Ride and Stride, one of the biggest fundraising events for County Historic Churches Trusts, is less than 2 months away!
We hope you can support this event (planned for the 11th September 2021), whether it is just displaying a poster, opening your church or being a sponsored Rider or Strider. Whilst we would love every church to be open on the day, we realise this isn’t always possible.
Whether it is due to the pandemic, repair works, weddings or other events, if you cannot open the doors, your church CAN still take part.
Churches in Fen Drayton and Fenstanton will be closed on the day, but the local Ride and Stride Organiser is hoping to have volunteer welcomers in the porches to support participants.
Riders and Striders will be able to explore the churchyard in both villages – let’s hope the sun shines on the event again this year!
If you cannot open your church, think about the other ways you could support the event and welcome visitors, for instance:
- Display posters advertising the event.
- Promote it on your website or Facebook page.
- Move any bins or posters that might be spoiling a great photo opportunity.
- Leave a sign-in sheet out in a porch for participants.
- Leave out some free bottles of water.
- Encourage people to visit your churchyard instead - you could put a board out which lists some of the things people could spot in your churchyard, from wildlife to interesting gravestones.
This year the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust is aiming to publish a list of churches which will be open on the day. Parishes should have already received an event pack by email or by post; this pack includes an ‘open churches’ form which should be completed and returned to the Trust contact by the end of August.
Please use this form to tell us whether or not your building will be open on the day; if you have events taking place in your church or village, we can highlight them to participants so they can join in or be aware of private events taking place.
All information about Ride and Stride will be available on the Trust’s newly developed website (please be patient if some of the pages are still being developed when you visit).
Find out More:
- Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust
- Norfolk Churches Trust (the event is called The Bike Ride and Walk)