This year’s Ride+Stride event took place on 9 September, on a wonderfully sunny day! A number of churches in our diocese took part, whether that involved opening their doors to riders and striders, or the parishioners taking part themselves.
The annual Ride+Stride event is a fantastic opportunity for participants to discover the rich heritage of the historic church buildings in the area, as well as the beautiful countryside, while raising money through sponsorship.
Those taking part in the Ride+Stride can chat with church representatives along the way, learning more about the history and heritage of these churches. The sponsorship money participants raise then goes to the churches, contributing towards repairs and restoration costs. These may include retaining walls in graveyards, leaky roofs and the installation of facilities. Essentially, the money goes towards making the historic churches, chapels and meeting houses of all denominations across the area fit to serve local communities for future generations.
Participants in the Ride+Stride are sponsored to travel between as many churches as they can on the day, on foot, bicycle, scooter, bus or classic car. Some even choose to go by horseback or canoe! Participants can create their own itineraries which cover as many churches as possible, many of which provided refreshments (along with toilet facilities), and all provided a warm welcome to anyone coming to look around the church!
Of those churches in our diocese which took part in this year’s Ride+Stride, many of their parishioners also decided to raise sponsorship money too! See some of the participants below:
ACBN Churches
Of those taking part from ACNB churches, one went by bike, while three chose to walk. Francois from St. Denys Chilworth visited 30 places of worship in Romsey Deanery and rode a total of 103 km on his bicycle. Jo, Phil (from St. Mark Ampfield) and Sally (from All Saints North Baddesley), each walked 11 km and visited four churches.
The day was a challenge for everyone, as the weather was extremely hot and they were all in danger of being dehydrated! Although this group only met one other person on their journey, they did find it helpful to read who had visited the churches before them. They also felt it was lovely when refreshments were available, especially cold drinks!
The walkers trekked through some amazing countryside, which was great exercise. They were also proud to be raising money for the beautiful places of worship in the area. And on the journey, Phil even found the same cone he’d been photographed with three years ago, to put on his head for this year’s picture!
Parish of the Resurrection
Participants in the Ride+Stride from the Parish of the Resurrection all decided to walk, and due to the weather, they all decided to set off super early to avoid the heat, meaning they were done and dusted by midday!
One of the Churchwardens at POTR, Sarah Neish, and her husband Ed, walked to all of the churches within the Parish of the Resurrection, as well as the Bentworth, Lasham and Shalden (BLS) churches. They were accompanied for some of these visits by Sally and Robin Kemp, who are also POTR parishioners.
They had a lovely day and met many friendly walkers along the way! They were also able to enjoy the cool respite inside the POTR churches in between tromping through the countryside. The Ride+Stride was furthermore great training for Sarah and Ed as they recently set off for a two week walking holiday through the Spanish Mountains!
St Peter’s Church, Ropley
Three participants from St Peter’s Ropley took part on bikes this year. Catherine Harris said, “We thoroughly enjoyed our jaunt along the Pilgrims Way. The churches themselves were deliciously cool. Second to Ropley in the welcome rating was Itchen Abbas, where the Winchester Symphony orchestra was rehearsing and we were plied with cold drinks and flapjacks!”
