The Best Things To Do In St Albans At The Weekend

Try something new...Take a trapeze class!

St Albans is one of those places that quietly surprises people. It looks like a pretty cathedral city (because it is), steeped in revolutionary history (Romans, French mercenaries, Wars of the Roses, English Civil War...) but underneath that it has a genuinely brilliant range of things to do at the weekend. We're talking trapeze classes, sound baths, forest bathing, life drawing, microlight flights and a lot more besides. Here's our guide to the best of it.

St Albans has over 300 activities, classes and workshops available to book (that we know about!) so there is normally lots to do at the weekend. The challenge isn't finding something to do – it's choosing. So we've done the hard work and picked out some of the best across five categories: get active, get creative, calm down, go free, and bring the kids.

Get Active

Try Something You've Never Done Before

The most fun weekend activities are the ones you didn't expect to enjoy. St Albans has a few brilliant options here.

Trapeze and Aerial Arts at St Albans Trapeze & Aerial Arts is one of the most exhilarating things you can do on a Saturday morning. It's not as terrifying as it sounds (well, maybe a little), it's enormously good fun, and you'll come away feeling genuinely proud of yourself. Classes run for complete beginners and you don't need to be especially fit or flexible to give it a go.

Skateboarding at The Pioneer Club is another one that sounds intimidating and turns out to be completely the opposite. Whether you're 8 or 58, the instructors are patient, encouraging and very good at making you feel like a natural. Even if you're not.

Microlight flying from Plaistow Airfield – a small airfield on farmland just outside St Albans – is one of those bucket-list activities that people put off for years and then wonder why it took them so long. A 30 or 60-minute trial flight over Hertfordshire. Unforgettable.

Get Fit and Feel Good

If you're after something more regular, St Albans has excellent options for getting in shape without it feeling like a chore.

Pilates has several great options here – from beginner matwork classes through to 1:1 Reformer Pilates sessions at WOW Pilates. We've tried both and can confirm: it's far more interesting than you'd expect, and genuinely effective. Good for your core, your posture and – unexpectedly – your mood.

Yoga at Clarity Yoga Shala is a particular favourite. It's tucked away in the heart of St Albans, beautifully calm, and welcoming to complete beginners. If you've been meaning to try yoga for a while, this is the place.

Guided walks with St Albans Tour Guides take you through Roman St Albans, the Wars of the Roses, Tudor history and more. The city has been continuously occupied for over 2,000 years – there's a lot to discover. Running on Wednesdays and weekends.

Dance classes for adults at Dance Dimension are brilliant fun – the kind of class that makes you forget you're exercising. Various styles on offer, and a great way to meet people too.

Miles and Mates is a men's social running club that is exactly what it sounds like – low pressure, good company, all abilities welcome. Several of their runs are free.

Get Creative

It's a Roman city after all... Try a mosaic workshop

Make Something

There's a huge amount of creativity available in St Albans at the weekend, and most of it is open to complete beginners.

Mosaic workshops at Montet Designs are one of the most satisfying ways to spend a Saturday afternoon. You choose a design, work with tiles, grout and colour, and come home with something genuinely beautiful. No experience needed – just patience and a steady hand.

Floristry workshops at Your Flower School are enduringly popular for good reason. A professional florist teaches you how to create something beautiful from scratch – seasonal arrangements, bouquets, table centrepieces. Everything is included and the results are impressive even for a first-timer.

Brush lettering and calligraphy at Jen Roffe Lettering Studio is a skill that takes an hour to learn and a lifetime to master. Perfect for a slow Saturday morning with good coffee.

Life drawing with Bob Wright Art is a St Albans staple – a relaxed, welcoming class that is as much meditative as it is artistic. You don't have to be good at drawing. The point is to look, concentrate, and create. Very good for the brain.

Learn Something

Photography workshops with Jet Black Squares are genuinely eye-opening. The mobile phone camera workshop in Verulamium Park is a particular highlight – you'll never look at a place you thought you knew in quite the same way again.

Calm Down

Mind, Body and Soul

Sometimes what you want from a weekend isn't adrenaline or activity – it's the opposite. St Albans is well set up for that too.

Sound baths with Haelan are one of those experiences that sound a bit esoteric until you've actually tried one, at which point you immediately book the next one. You lie down, you close your eyes, and the vibrations of Tibetan singing bowls do something genuinely restorative to your nervous system. Run at various locations across St Albans.

Aromatherapy workshops with The Fragrant Dispensary are a brilliant combination of science and creativity. You learn about the real, evidence-based effects of different scents on the brain, and then you get to blend your own personal essential oil combination to take home. Calming, fascinating and very hands-on.

Forest bathing (Shinrin-Yoku) with Heart & Earth is a guided walk through woodland designed to slow you down and reconnect you with the natural world. It's prescribed by doctors in Japan. In Hertfordshire it's just a really lovely Saturday morning.

Unwind & Reset with Balanced With Becs are small-group, women-only sessions focused on stress regulation, breathwork and reconnection. Gentle, supportive and increasingly in demand.

Free Things To Do

Not everything costs money. Some of the best activities on a St Albans weekend are completely free.

Learn to fish with Verulam Angling Club – free introductory coaching sessions at the lake. Proper fishing, not a children's activity, open to adults who've never tried it before.

Tai Chi is available free on Saturdays in St Albans – slow, deliberate movement that is genuinely good for balance, flexibility and mental calm. Suitable for all ages and fitness levels.

Free tours of St Albans Cathedral – one of the most remarkable buildings in England, and most people who live nearby have never had a proper guided tour. Worth fixing.

Park Run – free, friendly, all abilities. And of course, beautiful location.

Cycle Tracks - a tarmac pump track and 3 off road tracks with some huge jumps! All free.

Bring The Kids

Activities Children Actually Want To Do

St Albans has excellent kids' activities at the weekend – the kind that children actually ask to go back to.

Dance classes at Tappy Toes (18 months to 5 years) and drama classes at Jigsaw Performing Arts (various ages) are perennial favourites.

Football at Edge FA is brilliant for kids who want proper coaching in a fun, supportive environment.

Art classes at Art-K – Aastha's art sessions are legendary among St Albans parents. Brilliant for primary school-age children and always popular.

Fencing at various venues – one of those activities that children find completely thrilling. We took the 1st St Albans Cub Scouts to try it recently and the results were spectacular.

Swimming crash courses with Dolphin Swim School if you have kids who need to learn or improve – a 5-day intensive that actually works.

How To Book

Everything above can be found and booked at hobbyrepublik.com – browse by category (Get Physical, Be Creative, Mind & Soul, Kids, Free) or search for something specific. Over 300 activities, all with local suppliers who know what they're doing.

Not sure where to start? Get in touch and we'll point you in the right direction. We've tried a lot of these ourselves.

Have fun. Do good.

Jez and The Hobby Republik Team