Do you ever miss your school days? No, me neither. But that doesn’t mean I don’t miss learning, having all that dedicated time when you were not only encouraged but expected to be filling your brains with new skills and information. But learning doesn’t have to stop when you leave school – here are just a few of the ways you can pick up a new talent and have loads of fun along the way.

Barista School at 200 Degrees North

I recently attended the Basic Barista Class at 200 Degrees North and had such a fun afternoon. One of the cafe’s coffee experts took us through a really interesting presentation about the history of coffee, the production process, and how 200 Degrees roast their own coffee beans here in the UK at their Nottingham site. We then moved onto the coffee-making, and after a short tutorial were let loose on the espresso machines to brew our own cups and try our hands at latte art. It turns out baristas are very skilled at making this look easy; I couldn’t manage to create more than a lumpy blob. Luckily I still got a certificate to take home at the end of it!

Creative Classes at The Bowery

Got a thing for arts and crafts? The Bowery in Headingley is just the place to hone your skills, or learn a new one. They run 6-week courses on a wide range of creative skills including sewing, drawing, creative writing, jewellery making…the list goes on. I hear they used to offer a photography course, which I am really keen to get on if they ever bring it back. If you don’t want to commit to a 6-week course, they also hold individual workshops which give you a nice taster of what the longer courses entail. All classes are limited to a small number of people and have expert tutors, and considering most of your materials are included the courses are incredibly good value for money.

Gin Tasting at Lazy Lounge

It took our gin expert until halfway through the Lazy Lounge tasting to realise that he’d got mixed up and started serving us wine measures instead of spirit measures for our tastings, and while I can’t guarantee he’ll make that mistake again this is still a very generous tasting class. You start at the founding of gin with a sample of Bols Genever and move through the history of the spirit, tasting about ten gins along the way and snacking on sandwiches and cake in a vain attempt to soak up both the gin and the facts. The staff really know their stuff and deliver the most entertaining history lesson I’ve ever had.

Yoga Classes at Yoga Hero

I’ve tried a couple of times to get into yoga and always left classes feeling frustrated with unhelpful teachers who seemed to have no time for beginners. However Yoga Hero comes so highly recommended that I’m feeling inspired to have another try. The website advises Yoga Essentials or Unwind & Relax for beginners, but they also have a range of specialist classes, pilates, and roga which combines running and yoga. I’m most interested in yoga at Northern Monk Brewery – do you think a post-yoga beer is included in this?

Have you taken any fun classes or workshops in Leeds? Tell me about them in the comments!