London runs on plans booked weeks ahead, and waiting for a chance encounter to turn into a friendship rarely gets you far here. The fastest way in is to join something that already meets on a regular schedule, so you become a familiar face instead of a stranger who showed up once.
The good news is that London has an unusually deep bench of meetup groups, and most of them are free or close to it. This guide rounds up six worth trying, from running crews to board game nights, chosen because they are active, welcoming to newcomers, and easy to turn up to alone. For the habits that make any of them actually work, our guide on how to make friends in London covers the bigger picture.
Quick summary
Meetup groups in London range from running crews to board game nights, and the six here were chosen for being active, beginner friendly, and easy to join on your own. This guide covers what each one is like, how to show up for the first time, and a few habits that turn a single event into a regular date in your calendar.
In this article
Our pick of meetup groups in London
Some of the six below meet weekly, others a few times a month, and all are easy to join without previous experience or an invitation from someone already inside the group. Where you live also affects which of these fit easily into a weekday evening, so if you have not settled on a postcode yet, our guide to the best areas to stay in London for expats is worth reading first.
The six cover different activities and different commitment levels, so here is how they line up before you read the full picks below.
| Group | Best for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Friends in London | A broad social scene | Free to join, no niche |
| Run Dem Crew | Running plus community | Tuesdays at Spitalfields |
| London On Board | Strategy and card games | Meets several times weekly |
| GoodGym | Fitness with volunteering | Runs double as good deeds |
| London Games and Socials | Small, familiar groups | Numbers capped on purpose |
| London Frontrunners | Inclusive running club | All paces welcome |
If you want the lowest effort way in, the general social group and the board game nights ask the least of a first timer, since no fitness level or prior experience is required.
Friends in London
Friends in London is the broadest option on this list, a general social group covering everything from museum trips and picnics to live comedy and day trips out of the city. Founded twelve years ago by brothers Martyn and Terry Lloyd, who still host events themselves, it has grown into one of the largest general meetup groups in the country while keeping a reputation for being welcoming to newcomers.
Membership and most events are free, so there is no cost barrier to trying a few before you find your people. Since the group covers so many activity types, skim the upcoming events list first and pick one that matches something you would enjoy doing anyway.
The five picks below each cover one specific activity, from running to board games, so start there if you already know what kind of evening suits you.
Run Dem Crew
Run Dem Crew meets every Tuesday outside the Lululemon store in Spitalfields Market for a five kilometre run through east London, and has done since 2007. Founded by DJ and youth mentor Charlie Dark, the crew now numbers several hundred regulars and deliberately avoids calling itself a running club, describing itself instead as a family built around pace, music, and community.
Turn up a little before the start time and introduce yourself to whoever is standing nearby. Pace groups mean you are never left running alone, and a stop for coffee afterwards is part of the routine rather than an afterthought.
If Tuesday evenings do not fit your week, London Frontrunners further down this list runs on a different schedule and welcomes every pace.
London On Board
London On Board runs board game sessions several times a week in central London, drawing a mixed crowd of hobbyists who bring everything from quick party games to hours long strategy titles. Sessions are casual and drop in style, and the group is explicit that newcomers are welcome even without games or experience of their own.
Buying food or drink at the venue is expected, since the group relies on the goodwill of pubs and bars that host them for free, so factor a round or two into the evening. Arrive a little early on your first visit and say so at the door, someone will usually fold you into a game already forming.
South West London Social Board Games meets weekly in Wimbledon for anyone who prefers a small, local group in a single pub.
GoodGym
GoodGym pairs regular exercise with community volunteering, sending runners to check in on isolated older residents or help with local projects partway through a session. It began in London and has since grown to thousands of volunteers nationwide, built around the idea that exercise feels better with a purpose attached.
New volunteers usually start with a group session first, which is the easiest way to meet the regulars before signing up for anything more involved. No running background is expected, and sessions are designed around a mix of paces.
Run Dem Crew, listed above, gives you a similar sense of community built entirely around running.
London Games and Socials
London Games and Socials was started by someone who moved to the city a decade ago knowing nobody, and built the group he wished had existed. It runs board game nights and occasional game shows deliberately kept small, so the same faces turn up more than once instead of disappearing into a crowd.
Because the group caps numbers on purpose, events can fill up, so follow the group and RSVP as soon as a date is posted rather than waiting until the week itself. Its Instagram is worth a look before your first night, for a sense of the vibe.
London On Board, listed above, runs several sessions a week for anyone who wants more dates to choose from.
London Frontrunners
London Frontrunners is an inclusive running and triathlon club for the LGBT+ community and allies, open to any pace and any experience level. Formed in 1995 and part of the wider International Front Runners network, it now counts more than six hundred members, from occasional joggers to competitive athletes.
Sessions run on a regular weekly schedule with clearly marked pace groups, so message the organisers beforehand if you are unsure which one to join for your first run. Every session ends with the option of a social afterwards, which is often where the real introductions happen.
Frontrunners groups exist under the same name in most major cities, worth remembering if a future move takes you elsewhere.
Getting the most out of your first meetup in London
Turning up once rarely creates a friendship on its own. Treat your first visit to any of the meetup groups in London on this list as a trial run, and commit to a second and third visit before deciding whether it is for you, since most groups only start to feel familiar by the third or fourth time.
Arrive a few minutes early rather than exactly on time. It is easier to introduce yourself to two or three people before a session starts than to walk into a group already mid conversation, and organisers are usually near the entrance in those first few minutes.
Pick one of the meetup groups in London that fits your week instead of trying all six at once. Repeating a single Tuesday run or Wednesday game night for a month is what turns a stranger into a familiar face. The same logic works for weekday routines built around work: many coworking spaces in London run their own member events, worth checking if none of the six above fit your evenings.
Need something to do between meetups?
Meetup groups are brilliant for a regular weekly slot, but they will not fill every evening you have free. Friendchise is built for the gaps in between: share your own plan for coffee, lunch, dinner, or drinks, or join one someone else has already posted nearby.
You can see people’s interests beforehand, so you already have something to talk about, and you decide who you meet every time. It is a friendly mix of locals and internationals, all there for the same reason.
Between a Tuesday run, a Wednesday game night, and a Friendchise plan or two, London stops feeling quite so big.
Curious how this compares to Meetup itself? See how Friendchise compares to Meetup.
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