October 19, 2026

Make Friends in Arnold, on market days and park mornings

Arnold is home to around 40,000 people and has its own market, library and park with a lake.

An Arnold get-together: a woman smiling, a boldly painted wall at her back

39,900+

inhabitants of Arnold as a built-up area, counted in 2021 (ONS)

74%

of households in Gedling borough, which includes Arnold, own their home; East Midlands: 65% (Census 2021, ONS)

22%

of Gedling residents had reached 65 at the census, against 19.5% for the East Midlands region (ONS, Census 2021)

Arnold has a group almost every day

You can make friends in Arnold through its library groups, which run on fixed days. Arnold Library on Front Street holds Knit and Natter on Monday afternoons, a Reading Café on Wednesday mornings and a reading group on the first Wednesday of the month. Arnold Market trades in Eagle Square three days a week, and Arnot Hill Park has a lake and café. Gofrendly connects Arnold women nearby.

Arnold: frequently asked about friendship

Arnold women on a drive, three friends laughing in the car

What groups meet at the library in Arnold?

On Front Street, Arnold Library hosts Knit and Natter on Mondays from 2pm, a Reading Café on Wednesdays from 10am and a reading group on the first Wednesday of each month. Each meets regularly, so they suit anyone in Arnold who wants to meet people steadily.

Which days is the market open in Arnold?

Arnold Market trades in Eagle Square on Front Street on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. In Arnold, a regular market trip helps you spot the same faces each week and start talking, and the square is a short walk from the library.

Where can you parkrun near Arnold?

Arnold does not have its own parkrun. Bestwood Village parkrun takes place in Bestwood Country Park, a short trip north-west, every Saturday at 9am. In town, Arnot Hill Park has a one-kilometre accessible running route that Arnold residents can use any day.

Is there an app for Arnold women looking to meet locally?

With Gofrendly, a women-only friendship app, women in Arnold can see who else lives nearby and send the first message. Suggesting a coffee in Arnot Hill Park or a film at the Bonington Theatre is a relaxed way to begin.

Arnold's people and pace

Arnold is a town on the northern edge of Nottingham, in the borough of Gedling. Across the borough, owner-occupiers make up about three in four households, while people over 65 account for over 21% of residents, both higher than the regional figures. Arnold itself has a busy town centre on Front Street, with a market, a library, a leisure centre and a small theatre, so most of what you need to meet people is within walking distance of the shops and the bus stops.

If you have retired, changed jobs or seen children leave home, it can feel lonely when the week loses its old structure. The library groups and the market give the week a shape again, and Arnot Hill Park is a pleasant place to continue a conversation over coffee. Choose activities that meet on a set day, and keep going on the weeks when the sofa looks tempting. Places to know:

Arnot Hill Park on Nottingham Road, which holds a Green Flag award and has a lake, rose garden and café.

Arnold Library on Front Street, with Knit and Natter, a Reading Café and a reading group.

Arnold Market in Eagle Square, trading on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Arnold Leisure Centre on the High Street, offering a 25-metre main pool plus a learner pool.

The Bonington Theatre, upstairs in Arnold Leisure Centre, which shows films.

LOCAL TIP

Pick a group whose weekday suits you and write it on the calendar.

How to

Arnold: how to meet people locally

Go to the Wednesday Reading Café at Arnold Library and linger over a coffee afterwards.

Walk the accessible running route round Arnot Hill Park, or join the Friends group that looks after it.

Find Arnold women on Gofrendly and suggest a film at the Bonington Theatre.

Make the Saturday market a standing outing and say hello to the stallholders.

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Gofrendly founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja wrote about Arnold, edited by our team, for women in Gedling looking for new friendships after a change in life.