The Great Woolly Hugs’ Hugathon, Edinburgh. Saturday 4th October 2025
2025-10-04 11:00 - 15:30 (Europe/London) | St. Columba’s by the Castle, 14 Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2PW, United Kingdom
The Great Woolly Hugs’ Hugathon in Edinburgh takes place on Saturday 4th October 2025 between 11.00am and 3.30pm, at St Columba’s by the Castle Church Hall in central Edinburgh, just off the Royal Mile, close to Edinburgh Castle. Hopefully this year without Charles and Camilla gatecrashing!
Our Venue is fully accessible. Access to the venue is via a gentle and wheelchair-friendly ramp from the street pavement and there is a lift to the level of the hall and garden area downstairs. There are accessible bathroom facilities.
Tickets cost £20 each. On Sale from 7pm from March 1st 2025.
Our Hugathons are a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow Woolly Huggers who share a love of crafting.They are very friendly and inclusive. It is a great time for chatting with your fellow Woolly crew and sharing ideas. If Tortie behaves we will let him come too! We’ve included some testimonials from folk who have been to one before, which might be useful if this is your first time.
During the Hugathon we will attempt to get as many 6 inch squares made. In Edinburgh we are focussing on our Snug Project. We will provide all SSDK, but please remember to bring your 4mm hooks/knitting needles, you will need them! If you have any squares already made for THIS project ONLY, please bring them, it may be that we can get some kits out for construction.
We will also be running a rather fabulous Lucky Dip (£1 a go) and our legendary Gin Raffle (£1 a ticket) We will also be running a DeStash table. If you have crafting items to donate to our DeStash table please do bring, remember one person’s destash is another person’s treasure!
And finally we will play our Yarn Bingo game, you will not want to miss this!
We have use of the kitchen area, and will provide the wherewithal for making tea and coffee for a donation. Bring a packed lunch, snacks and drinks, we won’t judge if that is alcohol!
We will be flying to Edinburgh so will be unable to take any completed treasure home, apologies for this, we have limited luggage allowance.

Do join us, we’d love to meet you or see you again. And if you are worried about not knowing anyone, let us know and we can get you seated and chatting as quick as a flash.

A wonderful experience meeting friends and like minded people. Like sinking into a warm bath of friendship I’ve always known but never met before. Jen
A fabulous day meeting ‘strangers’ I have known online for years. Sharing yarn, craft skills, cake and laughter. Returning home full of love for the wonderful Woolly Huggers! Jo
It was lovely to meet all the folk I have made virtual friends with online . It gave me a real sense of us working together helping to make something beautiful and worthwhile . It was also lovely for the chat , laughter and to admire the amazing craftmanship going on around me , and how everyone was happy to share their expertise Steph
The hugathon is where the WH virtual community crosses over into a face to face community, meeting others who you may have got to know online. It’s so lovely to be able to sit and work and natter together, comparing notes and making friends. It epitomises the spirit of WH, crafters working together to benefit others. Alison

How to get there…

Lothian Region Transport buses run along nearby George IV Bridge and Lothian Road. The venue is also close to Princes Street and George Street, further bus information can be found at the City Council website.
The venue is also reasonably close to Edinburgh’s Waverley station for rail services. There is a taxi rank at the station.
Parking is limited in the area:
Metered On-street parking: Johnston Terrace 8:30am – 6:30pm Mon-Sat (charges apply)
Closest NCP Parking: Castle Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2EW https://www.ncp.co.uk/parking-solutions/cities/edinburgh/

St. Columba’s by the Castle, 14 Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2PW ( Big blue door!)

Some photos from previous years..

The Great Woolly Hugs’ Christmas Hugathon, Oxford. Saturday 29th November 2025
2025-11-29 11:00 - 15:30 | St Johns, Broadway, Kidlington, OX5 1DD
Come and be merry and bright. It’s the Oxford Christmas Hugathon!
Tickets on sale from 7pm on Monday 1st September 2025. Set an alarm!

The Great Woolly Hugs’ Christmas Hugathon in Oxford takes place on Saturday 29th November 2025 between 11.00am and 3.30pm, at St John’s Hall Church, Broadway, Kidlington, OX5 1DD. All welcome!
Our Venue is fully accessible. Access to the venue is smooth from street level. There are accessible bathroom facilities.
As it is our Christmas Hugathon you might like to wear any Christmas jumper/decorations you may have, but NO OBLIGATION! Additionally we will try not to Wham everyone like we did in Gloucester that time!
TICKETS COST £20 EACH, which includes Event swag!
In time for this Event we are registering with Stripe for card payments which will be a lot easier. WE HOPE!
Our Hugathons are a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow Woolly Huggers who share a love of crafting. They are friendly and inclusive. It is a great time for chatting with your fellow Woolly crew and sharing ideas. If Tortie behaves we will let him come too! We’ve included some testimonials from folk who have been to one before, which might be useful if this is your first time.
We will also be running a couple of fundraisers, our fabulous Lucky Dip (£1 a go) and our legendary Gin Raffle (£1 a ticket) We will also be running a DeStash table. If you have crafting items to donate to our DeStash table please do bring, remember one person’s destash is another person’s treasure! So do bring along some cash, or we do have a card machine if that is easier, happy to tap for any amount!
And finally we will play a couple of games of our infamous Yarn Bingo game, but with a Christmas twist, you will not want to miss this!
During the Hugathon we will attempt to get as many 6 inch squares made. Hopefully for Chernobyl 26 but this needs confirming. We will provide all SSDK, but please remember to bring your 4mm hooks/knitting needles, you will need them! We will also be making pompom decorations for our woolly Christmas tree.
We have access to hot water for drinks, and will provide the wherewithal for making tea and coffee for a donation. We are planning mulled wine and mince pies. Bring a packed lunch, snacks and drinks.
How to get here..

There is parking at the front of the Church, and some local street parking. Ali has made us a map. All red lines denote on street parking for free, but do double check in case things have changed.

Oxford Parkway (Park and Ride) is only 15 mins walk. Parking tariffs for Oxford Parkway station: Up to one hour: Free. Up to 11 hours: £2.10 ( at the time of writing)
The nearest train station is Oxford Parkway. It takes an average of 6 mins to travel from Oxford to Oxford Parkway by train, over a distance of around 4 miles (6 km). There are normally 40 trains per day.
All buses from Oxford to Kidlington stop outside the Hugathon venue
And it is pretty close to Oxford Airport!
St John’s Hall Church, Broadway, Kidlington, OX5 1DD

The Great York Hugathon. January 31st 2026
2026-01-31 11:00 - 15:30 | St Olave’s Church Hall, Marygate Lane, YO30 7DS, York, YO30 7DS, United Kingdom
The Great Woolly Hugs’ York Hugathon takes place on Saturday 31st January 2026, between 11am and 3.30pm. Our venue is at St Olave’s Church Hall, Marygate Lane, York, England, YO30 7BJ. This is very near to the beautiful Museum Gardens, and easily accessed by public transport, The venue is accessible, with accessible facilities. This is the same venue as our last trip to York.
Tickets cost £20 each. On Sale from 7pm from November 1st 2025.
Our Hugathons are a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow Woolly Huggers who share a love of crafting.They are very friendly and inclusive. It is a great time for chatting with your fellow Woolly crew and sharing ideas. If Tortie behaves we will let him come too! We’ve included some testimonials from folk who have been to one before, which might be useful if this is your first time.
During the Hugathon we will attempt to get as many 6 inch squares made. In York we are focussing on our Chernobyl 2026 Project. We will provide all SSDK, but please remember to bring your 4mm hooks/knitting needles, you will need them! If you have any squares already made for THIS project ONLY, please bring them, it may be that we can get some kits out for construction.
We will also be running a rather fabulous Lucky Dip (£1 a go) and our legendary Gin Raffle (£1 a ticket) We will also be running a DeStash table. If you have crafting items to donate to our DeStash table please do bring, remember one person’s destash is another person’s treasure!
And finally we will play our Yarn Bingo game, you will not want to miss this!
We have use of the kitchen area, and will provide the wherewithal for making tea and coffee for a donation. Bring a packed lunch, snacks and drinks, we won’t judge if that is alcohol!
This will be the palette, we just need a new pic!

Do join us, we’d love to meet you or see you again. And if you are worried about not knowing anyone, let us know and we can get you seated and chatting as quick as a flash.

A wonderful experience meeting friends and like minded people. Like sinking into a warm bath of friendship I’ve always known but never met before. Jen
A fabulous day meeting ‘strangers’ I have known online for years. Sharing yarn, craft skills, cake and laughter. Returning home full of love for the wonderful Woolly Huggers! Jo
It was lovely to meet all the folk I have made virtual friends with online . It gave me a real sense of us working together helping to make something beautiful and worthwhile . It was also lovely for the chat , laughter and to admire the amazing craftmanship going on around me , and how everyone was happy to share their expertise Steph
The hugathon is where the WH virtual community crosses over into a face to face community, meeting others who you may have got to know online. It’s so lovely to be able to sit and work and natter together, comparing notes and making friends. It epitomises the spirit of WH, crafters working together to benefit others. Alison

How to get there…
For car drivers the nearby Marygate car park (postcode YO30 7DT) is large and easy to find, being just off Bootham (the A19). York’s Park & Ride and other scheduled bus services run conveniently close, and the church is also only ten minutes walk from York railway station.
