While London famously has leather and fetish bars that literally boast about having the strictest dress codes, British leathermen and bears exist beyond the boundaries of the M25 ring road.
Looking for a bar with “Eagle” in the name is always a safe bet for finding the bear and leather scene. But many cities host monthly and one-off parties at ever-changing venues, so following the right promoter or group can be the best entrypoint into finding like-minded guys during your tour.
Here are some shortcuts to find leather, bear and fetish events all over the U.K. Remember that dress codes can vary from relaxed to very strict, so if you haven’t packed all the gear you’ll need, you might need to make a stop at a local gay or fetish store to round out your wardrobe. The effort is usually worth it.
Manchester
The rainy city’s Eagle (15 Bloom St.) is a private-members club; save yourself some time at the door and apply in advance online and agree to their code of conduct; anyone who identifies as male qualifies. Dress code: casual men’s attire, jeans, shorts, leather, rubber, denim, traditional Scottish and utility kilts, lederhosen, military, industrial, suits, work wear, sports-kit, boots, shoes and trainers.
The group Manchester Leathermen hosts its annual Manchester Leather Weekend event each October and gathers the first Saturday of every month in the Eagle’s Lodge bar. Bearaoke at the Eagle is every Sunday. The Manscbound bondage event is the third Friday monthly. The Manbear group holds its social every second Saturday of the month and Manbear is also the group behind the Great British Bear Bash, held in the spring at the Eagle and other venues.
Alert! is also a private-member’s club, hosting regular fetish events in Sub101 (101 Princess St., downstairs from Cruz101). The Big Scrum, which specializes in sports-kit dress code, also hosts events at Sub101; their schedule is the second Saturday of every month.
Get geared up in Manchester: Clone Zone (36-38 Sackville St.) or The Moody Bear (Manchester-based but online-only sales).
Birmingham
For bears, XXL London hosts XXL Birmingham at Boltz Club (Kent St., Lower Essex St.) the last Friday of every month. Boltz, a cruisy bar any day of the week, also hosts a regular no-dress-code-but-fetish-please night, a sportswear night and a monthly Dare 2 Bear night when undies or nudity is required.
Boltz is also a regular venue for social events by the Birmingham Fetishmen group, which this year hosts its Fetishmen Weekend November 3 to 5. Also in Birmingham’s Gay Village, the Fountain Inn has the veneer of propriety on entry, but has a men-only cruising area in the back where they host events by The Heart of England Leather Club.
Gear up in Birmingham: Clone Zone (84 Hurst St.).
Brighton
Leathermen South hosts social events for guys into leather and rubber at the historic pub Bulldog (31 St. James’s St. Mews) the fourth Saturday of every month. The Bulldog also hosts Bearaoke (what is it with bears and karaoke?) the first Sunday of every month. Brighton’s annual Bear Weekend happens this year July 6 to 9, but the organization also hosts events throughout the year.
Gear up in Brighton: Prowler Brighton (112-113 St James’ St.).
Newcastle, Cardiff and Bristol
Both Newcastle and Cardiff have an Eagle. The Newcastle Leathermen group hosts a social the third Friday of every month at the Eagle Newcastle (42 Scotswood Rd). No dress code but gear encouraged.
Cardiff’s Eagle (39 Charles St.), hosts a Human Pups Meet & Mosh the first Saturday of every month. Cardiff events held by the group LeatherMen Cymru, though, are held at The Golden Cross, including the leather social the last Sunday of every month and the fetish social the second Saturday of the month. No dress code but attendees are encouraged to show their interest in rubber, lycra, skin, bears and pups.
Bristol, about an hour’s drive from Cardiff, is home to Bristol Bear Bar (2 West St.), which calls itself the “first purpose-built bear bar in the country.” It’s also a very inclusive space with as much drag as gear.
Gear up in Newcastle: Pulse and Cocktails (Units 28, 29 Tundry Way, Blaydon-on-Tyne) is a mainstream sex shop with some leather items for men.
Gear up in Cardiff and Bristol: Passion (16E Whittle Rd., Cardiff) is a mainstream sex shop where you’ll find some harnesses for men; there’s a gay-oriented Prowler in Bristol (30 Bond St., Broadmead, Bristol)
Oxford
Oxford Leather Social hosts an informal gathering every third Sunday of the month at Jolly Farmers Pub (20 Paradise St.). There’s no dress code, “but the more leather the better, and of course you have to meet the pub’s standards of decency.”
Gear up in Oxford: You may want to take a run into London for a visit to REGULATION Store (13a Bateman St., Soho), Fetch (Arch 643 at 6 Voltaire Rd., Clapham) or Clone Zone’s CZ Dark branch (266 Old Brompton Rd., Earls Court).
Scotland
Leathermen Scotland is based in Glasgow and this year hosts its Glasgow Leathery Weekend from December 8 to 10. Its monthly socials are held the second Sunday of each month at the LGBTQ+-oriented Gallery Bar (101 Brunswick St., Glasgow); no dress code, leather encouraged. Glasgow’s monthly bear social is held at the gay-friendly Bacchus Bar (80 Glassford St., Glasgow).
Over in Auld Reekie, it’s more about bears than leather. Edinburgh’s Bear Scot Fest is held October 5 to 8. The monthly bear social is the second Saturday of each month at The Regent (2 Montrose Terrace, Edinburgh).
Gear up in Scotland: Luke+Jack (45 Virginia St., Glasgow) is a mainstream sex shop with a decent fetish selection.
