Churches all set for ride and stride fundraiser
Shropshire's Ride and Stride event, a churches' open day which sees fundraisers visiting by car, by bike, on foot – or more unusual methods – is being held on Saturday, September 9.
It is the biggest annual event for the Shropshire Historic Churches Trust, a charity which provides grants to help maintain, repair and improve the county's historic churches.
Among notable visiting methods this year will be a pony and trap setting off from Morton, near Oswestry, and a car convoy from Hordley. Last year there were rickshaws at St Chad's in Shrewsbury.
Nearly all churches in the county, together with some over the border, will be open for visitors, with most welcoming them with light refreshments.
Ride and Stride is a national event organised by the National Churches Trust, in which SHCT takes part with its local event.
It has dual aims, firstly to be a day of welcome in a kind of open day, and secondly to raise money, mainly through sponsorship, for the SHCT and for participants' chosen churches, or other charity if they are not involved with a church.
Money raised by participants is divided equally between the trust and their own local church or chosen charity.
A full list of local open churches is on the website shropshirehct.org.uk, where a sponsorship form is also available.
While older folk tend to prefer to make their visits by car, cycling is also popular and also, of course, walking, such as around Shrewsbury's town centre churches.
As county organiser David Hardham is tied up on Saturday he did his sponsored travels earlier this year. He and his daughter walked 22 miles from Wooler to Lindisfarne church, including the Pilgrims' route following the line of posts over the sands at low tide and onto Holy Island.
