- Women only
- Friendship, not dating
- Free to join
- Local guide
- October 19, 2026
Make Friends in Keighley, around Cliffe Castle and Low Street
Nearly a quarter of Keighley’s residents are under 16, and its Carnegie library of 1904 keeps a Knit and Natter going midweek.
52,500+
residents counted in Keighley’s Central, East and West wards in 2021 (ONS)
23%
of Keighley residents are children aged 0 to 15; regional figure 19% (Census 2021)
16%
of Keighley’s people have reached 65, fewer than the 19% across Yorkshire (ONS 2021)
Keighley knits on Wednesdays
Wednesday afternoon Knit and Natter, 1pm until 3pm, at Keighley Library on North Street, is a warm way to make friends in Keighley, inside the first public library in England funded by Andrew Carnegie. On Saturday mornings Cliffe Castle parkrun follows the paths of Cliffe Castle Park, near Keighley’s centre, and the Low Street market hall opens every day but Sunday. Keighley women on Gofrendly can line up company for any of them.
Keighley at a glance: common questions
What is special about Keighley Library?
Keighley Library on North Street opened in 1904 as the first public library in England funded by Andrew Carnegie and is Grade II listed. Today it holds the Keighley Local Studies Library and runs Knit and Natter on Wednesdays from 1pm to 3pm and chess on Mondays, both open to all.
What is at Cliffe Castle Park in Keighley?
Cliffe Castle Park on Spring Gardens Lane has free entry, a café, a children’s play area, an aviary, a glasshouse and a fountain. Cliffe Castle Museum stands beside it in a mansion remodelled for Henry Isaac Butterfield in the late 1870s, and Keighley’s own parkrun uses the park’s paths every Saturday morning.
When is Keighley Market open?
Keighley Market hall on Low Street is open 8:30am–5pm, Monday to Saturday, closing at 3pm on Tuesdays. Its butchers, bakers, fabric stalls and cafés include Barnes of Keighley, named Best Butcher in Yorkshire in August 2025, so becoming a regular there comes naturally.
Where can Keighley parents meet other women?
Gofrendly, a women-only friendship app, helps Keighley parents and other women find people close by and get talking by message first. With almost a quarter of residents under 16, a playground meet-up in Cliffe Castle Park, followed by a cuppa at the café, makes a simple first invitation.
Keighley, a young town in Bradford district
In the three Keighley wards, children under 16 make up close to 23% of the population and barely one in six has turned 65, a profile younger than the Yorkshire and the Humber norm. Days can be shaped by school times, clubs and teatime, which leaves friendships of your own to fit in the gaps. Look for something with a fixed weekly time, so you still go when the week runs away with you.
Feeling lonely in a busy household is common and nothing to be embarrassed about. The Leisure Centre in Victoria Park offers women-only swims and adults-only lanes, Cliffe Castle Museum next to the park has exhibitions on Bradford’s textile trade, and Keighley Library also runs chess on Monday afternoons. The Keighley Creative arts hub is being built in the former Sunwin House store, and Low Street’s market hall, with its cafés and butchers, is another place to become a familiar face. Where to begin:
1
Keighley Library on North Street, home of Knit and Natter.
2
Keighley Market hall on Low Street, Monday to Saturday.
3
Cliffe Castle Park, with its café, glasshouse and aviary.
4
Cliffe Castle Museum, beside the park.
5
The Leisure Centre in Victoria Park, with a women-only swim.
LOCAL TIP
Bring half a scarf to Knit and Natter and you may leave with a pattern and a new name in your phone.
How to
Keighley: how to meet people near home
1
Join chess at Keighley Library on a Monday between 3:30pm and 6pm.
2
Run or walk Cliffe Castle parkrun on Saturday, then visit Myrtle parkrun in Bingley for a change.
3
Have lunch at a café in the Low Street market hall every Friday.
4
Ask a Keighley acquaintance from Gofrendly along for a women-only swim at the Leisure Centre.
Real friendships, told by the women who made them
Who put together this Keighley page
This Keighley guide comes from Gofrendly’s founders, Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja, and our editors, written with school-run days in mind, for women who want friends of their own close to home.
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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