Scots spend over £1000 a year on hobbies

19 per cent of Scots cite swimming as one of their hobbies

Scottish hobbyists spend an average of £1100 on activities each year a new survey by insurance providers Saga has found.

The most common hobbies for Scots are walking or hiking with 38 per cent of people saying they regularly do it.

This is followed by gardening (35 per cent), swimming (19 per cent), photography (16 per cent) and sewing and knitting (15 per cent).

Hobbies don't come cheap, with people spending an average of £1100 on their activities per year

People spend an average of £30 per month on membership fees for their hobbies.

But when it comes to over 50s, there is a slight change in activities, with 51 per cent taking up gardening.

Under 50s are much more likely to take up running, with 18 per cent taking to the roads as a hobby, but this falls to just three per cent in the over 50s group.

Hobbies are also costing the over 50s much more, with them spending an average of £1,250 a year on them.

Roger Ramsden, Chief Executive, Saga Services, commented: “The over 50s have clearly invested in their hobbies over the years and are keen to keep up with the latest trends by buying top of the range equipment. It’s easy to forget just how expensive it is to replace things like fishing rods or cameras so people are wise to add them to their home insurance policy so that they don’t have to fork out for new gear if something happens to it.”