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7th March 2018

You may have heard of Champing™. Its had quite a lot of attention in recent years and has brought worldwide press interest to The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), the national charity that cares for historic churches at risk.

Champing™ is the simple and unique concept of camping in historic churches which allows guests to experience sleeping in an ancient building. Our initiative has been great at capturing people's imaginations and sparking debate about the modern use of historic buildings. We've had some great feedback from people who've stayed and also some incredible media coverage from all over the world, including National Geographic Traveller, The New York Times, BBC & ITV.

It's easy being green

People love that Champing™ is innovative and can demonstrate green credentials such as Eco Toilets and sustainable tourism. Champing™ supports the local economy and champions local businesses and tourist attractions. Funds generated by Champing™ support CCT, who in turn support these lovely buildings (you could say it's a win-win situation).

Where it all began

Our first Champing™ church was back in 2015 at All Saints', Aldwincle, Northamptonshire. All Saints' is an elegant medieval church near to the River Nene and boasts links to the poet John Dryden, who was born in the old rectory across the road.

We like to promote local activities so we worked in partnership with the staff at Canoe2, who operate along the River Nene to promote packages. We also made friends with local Farmer, Tim, who runs a B&B in the village, Pear Tree Farm. Tim delivers breakfast baps to Champers in the morning and I can say from personal experience that these are delicious!

And so our first Champing™ church was born. From this model, we branched out to three, 12 and now 26 churches across the CCT's estate and over 2000 people have so far experienced Champing™.

I've tried Champing™ at a number of our churches, the first one was at Aldwincle - I've even taken our children and dog! It was so special to have the church to ourselves and the fairy lights and battery operated candles made it a truly magical experience - but don't take my word for it - try it for yourselves!

Find out more at Champing™ and book your adventure online at www.champing.co.uk

The Champing™ season runs from 26th March - 30th September

Find out more about The Churches Conservation Trust: www.visitchurches.org.uk

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