If you’re a wheelchair user and you’re looking for an enjoyable and fulfilling new hobby or activity to get involved with, there’s a wide range to choose from.
So whether you want something that helps you to get outside in the fresh air, meet new people, express your creative side, or work up a sweat – we hope this list of 14 wheelchair accessible hobbies can offer some inspiration.
1. Bird watching
If you’re interested in animals and the subtle beauty of nature, then bird watching could be an excellent hobby for you to get into. Not only is it a great way to get outside and connect with nature, but it’s a mindful activity that can help you to stay in the present moment, which is excellent for managing stress and anxiety.
One of the best things about bird watching is that you don’t have to travel miles to have a memorable and satisfying bird watching experience. There are birds almost everywhere, and taking the time to observe their behaviour and relationships can give you a newfound appreciation for the natural world that’s right on your doorstep.
If you’re interested in getting started with this unique hobby, then why not take a look at our beginner’s guide to bird watching?
2. Learn a new language
Being multilingual is a highly-admired skill and it comes with lots of advantages. For instance, it opens up travel opportunities, makes it easier to connect with a wider variety of people, and can even advance your career. However, the learning process itself also comes with benefits.
Learning a new language is not only fun, but it can help us to find out more about and appreciate different cultures from around the world. It’s also proven to improve cognitive ability, and can even boost confidence.
So, if you’re considering taking up a new hobby, then why not think about learning a new language? For more information on benefits and tips for how to get started, check out our article on the subject.
3. Angling
If you like the idea of taking up a hobby that gets you outside and allows you to connect with the natural world, but you want something a little more interactive than bird watching – then why not think about getting involved in angling?
Nowadays, many commercial fisheries do a great deal of work to make their facilities wheelchair-friendly; which often includes accessible parking facilities that are adjacent to the lakes. Angling is also ideal for people with limited mobility in their arms, as there’s lots of equipment like rod holders out there to help you.
To find fisheries with good disabled access, you can use this directory provided by the British Disabled Angling Association (BDAA). Or, to learn more about how to get started with angling, you might want to check out this article from the Canal and River Trust.
4. Fibre art
The term ‘fibre art’ refers to any kind of art or craft that uses natural or synthetic fibre such as thread, yarn, and fabric. This includes things like knitting, macramé, embroidery, needle felting, crochet, and many more.
Fibre arts are great for exercising your creativity and can be used to make unique items for yourself and your loved ones. Plus, they have a range of health benefits associated with them.
For instance, this survey found a significant relationship between frequent knitting and feelings of calm and happiness. It also found that regular knitters also reported higher cognitive function. But fibre arts aren’t only beneficial for your brain and mental wellbeing – some people also claim that knitting helps with developing and maintaining fine motor skills and dexterity.
To find out more about fibre arts, head on over to the learning section of our website. Here, we have a range of beginner guides for creative hobbies and more.
5. Gardening
The benefits of gardening are practically endless. But most importantly, it’s an effective way to get some fresh air and top up your daily dose of vitamin D. It’s also a great form of exercise and can improve our mental wellbeing.
If you’re a wheelchair user, common gardening tasks such as pruning, digging, and even getting around your garden might seem a little daunting. However, with a little planning and ingenuity, such as using raised beds, vertical wall gardens, or adaptive tools and reaching aids, gardening can become a perfectly accessible activity.
To find out how you can get started, why not have a read of this article from Thrive, which outlines some great tips and advice for gardening sitting down or from a wheelchair?
6. Archery
If you’re looking for a fun new hobby, then why not summon your inner Robin Hood and give archery a try? It’s not only great fun letting arrows fly through the air, but archery also provides a less intense, low-impact form of exercise that’s great for building strength and improving hand-eye coordination.
Archery is perfect for wheelchair users because it requires little to no adjustments (although some tweaks, like using short bows, can make things a little easier). If you’re interested in getting stuck into this medieval hobby, then the best thing to do is to join your local club.
And to find out more about wheelchair archery, why not visit the British Wheelchair Archery Association’s website?
7. Stargazing
Like bird watching, what’s great about stargazing is that it’s an incredibly accessible way to connect with nature and to learn more about the wider world…well, in this case, the universe. You don’t have to travel for miles to study the stars, and you can do it each and every night (provided you’ve got clear skies, of course).
However, with literally endless stars and planets in the sky, it can be difficult to know exactly what to look for. To get started, you might want to check out some of the stargazing content available on our website; from our introductory guide to stargazing to monthly guides for what you can see in the night sky.
8. Pool and snooker
Loved by many here in the UK, cue sports like pool and snooker are games of skill, precision, and strategy. And one of the things that makes these sports particularly popular is that they’re wheelchair-friendly. In fact, depending on the nature of your disability, you may not need to seek out any adaptive measures or equipment at all.
Pool and snooker are also relatively inexpensive, social sports that you can take seriously as you like. So, whether you’re looking to get involved in competitive tournaments and leagues, or you just want to play a few light-hearted frames down the pub, why not consider giving snooker or pool a try?
To get started with pool and/or snooker as a hobby, the best thing you can do is to join a club where you can begin to hone your skills. Each club will have information regarding disabled access on its website.
9. Woodworking
If you’re looking for a hands-on hobby that’ll allow you to express your creativity, then you might want to try woodworking. Woodworking is an incredibly rewarding activity because not only can you save money by building things like furniture and gifts, but the act of creating something from scratch can be fulfilling.
When thinking about the prospect of starting woodworking as a hobby, many people conjure images of lots of expensive equipment and heavy machinery – and, for some, this can be a little off-putting. But, while lots of woodworking does involve plenty of specialist tools, it doesn’t always have to be that complicated. You can start woodworking by using just a carving knife and a piece of wood (which is referred to as whittling).
To find out more about woodworking, why not check out our introductory guides to carpentry and whittling? And to get some inspiration for what you could make, you might want to take a look at our article; 12 practical things you can make from wood.
10. Sitting volleyball
Sitting volley is a fun and fast-paced game that’s great for able-bodied and wheelchair users alike. As an adapted version of volleyball, it shares many similarities with the more conventional game, but there are a few differences – the main ones being that it’s played on a smaller court, the net is lower, and all players must have one buttock on the floor at all times.
If you’re interested in giving sitting volleyball a try, then you have two options. Firstly, you can get a net and a few friends together and play a friendly game (you can find the official rules here). Or you can join a volleyball club that runs sitting volleyball sessions for beginners.
To find clubs, you can use this great directory from Volleyball England. And to get an idea of how the game works, check out the video below.
11. Creative writing
Whether you want to write poetry, short stories, essays, or a full-blown book, creative writing can be an excellent hobby to get stuck into. You can use it to express yourself creatively and exercise your imagination – as well as revisit fond memories by writing memoirs, or record your thoughts and feelings through the medium of journaling.
In addition to this, research shows that creative writing can be very beneficial for our mental health because it increases our self-awareness, which consequently has a hand in reducing feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression.
So, whether you’re looking to get published or you just want to write for fun, why not check out our articles; How to write short stories and How to write a book and get it published?
12. Yoga
Yoga is an ancient practice that originated in India around 5,000 years ago but has since then become popular in countries all over the world. It combines physical movement with meditation and deep breathing, and has a range of different health benefits – from increasing strength and flexibility and improving posture to reducing feelings of stress and anxiety.
Yoga is an ideal activity for wheelchair users, simply because it can be practised entirely from a seated position using a range of adapted poses.
To get involved, it’s worth getting in touch with your local yoga studio to see if they offer a wheelchair-friendly class or session. Alternatively, you can practise yoga from the comfort of your own home. To get started, why not check out the gentle chair yoga routine below from Yoga with Adriene?
13. Wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball is an action-packed, fast-paced game that’s become hugely popular over the last few decades. It shares many of the same rules with traditional basketball with a few differences, of course, which you can read about here.
Like sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball is a truly inclusive sport because wheelchair users can play alongside able-bodied friends and family.
The best way to get involved with wheelchair basketball is to find a club near you and see if it’s running a taster session. They can give you some tips, help you get to grips with the game, and supply you with a specialised sports chair.
14. Photography
A creative hobby that’s best combined with adventure, photography is an enjoyable and rewarding way for us to capture and explore the world around us.
With cameras on our smartphones, most of us are amateur photographers these days, but have you ever taken a photograph and been frustrated that doesn’t quite do the object justice? Or would you like to use your lens to express yourself creatively? If so, then pursuing photography as a hobby might be for you.
But with all the different techniques, jargon, and equipment, it can be difficult to get your head around photography as a novice. So, to get started on your journey, you might want to check out our beginner’s guide to photography. Or for more inspiration, our list of 8 fun photography projects that you can start today might pique your interest.
Final thoughts...
Whether you want to explore your creative side, spend some time outside, or work up a sweat, there are lots of hobbies and activities out there that are perfect for wheelchair users.
So, if you’re looking for an enjoyable and fulfilling new activity to take part in, we hope this list has given you some inspiration.
For more ideas for hobbies and activities, why not check out the learning and arts and culture sections of our site? And, for more disability-friendly content, you might want to take a look at our article; 11 accessible UK attractions to visit.