Adventures

Take Me to Church

Camping in Old English Churches

None 5 Photos Champing
Falling asleep in church: generally frowned upon.

Good thing we’re not speaking in generalities.

Because we’re leading you not into temptation, we’re leading you to Champing, the gloriously simple notion of one-night camping in beautiful old English churches, now available via the Churches Conservation Trust.

This will be like, well, going to church. Only it’ll be decked out with cushions and candles, you’ll get a bed or box pew to sleep in, and you’ll receive a breakfast basket full of food in the morning.

First, appreciate them here. Then, know them below.

All Saints’ Church in Aldwincle, Northamptonshire
Here you’ve got a medieval church with limestone arcades and strange carved birds and beasts on the exterior. Fact: 17th-century poet John Dryden was baptized here. So maybe look him up.

Church of St Mary the Virgin in Fordwich, Kent
The highlight here: an almost six-foot-long carved stone that dates back to around 1100. It’s thought to be a shrine made, perhaps, for the body of St. Augustine. You’ll believe that. Then try not to think about it.

Church of St Cyriac and St Julitta in Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire
It boasts a Georgian interior, a 15th-century octagonal bell tower and, supposedly, really good acoustics.

Don’t ring the bell. The masses may assemble.

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