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- Local guide
- October 21, 2026
Make Friends After 40 in Solihull Around Caring for Your Parents
In Solihull, roughly every fifth resident has turned 65, so if your social life has to fit around parents’ appointments, work and family, you are hardly alone.
14,600+
is how many Solihull women were in their forties, ONS mid-2025
12.6%
Solihull’s 40-to-49s as a share of residents; regionally 12.3%, per ONS mid-2025 estimates
13%
of Solihull households rent privately, versus 18% in the wider West Midlands (Census 2021, ONS)
Solihull friendships that fit around caring
Caring for an older parent in your 40s in Solihull eats into spare time, which is why friendships that fit a short, fixed slot tend to last. Solihull College runs evening community courses such as oil painting and creative writing at its Blossomfield campus, Babbs Mill parkrun is on Saturday mornings at nine, and the free Sips and Strides walk meets on Sunday mornings. Gofrendly puts Solihull women who also look after a parent within easy reach.
Solihull friendship questions for carers in their 40s
How can a 40-something carer in Solihull keep up friendships?
Choose activities that run at a fixed time and need no organising each week, such as an evening course, a Saturday parkrun or a short Sunday walk. In Solihull these are spread across the borough, so you can pick one near home and still fit in visits to a parent.
What evening courses can adults take in Solihull?
Solihull College’s community learning guide for 2026 to 2027 lists evening courses such as beginners’ oil painting on Tuesdays and creative writing on Wednesdays at Blossomfield, each £150 for the course. Daytime options at Solihull libraries include mindful crafts at Hobs Moat for £10.
Where do Solihull carers in their 40s find new friends?
Gofrendly is a women-only friendship app where you can see women around Solihull and message someone who also understands caring for an older parent. A brief stroll or coffee near home is often the easiest first plan to fit around visits and appointments.
Where is the Saturday parkrun in north Solihull?
Babbs Mill parkrun takes place at Babbs Mill Local Nature Reserve on Fordbridge Road in Kingshurst, every Saturday at 9am. You register once and then take part at no cost, and the group gets together for coffee at a local café afterwards, which makes new faces easy to get to know in Solihull.
Meeting people in Solihull in the sandwich years
Solihull has an older population than its wider region, and at 40-something that can mean a parent who now needs lifts, appointments and company. Add children and a job, and your own friendships are often the first thing to slip. Caring roles can also be unpredictable, so plans that do not need rearranging every week tend to survive best.
If caring has made your week a lonely one, go for plans that are brief, fixed and near where you live. A ten-week evening course gives you two hours a week with the same people, a Saturday 5k takes under an hour, and a Sunday walk can be fitted in before a visit. The borough’s libraries also host reading groups for adults, and Shirley Library keeps its doors open to 7pm every Thursday. If you want to make friends after 40 while caring, one protected slot a week is enough to start. Tell a new group early on that you may miss the odd week; most people understand. A few options:
1
Solihull College community courses at Blossomfield, including beginners’ oil painting on Tuesday evenings.
2
Babbs Mill parkrun in Kingshurst, timed over 5k on Saturday mornings from 9am.
3
Tudor Grange Leisure Centre, whose 25m pool has eight lanes, plus indoor tennis courts.
4
Sips and Strides, a free community walk that sets off at 9am every Sunday.
5
Shirley Library on Stratford Road, with late opening to 7pm each Thursday.
LOCAL TIP
Book one evening course this term and guard it as carefully as any of their appointments.
How to
Solihull carers: how to make friends around a parent's needs
1
Enrol on a ten-week evening course at Blossomfield and swap numbers with one classmate.
2
Walk or run Babbs Mill parkrun before your Saturday visit and join the coffee afterwards.
3
Contact Solihull carers on Gofrendly who understand the weekly juggle.
4
Ask your local Solihull library to pass your details to an adult reading group.
Something for the busy weeks
Solihull, written for women caring for parents
Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja, founders of Gofrendly, and our editorial desk wrote the Solihull page with carers in mind: women in their 40s keeping friendships going around a parent’s needs.
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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