Stuff for couples to do that's free/very cheap

[KLR600]

And I don't mean sex!

My g/f and I are pretty much just scraping by for the summer until we get our student loans in September. We both have jobs but the money from those goes to pay rent/bills/food etc. We're not broke and have a lot of things but we're struggling to come up with things to do in the evenings/weekends that are free or very cheap and are easy to do either off the cuff or with very little planning in general.

We live just outside of Manchester city centre and have a huge park less than 2 minutes away from our flat. Obviously we've been going to the park loads and loads when the weather has been nice but it's getting a bit boring going there all the time. We used to go to the cinema quite often but after bus/tram fares and two tickets and maybe a drink each you're already up to £20 and bargain bin DVD's at home are getting a bit samey now too.

We've done a fair bit of cycling locally but my g/f has lost the use of a bike as she was borrowing her friends bike who has now moved away so that's out. We've walked most of the canals in the area which is ok if it's nice but not so if it's just been raining as the paths tend to get really muddy. We've both done a lot of photography walks and while we enjoy this it's sometimes nice to get out without taking £4k worth of camera gear with you which then just turns into a walk in the park/on the canal. We have a selection of board games that we've been using but suspect it may be time for some new ones soon. We've been to the War Museum in Salford Quays a few times but not for a while so a visit there will be on the cards soon I think.

We live pretty close to some nice pubs but often find that as with the cinema, if you buy a few drinks each it can quickly get expensive.

We have a car and I wouldn't mind paying for diesel if we went somewhere cool or new. We're interested in a lot of things although I personally don't really enjoy going to big old manor houses or looking at "interesting" architecture as it doesn't really interest me much at all. I'm not a massive fan of walking but as it's one of the easiest free things to do we tend to do it a bit so any walks with really cool features would be ok. We're both in our 20's and don't want to end up like 50 somethings driving to car parks in the country to look at views all the time. We both like rock music (and have been studying music industry related courses in the city for the last 2 years) and generally just want to have a laugh.

So does anyone have any suggestions?

[inb4 tits+gary/swingers clubs etc]
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[Fisty]

Museums, art galleries, walking.

Go to the coast in the car and do some wild camping! You are only a few hours from north wales, pack a tent up go away for a week and climb snowdon, camp on a beach and just explore. I did this for 2 weeks a few years ago and only spent £35 in 2 weeks.
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Quietly and consistently taking the piss.
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[KLR600]

[Aperf]

https://www.bradfordmuseums.org/venues/industrialmuseum/index.php

https://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/

https://www.nrm.org.uk/

https://www.royalarmouries.org/home

https://www.yorkshireairmuseum.org/

www.iwm.org.uk

Orange Wednesdays for the cinema, 2 for 1. Go before 6pm and its cheaper. You only need the code so get anyone you know with an Orange contract to get a code for you.

Go to a filming of tv/radio shows:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/tickets/

https://tvrecordings.com/

www.sroaudiences.com

www.lostintv.com

Go to some free festivals/events:

www.free-events.co.uk

Learn to cook. I dont mean oven chips and beans, I mean really cook. Its cheap, youll get some cracking food out of it and it kills some time. Its also fun
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CRF450R supermoto, Husaberg 650 supermoto, Triumph Street Triple R

[Fisty]

Waking/youth hostelling in the peak district?
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Quietly and consistently taking the piss.
TL1000R | Hayabusa | ZXR400 | TL1000S | Bandit 400 V
Fatter and faster than Fret

[Aperf]

This looks pretty cool, on from the 1st to 5th August.

https://www.sirf.co.uk/
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CRF450R supermoto, Husaberg 650 supermoto, Triumph Street Triple R

[Poseidon]

Fishing. Took my missus and two little'uns to Potter Heigham last thursday and everyone loved it. We spent about 3hours sat on the riverbank eating a picnic whilst I was teaching my wife and eldest lad how to fish. The time absolutely flew by. Whilst I'm a competent fisherman, I kept it really simple for them, using a float rod essentially like you would a pole, single maggot trotted close to the bank and we yanked out roach, perch and skimmers by the bucket full. Despite my wife having no interest in fishing and my little lad being less than 3years old, they absolutely loved it and cant wait for me to take them again. You can get a "whip" (a type of pole) ready to use for less than 20quid and a few hours on the bank will cost you half a pint of maggots (about £1.50). You do need a licence, but they're 3quid for a day one or 27quid for one that will last you the full year.

Just a thought.

Oh, here's a "ready to fish" whip... Just add bait!
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1977 Honda CG125
2002 Ducati Monster S4 (currently restoring)

[Aperf]

Again, this weekend, soap box racing in North Yorkshire:

https://dalbysoapbox.webs.com/
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CRF450R supermoto, Husaberg 650 supermoto, Triumph Street Triple R

[cornish]

Wild camping is lovely. If you don't fancy a long trip of it just take a small tent, disposable bbq and a few beers and use it as a cheap meal out but with lovely scenery and no other people

We do it on the beach down here, go mid afternoon and swim etc then whip the tent up when everyone else has fecked off in the evening. Waking up a few metres from the sea is the best.

Elderflowers are out at the moment so you could go out and collect some to make elderflower wine. The gear can be picked up cheaply at car-boots and it works out at fluppence a bottle. Elderflower champagne ferments really fast and the only equipment you need is plastic bottles.

I do loads of other free things. . . .but they're all child related so unless you've recently had a massive head-injury you're unlikely to find them entertaining
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smile and be happy. . . .it gets right on everyone's tits!

[Aperf]

[cornish]

[J4mes]

If walking itself is becoming boring, why not volunteer at a local dog rehoming place and walk dogs?

Or maybe do some other volunteering together? Not sure what, depends what there is in your area I guess.

Or, this "geocaching" bollox, some friends of mine are always at it, getting the coordinates off the intertubes and then going out to search for the boxes. It apparently makes walks interesting, but we have a dog for that so I've never tried it myself.

[LittleMotorbi...]

You could make lots nice chocolates, sweets or biscuits and then bring it to family/friends/colleagues and ofcourse your favo motorshop
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Hi...

[andys675]

steal another bicycle?
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Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.

[LittleMotorbi...]

[mistergixer]

[killa]

'Escaped' to Manchester?


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Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
Bike:- Yamaha TRX850 | Killas Biking History | Killas Gaming History | Killas autmotive history

[nowhere.elysium]

How's about a bit of 'on location' amateur film making? [Eric Idle]Nudge nudge, wink wink know what I mean, sir? Is she a goer, sir?[/Eric Idle]
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[Annabella]

[Simple]

Assuming you both have smart phones:
www.geocaching.com



Or if it ever warms up..
www.wildswimming.co.uk

Just two ideas off the top of my head
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Insta - FemFeral

[Simple]

[Ariel Badger]

[KLR600]

Successful thread was successful! Awesome stuff, thanks for all the suggestions, doubtful we will be bored for a long time!

Lots of stuff being filmed in MediaCity which is handy as it's less than 3 miles away from our front door and I will be going to uni there from September. Looks like I will be taking lots of photos of old things in museums soon as well

Amatuer film making will be happening but won't be shared here

[Clanger]

Go to the beach and look specifically for stones with holes in them, and collect loads and go home and get some thin cane from the garden centre / Wilkinsons and make simple stone sculptures for the garden.

Very time consuming, but interesting and free. It doesn't matter if it's raining, because you can dress up accordingly...often better, because then you're not sharing the beach with hundreds of others.
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[neil.]

+1 Geocaching. It's keeping me, the wife, the dog and our kids occupied over the 6 weeks holidays. They're even excited about looking up caches where we're going on holiday in a couple of weeks...
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