Men's sheds and community workshops

A community workshop, usually a charity, where people meet to make and mend things together, mostly in wood. You do not book a place. You get in touch, turn up, and see whether it suits you.

Almost never. Of the 933 we hold, only 3 say they are men only and 73 say plainly they are open to everyone. The rest do not say, so ask. The name is where the movement started, not a rule about who can walk in.

There is no national rule: every shed sets its own. They are adult spaces with sharp tools, so expect most to want you over eighteen. Many members are retired, but plenty of sheds welcome people in their thirties. If age worries you, ask when you get in touch.

You turn up on an open day, someone shows you round, and then you work on something you brought, join in with the group's projects, or make tea until you feel like picking something up. There is no syllabus and usually no teacher, but someone will nearly always help.

Far less than a course. Most ask a small yearly subscription plus a couple of pounds a session for materials and tea, and many let you come once free to see if it suits you. Sheds set and change their own prices, so we do not publish them.

341 say in their own words that they work in wood and another 173 say they make things without naming the material. The rest do not say. Most do woodwork, but a few are gardening or repair groups, so ask.

Get in touch, ask when they are open and whether they mind you coming along. That is the whole process. 560 sheds here have a website or page of their own; for the rest, the association's own map has them.

Sheds are run by volunteers, usually from their own phone or email. A directory is not a good reason to put somebody's mobile number on the internet, so we link only to pages the shed chose to publish itself.

The UK Men's Sheds Association's own directory of 933 sheds. We are not connected to the association and we do not run any shed.