Women prefer a quiet life...

Men love clubbing more than women - who would much prefer to potter about in the garden, a new survey reveals today.

The research reveals a dramatic rise in the amount of money British people will spend on leisure activities.

The report shows more men like to go clubbing - 36 per cent compared with 26 per cent of women. But more than 40 per cent of women love gardening, compared with only 26 per cent of men.

Despite hundreds of nightspots on offer in the capital, Londoners are not the biggest clubbers. Only 30 per cent said they went to a club or disco at least once a month, compared with 39 per cent of people in Wales. However, Londoners proved to be the biggest culture vultures - 64 per cent of them visit a museum at least once a year, and 39 per cent visit a library at least once a month.

Eating out was by far the most popular leisure activity - for both men and women. Almost three quarters of respondents go to a restaurant at least once a month.

We also love spending money on: visits to museums, playing sport, subscribing to cable or satellite TV, renting a video, buying CDs and going to the cinema.

According to the report by market analysts Key Note, who surveyed 1,000 people across Britain, we will be spending £180 billion by 2006 on our leisure activities. Helen Woodruffe-Burton, senior lecturer in consumer behaviour at Lancaster University Management School, said: "When you spend money on leisure pursuits you are buying into a 'feelgood' factor.

"We are in times of greater insecurity than ever before and, at times like this, people often want to live for today rather than save for tomorrow. A lot of these pursuits, such as gardening and DIY, have been popularised by the media.

"But it also has to do with the increased accessibility of credit cards and loans."