It’s Warm Welcome Week: 19-25 January
19 January 2026
If you could use a welcoming place to stay cosy and beat the chill, you’re in luck. Across Midlothian, you can visit council and community-run buildings offering a warm place and a friendly face, no questions asked.
Warm Welcome is a UK-wide movement creating free, inclusive spaces where anyone can find warmth, connection, and support. Born during the cost-of-living crisis, it now operates year-round through 5,500+ community venues including libraries, cafés, and faith centres.
These spaces offer a lifeline for those facing isolation, financial hardship and tough choices between heating and eating, providing not just physical warmth but also friendship, vital support and belonging close to home. Last winter, they recorded 2.6 million visits, with 70% of guests feeling less isolated and 87% reporting better mental wellbeing.
January is often described as the coldest and loneliest time of the year, with “Blue Monday” symbolizing its lowest point. Warm Welcome Week is here to change that.
From 19 to 25 January 2026, communities across the UK will unite to bring warmth, connection, and positivity through Warm Welcome Spaces with the aim to raise as much awareness as possible and grow the network.
How you can take part
- Find warm spaces in Midlothian on our Cost of Living page
- Spread the word with anyone who may be feeling lonely or in need of a safe and welcoming place to connect
- Find out more about the Warm Welcome Network