Many thanks to everyone who took part in the inaugural Steeple to Steeple Fun Ride and also to those who sent in photos of a happy day in the saddle!
We are adding them as quickly as possible but it will take a few days. Some captions need to be confirmed – please email mail@rachesloane.co.uk with anything missing or incorrect. It was a bit crazy as everyone arrived!
Now a set taken at the rally’s end Lavenham – where it got very stormy (Photos by Rachel Sloane)
And more lovely pics are coming in…
Congratulations to the winner of our Ride and Stride photo competition for a set of three images (A church or church architectural detail, a favourite photo. and a selfie of you celebrating when you complete your journey.
The winner is William Armitage who will receive a £50 voucher.
“The first photo is of the rood stair at Whepstead, the second is of my friends looking at the monuments at Little Saxham, and the third is of all of us in the stalls at our final church of Rushbrooke for whom we donated 50% of our sponsor money to”.
Thank you for your wonderful photos… we will add more as we get them. (Please contact us if any are mislabelled : mail@rachelsloane.co.uk… it was a busy day!)
We featured the Haughley church choir in our pre-publicity for Ride and Stride (they sing their way around) … so how did they get on, on the day?
Well, it hailed…. but they did get presented with a certificate of thanks from our Chairman Geoffrey Probert!
Plans for Haughley Church Choir for this year
A total of eleven Haughley cyclists will be taking a circular route of about 20 miles, leaving Haughley at 10.00 and visiting churches at Harleston, Onehouse, Buxhall, Rattlesden, Felsham, Gedding, Drinkstone and Shelland. My best guess is that cyclists will arrive back at Haughley around 16.30.
Four of the eleven cyclists are Haughley choir members and will join with the choir at the four churches where the choir are singing.
Cyclists and non-cyclists will meet up at Buxhall Church at 11.00 where the choir will have its first “sing”. The choir will also be singing at Rattlesden, Felsham and Gedding. The choir will sing for about 20 minutes in each church. We sing, mainly unaccompanied, a variety of hymns, anthems, Taize. We will also this year sing to recorded accompaniment Faure’s Cantique de Jean Racine and a couple of Gospel Songs.
We shall be having a light pub lunch in Rattlesden to lubricate our voices in preparation for the afternoon singing.
How it started
It all started in 1998. We were younger then! Haughley choir has participated in what is now called the “Ride & Stride” almost every year since then. We even continued during the Covid years when we weren’t allowed to enter churches. Instead we sang, suitably socially distanced, outside each church we stopped at.
Back in 1998 when we started, the majority of the choir were on bikes and the remainder travelled by car from church to church. With the advancing age of choir members we now have more travelling by car than cycling between churches. Over the 28 or so years we have sung in over 40 different churches within a 10 mile radius of Haughley.
We have sung in smaller, beautiful, remote churches such as St Mary the Virgin Langham (accessed across rural fields) and St Mary’s Badley (half a mile or so off the main road). The acoustics at Badley were so good (no traffic noise just the sound of a few birds) that we revisited the church to make a recording of several Taize songs.
And, of course we have cycled to and sung at several of the impressive larger medieval churches such as St Andrew’s Great Finborough and St Mary’s Woolpit.
The Experience
For those cycling we have had wonderful days cycling across our beautiful Suffolk countryside, usually in fine September weather. Cycling in the knowledge that we are helping to raise funds for the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust and our own local church.
And, what a privilege it is for our choir to have the opportunity to sing in these beautiful churches.
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From David Fleetwood , longstanding Haughley choir member and local bike ride co-ordinator.
(We love to hear your stories of Ride and Stride past and present. Please email them to mail@rachelsloane.co.uk)
With the exciting cycle race in Suffolk this week, Trust volunteers were there to encourage supporters to get involved in our own Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride fundraiser on Saturday 13th September.
Jill Taylor (Hon Secretary, SHCT) had a good day – even with the rain in Stowmarket:
“There were lots of people to talk to and I gave out several leaflets including to people who have done it in the past. I didn’t get wet until walking back to my car when it bucketed! It was quite windy at times but the gazebo was fine. I was given a cap and a flag and managed to get home before they came through Bildeston and closed the road.”
Thank you to the rota of volunteers.
(photos by Geoffrey Probert and Jill Taylor)
Get involved with Ride and Stride- click HERE
How did a successful fundraising idea in Suffolk, thought up by, among others, an Aldeburgh lady, Frances Parkinson, spread across the country so that this year, thirty counties will take part?
The Suffolk Historic Churches Trust started the annual Sponsored Bike Ride around churches (now known as Ride and Stride) in 1981 and has many long-serving supporters, who have taken part either as church volunteers welcoming people as they journey, or cycling and now, walking or running. It is always held on the second Saturday in September.
A retired police officer and now a well-known beekeeper, Steve Barrett, from Kessingland, Suffolk, whose honey is used by celebrated chef, Raymond Blanc, was involved in those early days and helped to make it an annual event.
“In the 1980’s I was the village policeman at Kessingland and I took part in every sponsored bike ride that I could. I was a 26-year-old fit policeman when I was approached by Frances Parkinson who asked if I would be an ambassador for the Trust and take messages to Bishops in various counties. I loved old churches and admired the work Frances did. She was a real can-do person and when she had a bee in her bonnet, she would get things done. As the day of the Ride approached, she asked me to take a message to the Bishop in Hastings to encourage the county of Kent to take part in the ride.
“I started from Kessingland at about 7.30 in the morning and cycled to the Dartford Tunnel where they then had a lorry that took bikes across, while the rider would sit in the cab with the driver. We got safely to the other side and it wasn’t long until I was cycling through the village of Battle where I stopped at the pub for a beer. The local vicar was also there and spotted the Trust stickers on my bike and complimented on taking part – and on my long ride that day from Suffolk!”
The next year Frances asked Steve to do the same for the county of Oxford.
“She had arranged overnight accommodation first with ‘Rick the Vic’ at Bury St Edmunds and I had a good night there and I even had a go at playing the cathedral organ. In Oxfordshire I stayed with the High Sheriff and I remember she had a butler who ran me a bath before I met the great and good of Oxford where I told them about the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust and what they did.”
Steve’s final mission was to take messages to the Leicester, cycling there in a day from Kessingland church.
“I was tasked with singing the praises of our work with local cyclists and the money they raised to help maintain our lovely churches. Frances was a big player in the Historic Churches Trust, especially in Suffolk, and wanted to get the messages out to all the other counties and her keenness to do all that shows how successful they are today. I am very proud to be part of it.”
The Chairman of the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust Ride and Stride Committee, Simon Ronan, recently presented a Long Service Certificate to Steve Barrett to thank him for his support over so many years. (Steve’s bike is a handmade Claud Butler, in beautiful condition, and, over 40 years old).
In Suffolk alone, last year £200,000 was raised by this one-day event. This year, on Saturday 13th September from 9am-5pm, individuals, families and groups of friends, will cycle, run or walk between some of the five hundred or so Suffolk churches taking part. Sponsored for their journey, they chose their own route, visiting as many or as few churches as they feel able, and often meet up with others along the way. The event is open to all.
This year our celebrity supporter is Ipswich Town Football Club, supporting our local community and our Suffolk heritage.
Details of how to take part in Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride can be found only clicking HERE or from local churches. Half of the money raised is given in grants by the Trust to churches for restoration and repairs, and half of their donations/sponsorship can be donated to a chosen church by the cyclist, walker or runner. A car rally, Pedal and Drive, is held on the same day and is open to vintage and classic cars. Click HERE for more details of how to take part.
Congratulations to the eleven Suffolk churches who have been successful in being awarded grants from Suffolk Historic Churches Trust quarterly meeting in June 2025. A total of £55,750 was allocated.
They are:
Ashbocking, All Saints Window refurbishment
Bildeston, St Mary Window and tower repairs
Crowfield, All Saints Drainage, masonry and sole plate renewal
Debenham, St Mary Replacement heating system
Eyke, All Saints Footpath resurfacing
Henley, St Peter Tower repairs
Little Bealings, All Saints Window repairs
Parham, St Mary Re-roofing
Stratford St Mary, St Mary Replace tower pinnacles
Stuston, All Saints Window repairs
Westhorpe, St Margaret Window repairs
The next Grants meeting will be held on 13th October 2025. Click HERE for details of how to apply.
Walkers, cyclists, runners and vintage or classic car owners are invited to sign up to join others who love Suffolk and its history, at the annual September event, organised by Suffolk Historic Churches Trust. This year’s Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride and Pedal and Drive event, on Saturday 13th September, has been launched with the help of some Ipswich Town Football Club legends, now Ambassadors to the Club.
The ITFC Ambassadors, Simon Milton, Matt Holland and Peter Over, met Simon Ronan, the chairman of Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride, and Sarah Milner, the Ipswich Area Organiser at Portman Road for a photo shoot in the ground and to show their support for this annual event.
The team then went to St Mary at Stoke church, Ipswich, to help promote Pedal and Drive, a sister event to Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride, for vintage and classic cars. They were joined by Jono Benson’s Rolls Royce, and Rev. Kay Palmer.
Last year, the day’s fundraising raised £200,000 and, from the proceeds, the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust gives grants to Suffolk’s historic churches, chapels and meeting houses who need to make urgent repairs or improvements to their buildings.
On Ride and Stride Day, Saturday 13th September, the cyclists, and walkers get sponsored for their journey around some of Suffolk’s wonderful churches, choosing their own route, long or short. Half their fundraise goes to the Trust and half to the cyclists/walkers/runners chosen church.
Also, on the same day, Suffolk Churches Pedal & Drive, a vintage and classic car rally is held, with around 100 cars visiting a range of churches on a mystery quiz.
Sponsor forms are now available in Suffolk churches, and from the Trust. Full details are on the Trust website. Donations and sponsorship can also be collected via Just Giving.
“This is a wonderful day out with family and friends, to enjoy the Suffolk countryside, and to fundraise and help preserve our heritage in both town and country, of churches of all denominations,” said Simon Ronan, the Chairman of Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride. “Please come and enjoy the day, soak up the fresh air, enjoy the history of your locality, or even further afield. Seek out your generous friends and colleagues to sponsor you and support your efforts!”
Thousands of people across the country will take part in this event, which began in Suffolk in 1982. Over 500 Suffolk churches are involved and most are open to welcome participants with refreshments. As they journey on the route they have chosen, cyclists, walkers and runners will meet others taking part including families, local history lovers, church supporters and those who just enjoy an annual trip around the villages and towns of Suffolk.
A list of churches that are open is available on this Trust website, (click HERE), and from participating Suffolk churches. Cyclists and walkers can choose whichever churches they wish, and runners and disability scooters are welcome too. A photography competition for participants will also be held on the day and details are on the Trust website.
More details are available from SHCT Bike Ride Local Organisers, emailing shct@btconnect.com, phoning 01787 883884, or click HERE
Car owners should click HERE for more details .
We have our own Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/suffolk-churches-ride-and-stride-2026 to enter the Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride 2026 page on the JustGiving website, where you can log into your account and donate. If you are unfamiliar with JustGiving, it is easy to set up your own online JustGiving page by selecting “Sign up” on the top right of the page and entering the details requested. Please ensure that the place of worship you wish to benefit is clearly specified.
Here is some advice from Norman Kelly if you wish to set up your own Just Giving page for Ride and Stride……
Fundraising with Just Giving
Open page https:/JustGiving.com
If this is your first time you will need to set up a Just Giving account (your e-mail and a password)
After you click on Start Fundraising; then select Raising for a Charity.
You will then get a search box to identify the Charity: type in Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride 2026.
The next page select Just Fundraising:
Next question is Are you fundraising for an occasion: Click Skip
Next page asks How much are you hoping to raise: Enter your target
The next page asks you to personalise your page. This is where you add your story as to why you are raising money for SHCT and your local church which receives 50%. (Guidance is offered)
You will then be asked to customise your Web URL ie the Internet link to the page you have just created. Your choice of what to add after JustGiving/page
There is a photo pre supplied but if you want to add your own you can upload it on this page
Next Page Summary and then Launch.
Immediately it will ask you to make a donation to the page you have just created (your choice)
Just Giving is very naughty and automatically adds 17.5% as a “tip” to Just Giving. There is a sliding bar on this page where you can reduce it to 10%. However, there is (in blue writing) just below the sliding bar stating Enter Custom Amount. If you click on that the “tip” can be reduced to 1.5% or even eliminated.
When I send the Just Giving link to my prospective donors, I always point out that the Just Giving “tip” is not mandatory and can be reduced as I have mentioned above
Good Luck and happy fundraising for SHCT and your chosen Church.
Norman.
Thank you Norman! Here is his page is you would like to see an example:
RULES AND HOW TO ENTER:
Entry is free, but we ask that you are sponsored or get donations for your journey. (We give grants to help preserve our beautiful church buildings.) There is a Sponsorship form on this website or you can fundraise via JustGiving. CLICK HERE for details of the event.
The prize is a £50 voucher, for the best SET of THREE photos. They should be taken on Ride and Stride Day and will be of:
The submitted photos may be used for publicity for the Trust, encouraging others to support our work, and the photographer will be credited when any are used, but no fee is paid.
Please take your photos on Ride and Stride Day, then email (by the closing date, 20.9.2024) to shct@btconnect.com
When sending us your set of photos we need to know where each one was taken and also:
Your name email: Phone number
Your address ……………and which church are you raising funds for.
An independent judge will choose the winners. Good luck!
Winners are announced on our website and named in Ride and Stride publicity.
