Yorkshire


<p>We’re ruddy delighted that so-called <a href="https://www.today.com/shop/best-analog-activities-rcna251927" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“Grandma hobbies”</a> are on the rise. Apparently we’re all sick of doom-scrolling and desperate to do anything that takes us away from our screens (you’re still going to read us though, right?).&nbsp;</p>



<p>Finally, cracking out the embroidery hoop is cool and we’re totally here for it. We actually do analogue hobbies very well around here (Luddite Rebellion, anyone?) so there’s plenty of places to exercise your crochet needle. Not a TikTok video in sight.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/PotteryByMarkWhyatt-1-1024x1024.jpg" alt="Analogue life trends " class="wp-image-7857" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/PotteryByMarkWhyatt-1-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/PotteryByMarkWhyatt-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/PotteryByMarkWhyatt-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/PotteryByMarkWhyatt-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/PotteryByMarkWhyatt-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/PotteryByMarkWhyatt-1-500x500.jpg 500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/PotteryByMarkWhyatt-1-1100x1100.jpg 1100w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/PotteryByMarkWhyatt-1.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo by Mark Whyatt</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wheel-of-fortune-nbsp"><strong>Wheel of fortune&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>Pottery is so trendy now that the Patrick Swayze/Demi Moore jokes don’t work any more (we tried). So grow up and get yourselves booked in for a pottery throwing session. The Colne Valley <a href="https://theclaymill.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Clay Mill</a> offers a Young Potter’s Club for children and teens, community workshops and school holiday programmes. Perfect for beginners, their one-off taster sessions let you try your hand at <strong>wheel throwing</strong> or what they call “mindful hand-building”. Why not check out their upcoming <a href="https://theclaymill.co.uk/pottery-classes-in-slaithwaite/wheel-throwing-courses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wheel throwing taster sessions</a>? <br><br>Over in the <a href="https://the-arthouse.org.uk/workshops/throwing-taster-day-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Art House, Wakefield</a>, they’re running pottery throwing taster days in May (as well as other courses in jewellery making, screen printing and ceramics). If you want to make a weekend of it, the <a href="https://www.oldstablesstudio.co.uk/courses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Old Stables Studio</a> in Hebden Bridge offers intensive courses focusing on traditional skills. If a weekend’s not enough, sign up for one of their week-long bootcamps and really get to grips with your digital detox.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="683" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Flowers-683x1024.jpeg" alt="Screen-free hobbies are on the rise. So quit doom-scrolling and check out these decidedly analogue hobbies" class="wp-image-7858" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Flowers-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Flowers-200x300.jpeg 200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Flowers-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Flowers-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Flowers-1365x2048.jpeg 1365w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/Flowers-scaled.jpeg 1707w" sizes="(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flower-power">Flower power</h2>



<p>If your idea of flower arranging is chucking a few daffodils in a vase or sneaking into a garden centre and taking a selfie by the display, then a floristry workshop might sort you out. Alison Hays runs <a href="https://flowers-from-the-garden.co.uk/flower-workshops/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Flowers From The Garden</a> from her beautiful Slaithwaite garden, filled with seasonal and sustainable plants. All her flower workshops are suitable for beginners, with no experience necessary. There’s even a promise of locally made cake. If you like your flowers in the ground, then the <a href="https://abcgardeningclub.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Askham Bryan Gardening Club</a> meets for talks, events and garden visits, if you want to meet up with likeminded folk.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="679" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/SimonBuckley-1024x679.jpeg" alt="Analogue life trends " class="wp-image-7859" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/SimonBuckley-1024x679.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/SimonBuckley-300x199.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/SimonBuckley-768x509.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/SimonBuckley.jpeg 1512w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Simon Buckley</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smile-please-nbsp"><strong>Smile, please!&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>We take 4000 pictures a day on our phones and video our every waking moment (well, some of us do, ahem). But sometimes it’s nice to just slow down and have a think about what you’re actually taking pictures of. Photographer Simon Buckley, who took the viral (albeit digital) Rainstorm photo of Manchester a few years ago, runs <a href="https://notquitelight.com/nightschool/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">photography workshops</a> in Yorkshire and Manchester and says “It’s been interesting to see film become really popular again. I think people are returning to using film because it feels authentic and certainly more permanent. It’s not just dots and dashes, it’s physical, real. Also, it allows for more experimentation. People love the tactile nature of the experience.”</p>



<p>The <a href="https://www.yorkshiremonochrome.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yorkshire Monochrome Group</a> meets in Bingley and has a focus on black and white photography. <a href="https://barnsleyphotographyclub.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Barnsley Photography Club</a> runs a range of classes in everything from working with a shallow depth of field to street photography at night and angles and views.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-all-about-it"><strong>Read all about it</strong></h2>



<p>It doesn’t get more analogue than getting back to paper (remember that?). The <a href="https://wypw.org/learn-to-print/in-house-courses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">West Yorkshire Print Workshop</a>, based in Mirfield, runs a range of courses from gel-plate printing to the intriguingly titled Tetra Pak collagraph printing (no we don’t know either but we’ve signed up anyway). Learn to etch on copper or learn to make a ‘zine (that’s like Muddy Stilettos but where you turn the pages with your fingers).&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-still-life"><strong>Still life</strong></h2>



<p>What better way to let the world go by than giving all your attention to a human form in the middle of the room? Life drawing is the ultimate in mindfulness, with not a swipe left in sight. At the <a href="https://northlightartscentre.org.uk/creative-workshops" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">North Light Arts Centre</a> in Leeds, life classes are run by acclaimed artist Boris Cruse and range from sessions aimed at total beginners to professional artists just wanting a space to hone their craft. Over in Halifax, <a href="https://www.everybodyarts.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Everybody Arts</a> runs a range of classes for adults and children from beginners to improvers.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="750" height="750" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RagRug.jpeg" alt="Analogue life trends " class="wp-image-7860" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RagRug.jpeg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RagRug-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RagRug-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/04/RagRug-500x500.jpeg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Darn It Workshops</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-oh-sew-good"><strong>Oh sew good</strong></h2>



<p>The biennial <a href="https://woveninkirklees.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WOVEN Festival</a> returns next year in Kirklees, bringing with it a programme of activities across the whole textile spectrum. For World Stitch Day this June, the festival will be hosting a celebration of stitching traditions from around the world. Founder Nat Walton, says, &#8220;Sewing requires concentration and careful work. It teaches us to slow down, follow steps and be patient with the process. These are diminishing but increasingly valuable skills in today&#8217;s world. It also teaches us teach collaboration, communication and how to share resources &#8211; never has this been more necessary.&#8221; More importantly, she adds, &#8220;One you learn the basics you can be creative and take making where you want.&#8221; If you want to give it a go, festival stalwart <a href="https://www.darnitworkshops.co.uk/workshops/the-art-of-darning-at-the-craft-house-z56ph" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Darn It Workshops</a> run a range of sessions in everything from macrame to visible mending. Right, we&#8217;re off to rag a rug. Laters. </p>



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Why we’re all mad for analogue hobbies

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