% (ONS 2021)
Cwmbran knits every other Thursday
The fortnightly Knit and Natter group, held at Cwmbran Library inside Gwent House, 2pm to 4pm on alternate Thursdays and free to join, is a cosy way to make friends in Cwmbran. On Saturdays Cwmbran parkrun circles the Boating Lake, a few minutes from the town centre, and Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre has free galleries and a café. Cwmbran women can arrange to try them together on Gofrendly.
Cwmbran questions, quickly
What is at Cwmbran Boating Lake?
Cwmbran Boating Lake offers ice cream at its café, a children’s play area, picnic spots and a path round the water where you can feed the ducks and geese. Its Green Flag was renewed in 2026, and Cwmbran parkrun starts there every Saturday morning, a few minutes from the town centre.
Is Llantarnam Grange in Cwmbran worth a visit?
Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, a Victorian house in Cwmbran town centre, has galleries with free admission, a café and a craft shop selling ceramics, glass, jewellery and textiles. It opened as an arts centre on 30 April 1966 and celebrates 60 years with an open exhibition in 2026.
What day does the Cwmbran Library knitting group meet?
Knit and Natter meets at Cwmbran Library in Gwent House on alternate Thursdays from 2pm to 4pm, and it costs nothing to join. The library was refurbished as a community hub and is open every day except Wednesday and Sunday, so Cwmbran crafters have plenty of chances to drop in.
Can Cwmbran women meet new friends through an app?
Gofrendly is a women-only friendship app where Cwmbran women can see others nearby and start with a message. A lap of the Boating Lake followed by an ice cream at the café is a relaxed first meeting that leaves plenty of room to talk.
Cwmbran, a Torfaen new town of settled tenants
Across ten Cwmbran wards, a quarter of households rent from social landlords and only about 11% are private lets, so far fewer people here are on short tenancies than in Wales as a whole. When neighbours stay put, groups tend to keep steady regulars, and the trick is simply to start going and keep going, until a seat is kept for you without anyone asking.
It can feel lonely on a street where the neighbours all seem to go back decades together. Cwmbran Boating Lake offers ice cream at its café, a play area and a walk round the water, Llantarnam Grange is marking 60 years as an arts centre in 2026 with its galleries and a craft shop, and the refurbished gym at Cwmbran Stadium reopened in December 2025. Pontypool parkrun is about five kilometres away for a change of route, and the library in Gwent House is closed only on Wednesdays and Sundays. Places to start:
1
Cwmbran Library in Gwent House.
2
Cwmbran Boating Lake and its café.
3
Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre and its galleries.
4
Cwmbran Stadium and its refurbished gym.
5
The Saturday parkrun around the lake.
LOCAL TIP
Bring something on the needles to Knit and Natter twice and the second time someone may ask how it is coming along.
How to
Cwmbran: four habits for making friends
1
Help out as a volunteer at the Saturday parkrun by the Boating Lake.
2
Visit the 60th-anniversary exhibitions at Llantarnam Grange and stay for the café.
3
Join a class at Cwmbran Stadium after its gym refurbishment.
4
Do a lap of the Boating Lake with someone from Cwmbran you got talking to on Gofrendly.
Real friends, and the apps that can help
Behind this guide to the Boating Lake and beyond
Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja, the co-founders of Gofrendly, drafted this Cwmbran page, with our editors chipping in, thinking of women in long-held homes who want a few new friends nearby.
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.