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Ride+Stride 2020 : helping to save historic churches and chapels

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Ride+Stride may be a little different this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, but churches and chapels in 24 English counties will be welcoming cyclists and walkers on Saturday, 12 September as they take part in this annual fundraising day to save historic churches.

Why not join them, there is still time to dust off your hiking boots or check your brakes and plan your route around your favourite churches and chapels.

This year, some County Churches Trusts are holding the event in a similar way to previous years and for others the event may take a different form. So, please check out how Ride+Stride is taking place near you on the dedicated website.

In 2019, Ride+Stride raised over £1.2 million for the restoration and preservation of the UK’s historic churches, chapels and meeting houses. The annual charity fundraiser will see many places of worship welcome ‘Riders+Striders’, who are sponsored to visit as many churches as they can in a day. In normal circumstances the doors would be open and volunteers ready to greet and encourage all participants. This year, although many doors may be closed, the welcome will still be there as well as the appreciation of the efforts from all who are taking part to raise funds.

All money raised will help to repair churches, chapels and meeting houses throughout England. The main threats facing historic churches include failing roofs, gutters, downpipes and high level stonework, with damage often caused by high winds and rain. 913 of the churches most in need of rescue are currently on Historic England's 'Heritage at Risk' Register. 

National 'Ride + Stride for Churches' chairman Hilary Cakebread Hall: 

“We have seen over the last few months, the good that churches and chapels are doing in their communities. Daily we hear of wonderful stories how churches are increasingly becoming a support for the wider community. ‘Ride + Stride for Churches’ helps provide vital funding to enable the repairs to the building and installation of kitchens and  heating that makes them able to serve the needs of the public."

About Ride and Stride

‘Ride+Stride for churches’ started in Suffolk in 1982, the idea of Judith Foord. Since then, over £35 million has been raised nationally to fund urgent church repairs.

The event is organised by County Churches Trusts across England. Places of worship taking part include those belonging to the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, the Baptist Union, the Methodist Church, the Quakers and the United Reformed Church. 

This year you can Ride+Stride in the following English counties:

Bedfordshire; Berkshire; Buckinghamshire; Cambridgeshire; Devon; Dorset; Gloucestershire; Hampshire and the Islands; Kent; Leicestershire; Lincolnshire; Norfolk; Northamptonshire; Nottinghamshire; Oxfordshire; Shropshire; Somerset; Staffordshire; Suffolk; Surrey; Warwickshire and Coventry; Wiltshire; Worcestershire and Dudley; Yorkshire. Further details can be found on the Ride and Stride for Churches website.

Supported by The National Churches Trust, Ride+Stride for churches opens the doors to some of England's amazing church buildings.