Coworking outside of the City

This summer we’re creating a series of blogs that look at ways to manage quiet periods, why we shouldn’t be living like an entrepreneur and looking into why 40% of small businesses don’t use social media. 

This blog will feature coworking spaces across the UK – ideal if you’re holidaying in the UK with the family this year or longing to move out of the city. 

Let’s face it, when you work for yourself, it can be difficult to switch off completely and in fact planning a ‘work day’ whilst on holiday is likely to be more productive than checking emails and doing bits of work in between family time, and you just never know who you might meet and where that could lead. 

We know the number of coworking spaces is on the rise, [between October 2017 and October 2018, the number of flexible office centres in the UK tracked by Instant rose to 5,320!] but we often think these are located in major city centres such as London, Birmingham and Manchester, however, our research has found coworking spaces in picturesque places such as Hebden Bridge in the Upper Calder Valley and Cirencester in the Cotswolds. 

We love The Egg Factory aka @HebdenCoWorking – who doesn’t?! Started by the artists & crafties behind @MadeintheValley this fab co-working space is the perfect place to rent a desk, start a business, or do your own thing from – CHECK IT OUT https://t.co/a9fSJtKHJG pic.twitter.com/f9arUtEVBL

— HebdenBridge.org (@HebdenbridgeOrg) June 8, 2018

Loving my new Co working office / space @TheHuddleRocks. Getting work done and surrounded by thd most bootiful countryside #productivity improving now I’ve stopped looking out of the window too much ? pic.twitter.com/MkQu4N84pQ

— jeremy blain (@learntheplanet) November 19, 2018

For this post we’ve grouped the spaces we’ve found by popular counties that you may be holidaying in or dreaming of moving to. It’s not an expansive list and if you know of one we’ve missed or one you’d like to tell us about, just send an email to marketing@icsuk.com and we’ll get it added. 

We began our search on [where else?] but Google and then came across the fantastic CoWorker website and Indycube, a cooperative aiming to change the way we all do business.  Just starting this search opened our eyes to the sheer number of spaces across the UK and you’ll appreciate this is just a small sample. 

Lancashire

Cumbria

Yorkshire

Cornwall

Devon

Cheshire 

Gloucestershire 

Scotland

We’ve recently signed up to the Pearson Insight newsletter written by market researcher, Adam Pearson. For someone once sceptical about coworking spaces his opinion has changed since spending time at The Qworkery in Skipton. We’ve shared a snippet below but you can read in full here.

MY EXPERIENCES OF COWORKING SO FAR

As someone who was a reluctant co-worker, I thought I’d share some of my experiences so far. 

• I am so much more productive – whether it’s the guilt of being around people, wanting to get value from the desk I pay for or just the change of scene, I seem to be getting a lot more done.
• I’ve met new people – people, real-life, actual people who talk and are really nice to be around.
• The number of times I swear at my screen has reduced dramatically – this is definitely because I’m around other people.

I have a shocking confession to make on #YorkshireDay.

Yorkshire is growing on me. It’s still not a patch on Lancashire though.

More in my latest newsletter ?https://t.co/GlUxYPEfRZ

— Adam Pearson (@pearsoninsight) August 1, 2019

More coworking spaces found on Coworker. 

If you’re interested in reading more about coworking spaces in rural and beach locations then click these links…

Rural Coworking is a Thing! https://medium.com/remote-office/rural-coworking-is-a-thing-2251e720f943

Why People Thrive in Coworking Spaces https://hbr.org/2015/05/why-people-thrive-in-coworking-spaces

At ICS we have been working with contractors, freelancers and small business owners across the UK since 2002. That’s 17 years of supporting the self-employed achieve their goals! Thanks to our range of compliant accounting solutions we can help you whether you’re new to contracting or a seasoned freelancer so call us now on 0800 195 3750 or email newbusiness@icsuk.com to find out more.