- Women only
- Friendship, not dating
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- Local guide
- October 21, 2026
Make Friends After 40 in Leicestershire as Teenagers Fly the Nest
Leicestershire’s population in its forties rose by about 6% between 2021 and 2025, so more women here are reaching the stage where teenagers want lifts, not company.
752,000+
people live in Leicestershire county, excluding Leicester city (ONS mid-2025)
6%
rise in Leicestershire residents in their forties from 2021 to 2025, ahead of 4% across the East Midlands (ONS)
73%
Leicestershire owner-occupier rate, eight points above the East Midlands figure of 65% (Census 2021)
Leicestershire afternoons that are yours again
Once your children are teenagers, being in your 40s in Leicestershire can mean a quieter house and a diary with gaps in it. Fill one gap on purpose. Leicestershire Shared Reading runs nine weekly drop-in groups, most of them in county libraries, GoLearn! has courses by day, by evening and at weekends, and Charnwood Community Singers welcomes new voices in several villages. Gofrendly shows you other women nearby whose children have also grown up.
Leicestershire friendship questions once the children are older
Do I need to book Leicestershire Shared Reading groups?
No. Leicestershire Shared Reading groups are free drop-in sessions that meet weekly, and there is no reading to prepare in advance because the story or poem is read aloud together. Groups meet in libraries including Market Harborough on Tuesday afternoons and Ashby de la Zouch on Monday mornings.
Are there adult evening classes in Leicestershire?
Yes. GoLearn! is run by Leicestershire County Council and lists day, evening and weekend courses across the county in its 2026 to 2027 brochure. An evening course is a good fit if you work in the day and want to see the same faces for a whole term.
Once my children have grown up, how do I meet new people in my 40s in Leicestershire?
Swap the routine the children used to provide for one of your own, such as a weekly choir or reading group. Gofrendly, a women-only friendship app, lets you find women in Leicestershire at the same stage and suggest meeting before the group starts.
Can anyone join a choir in Leicestershire without an audition?
Charnwood Community Singers runs several village choirs in Leicestershire and says new members are welcome. Loughborough University Choir also accepts members of the wider community aged 16 and over, rehearsing on Monday evenings from 7pm in term time at the Cope Auditorium.
Making friends in Leicestershire when the children are older
For years the school run and the sports club touchline supplied a ready-made circle in Leicestershire. When the children start making their own way to school, that circle thins out without anyone deciding it should. The trick is to replace it with something that has its own rhythm: a weekly reading group, a term of evening classes, a choir working towards a concert. Daytime groups work too if you are part time or self-employed, and many of the people in them are at exactly your stage. Turning up every week is how you make friends after 40 once the parents’ WhatsApp group goes quiet.
The county has grown in this age group, with about 6% more residents in their forties than in 2021, and most households here own their home, so many neighbours are settled and staying. That said, a house of teenagers who live in their rooms can feel lonely. Choose one of these and stick with it until spring:
1
Leicestershire Shared Reading, nine weekly drop-in groups, most in libraries such as Coalville, Ashby and Glenfield and three on Zoom.
2
GoLearn!, the county council’s adult learning service, with daytime, evening and weekend courses.
3
Charnwood Community Singers, with choirs in Quorn, Rothley, Thurmaston, Woodhouse Eaves and Tilton on the Hill.
4
Loughborough University Choir, open to community members over 16 and rehearsing on Monday evenings in term time.
5
Dishley parkrun at Loughborough Rugby Club, a 5k every Saturday morning.
LOCAL TIP
The lifts can wait; book your own evening first.
How to
How to meet people in Leicestershire now the house is quieter
1
Drop in to the Shared Reading group at Market Harborough Library on a Tuesday afternoon; no booking is needed.
2
Browse the GoLearn! brochure and pick one evening course that runs through the autumn.
3
Use Gofrendly to find women over 40 nearby and invite one to Dishley parkrun on Saturday.
4
Contact Charnwood Community Singers about the choir closest to your village.
Stories for when the nest starts to empty
Two founders wrote this Leicestershire page
Gofrendly founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja, our editors, created the Leicestershire page with mothers of teenagers in mind, focusing on weekly groups that give a new routine to the free hours.
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.