Penicuik & District

Welcome

Note from the chair.

  • All activities are back to normal.
  • Membership now exceeds 150 and our number of activity groups continues to increase.

Kind regards, Hugh Munro, Chairman

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

Penicuik and District u3a welcomes members from Penicuik and the surrounding district. We are the only u3a in Midlothian and were founded in 2009. Our formal open meetings in Penicuik's Cowan Institute (Town Hall) are normally held on the third Thursday of each month at 2.00 pm, (excepting June-August) and are usually followed by a 'cuppa' and a blether. Our AGM and subscription renewal is in March.

We offer:

  • a programme of daytime educational, creative and leisure activities in a friendly and informal atmosphere.
  • monthly meetings with varied and interesting guest speakers. Visitors are encouraged
  • 28 active Interest Groups (see the 'Groups' page). Members can join as many Interest Groups as they wish and we encourage suggestions from members for new Interest Groups. Some groups are academic, such as science, languages and history. Others, such as creative writing, needlecraft and art appreciation, have a practical or creative focus, and others are sporty, purely recreational or social. We even have a whisky tasting group!
  • outings to places of interest
  • social events
  • a Burns supper - at lunchtime
  • a monthly newsletter with details of events and information of member interest.

The annual (March to March) membership fee for 2024-2025 will again be £15. Members joining after 1st January pay £5 until the March AGM. This subscription doesn't cover group activities such as meals, travel, room hires etc.

Penicuik and District u3a is an autonomous member of the Third Age Trust, and the international "u3a." It is affiliated to u3a Scotland and is a member of the Central Belt (Scotland) Network. The aims of the u3a are to provide people not in full-time employment with the opportunity for mutual learning, education and leisure activities. Meetings and events give space and time to meet other people with similar interests and to keep an active mind, and in some groups, an active body too! The activities of individual Interest Groups are self-managed and self-funded (generally free), and draw on the skills and experience of the membership. Each local u3a decides on the activities it wishes to organise and its Interest Groups are set up and run by the members themselves.

Group leaders, committee members and other volunteers are the backbone to a successful u3a. Their time, effort, knowledge and expertise are essential to making the organisation work. Penicuik & District u3a is fortunate to have within its membership a rich pool of knowledge and talent which, in keeping with the ethos of the Third Age Trust, is willing to contribute their time.

Why not join us and 'live life to the full'

Click on a picture below to see it full-size with more details.

Penicuik & District u3a - what we do!