- Women only
- Friendship, not dating
- Free to join
- Local guide
- October 19, 2026
Make Friends in Hove, between the Lawns and Hove Park
More than 37% of Hove households are home to a single person, and the seafront Lawns host a busy Saturday parkrun.
81,500+
people in seven Hove wards from Brunswick and Adelaide to Hangleton and Knoll, Portslade not included (Census 2021, ONS)
37%
single-occupant share of Hove homes in the seven wards, against 28% regionally (ONS, Census 2021)
31%
of Hove residents in the seven wards are aged 25 to 44, compared with 25% regionally (2021 census, ONS)
Hove gathers on its seafront Lawns
Hove Promenade parkrun on Hove Lawns, every Saturday at 9am, gives a sociable way to make friends in Hove, with The Lawns Café beside the course. Hove Park has a year-round café and its own Saturday parkrun, Hove Museum of Creativity on New Church Road charges nothing to get in, and Hove Library on Church Road keeps late opening until 7pm each Wednesday. Gofrendly helps Hove women meet as well.
Hove questions, from the Lawns to the museum
How many parkruns are there in Hove?
Hove has two Saturday parkruns, both at 9am: Hove Promenade parkrun on Hove Lawns along Kingsway, and Brighton & Hove parkrun in Hove Park, which began in 2007. Both welcome walkers, and the seafront course starts close to The Lawns Café.
Is Hove Museum of Creativity worth a visit?
Entry to Hove Museum of Creativity at 19 New Church Road costs nothing, and it opens Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Café Rust inside serves until 4.30pm, so a gallery visit can end with tea and a proper talk with a new friend in Hove.
What is happening to the King Alfred Leisure Centre in Hove?
Brighton & Hove City Council’s plan for a new King Alfred Leisure Centre on Kingsway in Hove won planning approval in summer 2026, subject to referral to the Secretary of State. Building is expected from 2027 and opening in 2028, and the current centre stays open meanwhile.
Where do Hove women meet other women?
Gofrendly, a women-only friendship app, lets Hove women see others nearby who are also looking for company. A walk along the Lawns, coffee in Hove Park or a museum afternoon makes a good, easy first plan to suggest by message.
Hove, the quieter half of the city
Hove stretches west from Brighton along the seafront, with Regency squares in Brunswick, the shops along Church Road and the wide Lawns by the beach. It joined Brighton in 1997, and the two became a city in 2000. Across seven Hove wards, well over a third of households have only one member, and close to one resident in three is between 25 and 44, a younger mix than the regional picture, so it pays to keep one fixed date a week with other people.
Even a flat by the sea feels lonely if your closest friends are in other cities. The Old Market on Upper Market Street hosts music, comedy and theatre, St Ann’s Well Gardens has a volunteer Friends group, and King Alfred Leisure Centre on Kingsway stays open while a new centre, expected in 2028, is planned on the same site. Hove Park, north of the centre, adds a café that opens all year. Good places to start:
1
Hove Lawns and the promenade, home of Hove Promenade parkrun.
2
Hove Park, with a year-round café and a miniature railway on some weekends.
3
Hove Museum of Creativity on New Church Road, with Café Rust.
4
Hove Library on Church Road, open late on Wednesdays.
5
St Ann’s Well Gardens, a patch of old woodland with a Friends group.
LOCAL TIP
Begin with the Saturday parkrun and a coffee on the Lawns.
How to
Hove: how to make friends locally
1
Walk or run Hove Promenade parkrun, then head to The Lawns Café.
2
Get involved with the Friends of St Ann’s Well Gardens.
3
Invite Hove women from Gofrendly for cake at Café Rust in the museum.
4
Catch a show at The Old Market and suggest a drink beforehand.
Two true stories of women who became friends
Written for Hove by our team
Gofrendly founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja wrote this with our editors for Hove: for anyone living alone by the sea, renting a flat off Church Road or simply wanting a few more 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.