But first, let’s talk about you.
When you’re done with full-time employment or parenting, it can feel like the end of something but actually it’s just the beginning. When you join the u3a, it’s the beginning of a whole new life – a life of learning, activity, companionship. A chance to try new things, things that you’ve always wanted to have a go at but never had the time. If you go to our Groups page, you’ll find forty different groups. Click on the ones that interest you to find out more about them. And then join the u3a!
How much does it cost?
Annual membership - from September 2026 to August 2027 – costs just £20. However, some groups may have additional charges to cover instructors, room hire, catering, travel, entrance fees, etc.
The annual fee allows members to join as many groups as they like and to receive u3a Matters the u3a national membership magazine. Members are also invited to attend our regular meetings, held in the Victoria Hall on the first Tuesday of every month except August. These meetings feature a talk on some subject of general interest by an invited speaker.
From 1 September 2026, these meetings are also open to associate members, that is, members of another u3a. For an annual fee of £16 they are welcome to attend our meetings and to join any of our groups.
From small beginnings …
The Hartley Wintney u3a came into being in 2006 with just 30 people joining in the first year. Meetings were held at the Cricket Club, but we soon outgrew that and had to move to the Football Club. However, like the very hungry caterpillar, we kept on growing until we had to make our final move to the Victoria Hall. Our current membership is around 500 … and still growing.
The number of groups on offer also continues to grow - to 38 at the last count. Subjects include outdoor activities, creative activities, social activities, languages and … well, visit our Groups page and see for yourself..
Our village
If you live in Hartley Wintey, as most of us do, you will know that ours is a rural village with a wealth of history, surrounded by idyllic countryside. There are fields and large wooded areas such as Yateley Heath Wood and part of Hazely Heath as well as large expanses of common land with the famous Mildmay Oaks at its centre. The river Hart flows to the northeast of the village while the River Whitewater forms the Western parish boundary.
With a population of about 5,000, the parish includes Phoenix Green to the South and the hamlets of Dipley, West Green, Elvetham and Hartfordbridge. The Hartley Wintney u3a covers all of these and other nearby places such as Hook.
The u3a Story
Founded in 1981, the UK u3a movement aims to bring together people in their third age to ‘learn, laugh and live’. Anyone can start a new group if there is sufficient interest and ideally the groups should be run by their own members. If an outside tutor has to be brought in, they are funded by the group. There is no minimum age but the focus is on people who are no longer in full-time employment or child rearing.
The u3a clearly fulfilled a need because, from its beginning, it grew very quickly. By the early 1990s, a u3a was opening every fortnight somewhere in the UK. Today we have more than 430,000 members in over 1,000 u3as.
And those numbers increase all the time.