Taking strides to help historic churches
Shropshire's annual "ride and stride" event, when cyclists, walkers and riders will set out to visit as many places of worship as they can in eight hours, is being held on September 8 with a fundraising target of £30,000.
The event is held by the Shropshire Historic Churches Trust, a charity which gives grants to help repair, preserve, and maintain the county's historic Christian churches.
And those taking part are being encouraged to boost their sponsorship by adopting weird and wonderful ways of getting from church to church, such as penny farthing, unicycle, tandem, or electric bicycle, and vintage car, horse or donkey, and pony and trap, as well as simply walking.
The "ride and stride" event runs from 10am to 6pm on the day and is one of the trust's major fundraising activities which last year raised £29,395.
"Most of the churches and chapels will be offering some refreshments – we know of one Shrewsbury church that hopes to offer bacon butties to participants. Those churches open will be listed on the Ride+Stride’s website," said organiser Roger Hughes.
"The stranger the mode of transport then hopefully the more people will raise in sponsorship. They might even get a local firm to sponsor them.
"And if you ride as a team, how many of Shropshire’s churches and chapels will you be able to visit?"
People do not need to be affiliated to a church or chapel to take part.
Further information from www.shropshirehct.org.uk or from Ride+Stride co-ordinators at local churches and chapels.
