- Women only
- Friendship, not dating
- Free to join
- Local guide
- October 21, 2026
Make Friends After 40 in Preston, Single and Happily So
Over four in ten Preston residents aged 16 or over have never been married, above the regional rate, so a single life in your 40s is entirely ordinary here.
10,000+
Preston women are in their 40s, about one in eight and the same proportion as regionally (ONS mid-2025)
43%
of Preston residents over 16 are unmarried and have never had a civil partnership; regionally 39% (Census 2021, ONS)
14.6%
of Preston households have married parents raising dependent children; regionally 13.1% (Census 2021, ONS)
Preston has plenty of single women in their 40s
Preston in your 40s and single? Your plans are your own, and the city has good places to share them with new friends. The Harris reopened in September 2025 with late opening to 9pm every Thursday, Local Vocals runs a community choir in Fulwood for singers of any experience, and Preston parkrun meets on Saturday mornings. Friendships form fastest where the same people return. Gofrendly lets Preston women find others who are also single.
Single in Preston: friendship questions
Is it hard to make friends as a single woman in her 40s in Preston?
It can take more planning than when friends were also single, but Preston has many adults who have never married. Regular activities like singing, running with a club or a Thursday at The Harris help, because they give you people who expect you each week rather than relying on invitations.
What are the museum opening hours in Preston?
The Harris on Market Square in Preston reopened in September 2025 after a £19m redevelopment. Entry costs nothing. Its hours are Monday to Saturday from 9am until 5pm, until 9pm on Thursdays, and 11am to 4pm on Sundays, with a café and library spaces inside.
Where do single women in Preston find friends?
Gofrendly is a women-only friendship app that lets you look through women who live around Preston and message others who are also single and want friends for weekends. A walk, coffee or an hour at The Harris makes a relaxed first plan.
Do you need singing experience to join a Preston choir?
No. Local Vocals says its choirs are open to anyone aged 16 or older and that no previous singing experience is required. Its choir in Fulwood is one of more than 40 Local Vocals choirs, so new faces are normal at rehearsals in Preston.
Preston friendships for single women
When friends pair off and settle down, a single woman in her 40s can find that weekends get quieter and plans need more organising. Preston has a large share of adults who have never married, so you are hardly alone in this, but you may need to look beyond friends who now spend Saturdays with their partner’s family.
Sunday afternoons can feel lonely while everyone else appears to be at a family lunch. Build your own weekly rhythm instead, one fixed plan at a time. A Thursday evening at The Harris, a choir night in Fulwood and a Saturday 5k give you three points in the week where you are expected. West View Leisure Centre’s six-lane 25m pool suits midweek swims too. If you want to make friends after 40 as a single woman, make a habit of proposing the next plan; others are often waiting to be asked. Places to start:
1
The Harris on Market Square, reopened in 2025 with free entry and late opening until 9pm on Thursdays.
2
Local Vocals, a community choir in Fulwood open to anyone aged 16 or over, with no singing experience needed.
3
Preston parkrun in Avenham and Miller Parks, free and timed, starting at 9am each Saturday.
4
West View Better Health Leisure Centre, with a six-lane 25m pool and a café.
5
Fulwood Leisure Centre, run by Better, with a 25m pool and a separate teaching pool.
LOCAL TIP
Make Thursday your Harris night and invite one new person along.
How to
How single women can meet new people in Preston
1
Spend Thursday evenings at The Harris and round them off with a drink in town.
2
Join Local Vocals in Fulwood and sing with them through a whole season.
3
Use Gofrendly to message single Preston women and organise a Sunday walk.
4
Swim lengths at Fulwood Leisure Centre on a fixed weekday until the regulars nod hello.
Two reads on friendship that lasts
Preston, written for single women in their 40s
Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja, founders of Gofrendly, worked with the editorial team on this page for single Preston women in their 40s who would like friends to fill their own weekends with.
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.