Church Tourism

Churches, chapels and meeting houses are 'treasure houses' of heritage, history and community. 

The potential for churches to attract visitors and for visits to be enjoyable and worthwhile is huge. The UK has a wonderful national collection of churches, chapels and meeting houses peppered across the countryside and nestling in our towns. Perhaps this is why visiting churches (both old and new) is one of the most popular pastimes in the country, and such sites also attract foreign visitors.

We believe that church buildings (by which we mean all Christian places of worship, including chapels and Meeting Houses)  should be open and accessible for all people to use for worship, social and community activities, learning, cultural visits and learning about history and heritage. We strive to support these buildings to be sustained and maintained at the centre of their communities, in towns, villages and cities.

We believe that there remains huge unrealised potential to engage the support of the wider public by opening up more churches to visitors and telling their stories in new and exciting ways.

Our church tourism work includes:

• Our groundbreaking ExploreChurches website, the place to discover a love for churches and find all the information you need to visit them
• Projects, working with tourism partners; including Experiencing Sacred Wales and Treasure Ireland
• Training and consultation; for churches, volunteers, clergy, organisations and projects