Here are the favourite hobbies in lockdown

Lockdown has given us a lot more time to try out new hobbies or resurrect old pastimes. Painting, baking, gardening and exercising have helped us while away the hours of leisure. A study has found that when it’s time to clock off from work or education, people in the UK like to pick up the paintbrush. and get creative on paper. With 165,000 monthly Google searches, painting has been revealed as the nation’s favourite hobby. Looking at ten cities across the UK, researchers have found that painting topped the favourite hobbies list in Nottingham, Liverpool, Leicester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Birmingham. Benefits to wellbeing Doctor of philosophy Ivana Poku said: “Painting has many benefits to our wellbeing such as boosting creativity, providing stress relief and strengthening our memory.” Reading was the most popular leisure activity in Bristol and London, blogging topped the table in Leeds and coding in Sheffield. Here is a breakdown of the hobbies that have gained the most interest in Google searches: Birmingham - gardening, 309% Bristol - puzzles, 392% Edinburgh - learn a new language, 300% Glasgow - gardening, 296% Leeds - scrapbooking, 250% Leicester - puzzles, 285% Liverpool - learn a new language, 400% London - puzzles, 236% Nottingham - puzzles, 181% Sheffield - baking and puzzles, 238% The study found that the UK has grown an interest in completing puzzles during lockdown. There was a 30% increase in people looking online for puzzles in April 2020 compared to May 2019. Ed Fleming, managing director at Savoo, who carried out the study, said: “Starting a new hobby or continuing an existing one doesn’t mean you need to be spending a fortune getting all the right equipment. “Researching what you need to take part in your activity and the recommended equipment can save you from spending unnecessary money.” Savoo, a discount code and charity fundraising website, released the results of the UK's favourite hobbies after looking into how Europeans spent their leisure time in lockdown.