- Women only
- Friendship, not dating
- Free to join
- Local guide
- October 20, 2026
Make Friends in Peckham, one book group at a time
Social housing is home to nearly half of Peckham households, and its library hosts several reading groups every month.
29,200+
people counted in the Peckham and Rye Lane wards by the census of 2021 (ONS)
48%
of Peckham households are in social housing, compared with 23% London-wide (Census 2021)
19%
of Peckham households are single parents with their children, ahead of the London average of 13% (ONS 2021)
Peckham reads together
The easiest way to make friends in Peckham is to pick a monthly book group at Peckham Library and keep going back. The Book group meets at 7pm on the last Thursday, and the Shades of Black Authors Book Club gathers on the fourth Friday from 6pm. On Saturday mornings a farmers market sets up on Bellenden Road, and Peckham Rye Park is a short walk south. Gofrendly is there too, for finding a Peckham woman to go with.
Peckham, the answers
What are the opening hours of the library in Peckham?
Peckham Library at 122 Peckham Hill Street opens 9am to 8pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 10am to 8pm on Wednesdays, then 10am to 5pm on Saturdays and noon to 4pm on Sundays. A lift serves every floor, and Peckham Rye station is close by.
Where can I swim in Peckham?
Peckham Pulse on Melon Road has a 25m pool, a hydrotherapy pool, sauna and steam rooms, and a gym over two floors. It is run by Move Southwark, the council’s own leisure service, and on weekdays the doors open at 6:30am, with a 7am start at weekends.
What are the gallery opening hours in Peckham?
The South London Gallery on Peckham Road welcomes visitors Wednesday to Sunday, staying open until 9pm on Wednesdays and until 6pm from Thursday to Sunday, with doors opening at noon, and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Entry costs nothing, and its Fire Station annexe, also on Peckham Road, opened in 2018.
Can I find Peckham friends on a women-only app?
Gofrendly is a women-only friendship app on which Peckham women can see neighbours close by and open with a message. A fixed plan, such as the fourth-Friday book club at the library, makes a first meeting easy to agree to and hands you a topic straight away.
How friendships grow in Peckham
In Peckham, routine helps. Social housing is home to nearly half of households, more than one in five rent privately, and close to one in five is a lone-parent family. Whatever your situation, whether you have lived here for decades or arrived last month, the friendships that endure tend to come from bumping into the same faces in the same weekly slot, so choose one regular thing and stay with it through a full season.
Moving into a new flat can feel lonely when the building is full of strangers, but the next step here is close by. Peckham Rye Park has the Round Café, the Sexby Garden and a Japanese Garden that dates from 1908, and its adventure playground reopened in 2026 after a £574,000 refurbishment. Peckham Pulse on Melon Road has a 25m pool and studio classes, and the South London Gallery on Peckham Road costs nothing to visit. Good places to start:
1
The last-Thursday Book group at Peckham Library.
2
Peckham Rye parkrun, three flat laps on Saturday mornings.
3
The Saturday farmers market on Bellenden Road.
4
Studio classes and lane swims at Peckham Pulse.
5
Changing exhibitions at the South London Gallery.
LOCAL TIP
Go to the same reading group three months running and the room starts saving you a seat.
How to
Peckham: four places to start
1
Try Strange Fiction, the genre-bending book club that gathers on first Wednesdays at 6:30pm.
2
Volunteer at Peckham Rye parkrun, where marshals and timekeepers learn names fastest.
3
Buy breakfast at the Bellenden Road farmers market and walk it down to the park.
4
Message a Peckham woman through Gofrendly and pick a late Wednesday at the South London Gallery.
Two good reads before Saturday
Who wrote this, Peckham edition
For women who want friends a short stroll from Rye Lane: Gofrendly founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja wrote up Peckham here, plus our editors.
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.