- Women only
- Friendship, not dating
- Free to join
- Local guide
- October 21, 2026
Make Friends After 40 in Torquay With No School Run to Plan Around
Only about 10% of Torquay homes are home to married parents and dependent children, well below the South West, so if you are not on the school run you are far from alone.
8,100+
Torquay people in their forties across Shiphay, Wellswood and five other wards (ONS 2021)
10%
of homes in Torquay held a married couple with young children, against 13% across the region (ONS 2021)
59%
of Torquay households owned their home, under the South West’s 66% (ONS, 2021)
Torquay, a child-free life and a Tuesday song
Living in Torquay in your 40s without children, the best way to make friends is a weekly evening group that is not about parenting at all. Torbay Folk Choir sings on Tuesday nights at the Windmill Centre with the first visit costing nothing, Torquay Rowing Club welcomes adult members, and the Saturday parkrun runs at Cockington Country Park. Gofrendly shows Torquay women whose weekends look like yours.
Torquay answers for child-free women
Does Torquay have a folk choir anyone can join?
Torbay Folk Choir, run by the charity Wren Music, rehearses on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm at the Windmill Centre on Pendennis Road in Torquay. The first session costs nothing, and the choir learns folk songs by ear, so reading music is not needed to join in.
Can adults join a rowing club in Torquay?
Torquay Rowing Club welcomes adult members, including people who have never rowed, and teaches newcomers in coastal boats on Tor Bay. Get in touch to find out when the Torquay club runs its next taster or beginner session, since times shift with the season and the weather.
How can I volunteer outdoors around Torquay?
Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust looks after coast and countryside sites around Torquay, including Cockington Country Park, and relies on volunteers to help. Contact the trust to see which roles are open, since outdoor work in a small team lets you get to know people without the pressure of a party.
No kids and in your 40s: where will you find friends in Torquay?
Choose activities that meet on weekday evenings or weekend mornings, such as a choir or volunteering, where family life is not the main topic. Gofrendly, a women-only friendship app, also lets you contact other child-free Torquay women who would welcome company.
Torquay friendships beyond soft play and term dates
When most of your friends had babies, their lives moved to soft play and term dates, and yours did not. You love them, but conversations shrink, and weekend plans get cancelled for parties you are not invited to. Finding friends without children in your 40s is not about leaving the old ones behind, it is about adding people who are free on a Tuesday and up for a Sunday walk. Groups built around a skill are ideal, because the talk is about harmonies or oars rather than school places. Weekend volunteering does the same thing outdoors, with the bay as a backdrop and a flask of tea to share.
Torquay has fewer couples with kids at home than the region, and a smaller share of owner-occupiers too. Being the only child-free one at a table can feel lonely; a choir changes the seating plan. Places to make friends after 40 on your own timetable:
1
Torbay Folk Choir from Wren Music, singing by ear at the Windmill Centre on Pendennis Road every Tuesday night.
2
Torquay Rowing Club, which takes adult members and teaches newcomers to row on the bay.
3
Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust, which looks after coast and countryside sites around the bay with help from volunteers.
4
Cockington Country Park, starting point of a Saturday morning parkrun.
5
Torquay Museum, a good rainy-day meeting point for a new friend.
LOCAL TIP
Stay for the drink after rehearsal, at least once.
How to
Meet like-minded friends in Torquay
1
Try your first Tuesday with Torbay Folk Choir, which costs nothing.
2
Ask Torquay Rowing Club about beginner sessions for adults.
3
On Gofrendly, find child-free Torquay women of a similar age and plan a Sunday walk.
4
Ask the countryside trust how to volunteer.
Two reads for a free Saturday
Torquay child-free page: who wrote it
Gofrendly’s editors and founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja produced this guide for child-free Torquay women, choosing a choir, a club and volunteering with set times.
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.
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