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The best alternative Valentine’s Day ideas

Want to do Valentine’s Day differently this year? Whether you’re celebrating Galentine’s with the girls, Palentine’s with your pals, or just looking for something less mushy to do with your partner, we’ve picked out our favourite Valentine’s Day alternatives. From axe-slinging in Bristol (yes, really) to a pop-up café for dogs in Newcastle, these events are all easy to get to with megabus. So, snap up a cheap coach ticket, round up your mates and get ready to celebrate Valentine’s Day – your way.

Best for Palentine’s with your mates: Plonk London
Hipster crazy golf courses, craft beers, and arcade games. What more could you possibly want from a night out with friends? Plonk London have locations in Hackney, Camden, Borough Market and Shoreditch, and you can expect board games, bar games and pool tables, too. Head to Hackney if you’re hungry – the fully loaded hot dogs look incredible. Perfect for an anti-Valentine’s night out with a group of mates.
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Best for Galentine’s with your girls: Red Bus Bistro, Glasgow
Fancy something a bit more genteel? Treat yourself to afternoon tea on a vintage Routemaster bus as you take in the sights of Glasgow. Red Bus Bistro run afternoon tea bus tours most days of the week including Valentine’s Day, with scones, finger sandwiches, petit fours and more on the menu. These tours run in Edinburgh, too, and you can upgrade from tea and coffee to gin pot-tails if you fancy a little tipple.
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Best for getting over your ex: Whistle Punks Leeds
Messy breakup? Nothing will help you get over them faster than learning to sling an axe at Whistle Punks Leeds. A social ticket gets you a 70-minute session with an instructor, who’ll teach you the art of urban axe throwing in a shared lane. There’s a bar to loosen you up and pizzas to fill you up, plus plenty more first-timers to cheer you up. Bear in mind the Leeds venue is closed on Tuesdays, so you can ignore Valentine’s Day altogether and visit Weds-Sun instead. Just make sure you wear closed-toe shoes and clothes you can move freely in. Save those glad rags for another date.
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Best for family fun: Treat Kitchen Bakery, Nottingham
Newly opened Treat Kitchen Bakery in Nottingham’s Sneinton Market has some sweet-themed workshops going on this February to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Learn how to pipe a compliment to yourself or a friend as you sip a glass of fizz at the Galentine’s Affirmation Cookie Heart Workshops. Or, decorate cakes and make sugar-paste decorations with the kids at a Children’s Love Bug Cupcake Decorating Workshop. Perfect for sweet-toothed friends and family members.
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Best for Pupentine’s Day: Pup Up Café, Newcastle
Does anyone actually use the phrase Pupentine’s Day? We’re not sure, but we love the idea of taking your four-legged friend to meet other like-minded doggos. This special Valentine’s edition of the Pup Up Café is at Revolution Newcastle on February 12^th and has space for up to 50 dogs to mingle alongside their humans. Kids are allowed and dogs go free, but make sure you get your tickets early as there’s only one session per breed. There’ll be Valentine’s props, photo ops with a professional photographer, and unlimited puppuccinos for four-legged guests.
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