{"id":97197230,"date":"2018-06-15T00:26:22","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T00:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/?p=97197230"},"modified":"2018-07-25T17:15:32","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T17:15:32","slug":"camp-in-a-church-in-england-for-heavenly-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/camp-in-a-church-in-england-for-heavenly-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"The Doors of These Old Churches in England Are Still Open – for Camping!"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you want to do some glorious camping in the English countryside, ditch the idea of pitching a tiny tent at popular campgrounds (think crowded). Stay instead in charming old churches, which you can have all to yourself to have nothing but fun in!\u00a0 They\u2019re more comfortable and protective, especially against the mercurial English weather; and they can also be divinely romantic.<\/p>\n

Just imagine waking up in a comfy bed in All Saints\u2019 Church, Langport with the sun jubilantly streaming through its stained-glass windows and birds chipperly chirping.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rested,\u00a0you walk out of your church (sounds cool right?) for a short, emerald-hued hike through magically receding mists – just some refreshing, appetite-boosting exercise before tucking into a fortifying country camper’s breakfast of hot bacon sandwiches and coffee.<\/p>\n

Uum, are you feelin\u2019 the spiritual sunshine of church camping?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We thought so. Consider settling into a pew of your very own then as we shepherd you through this relatively new experience.<\/p>\n

They Call It \u2018Champing\u2019<\/h2>\n
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All Saints’ Church in Langport, Somerset England.\u00a0 A comfy bed, a pillowed pew – the makings of a most agreeable champing experience! \/ Photo by Joseph Casey Photography.\u00a0 Courtesy of The Churches Conservation Trust.<\/p><\/div>\n

Through a\u00a0website\u00a0run by The Churches Conservation Trust<\/a>, you can rent any of about 20 or so churches in England and one (A simple lime-washed kirk!) in Orkney even, an archipelago near Scotland, for your heavenly camping holiday. The churches are medieval or have medieval roots.\u00a0 And when you go, you\u2019ll be \u201cchamping,\u201d a name coined and trademarked by the Trust to describe this new, recreational use for old churches.<\/p>\n

Champing unites church and camping like glamping melds glamour and camping.\u00a0\u00a0And just as people who go glamping are called \u201cglampers,\u201d you\u2019ll be a \u201cchamper.\u201d If the lingo seems a little zany\u00a0– a small adventure in itself – it simply reflects the quirky spirit of these fun alternatives to traditional camping, and, of course, efforts at branding them in the wilderness of outdoor offerings.<\/p>\n

A London charity, the Trust<\/a> saves old churches that are no longer regularly used for services from becoming the ruins of neglect over time. (It’s a kind of guardian angel of historic chapels.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Changing demographics, oversupply, and dwindling congregations are the chief reasons why they\u2019ve fallen into religious disuse.\u00a0 To raise funds for its conservation efforts, the Trust created champing.\u00a0 (Funny, we usually think of churches as saving souls instead of the other way around.)\u00a0 So camping in them qualifies as voluntourism, even though you don\u2019t have to do any work \u2013 just enjoy yourself!\u00a0 (Ah<\/em>men to that!)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a Champing Church for Everyone<\/h2>\n
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General locations of the champing churches in England. \/ Map courtesy of The Churches Conservation Trust.<\/p><\/div>\n

According to the Champing website, \u201cYou can take your pick<\/a> from churches large and small, by riverbank or by moor, old and extremely old \u2013 there\u2019s something for everyone.\u201d But choosing may not be so easy since they all have charming histories and different architectural beauty, from Gothic to Georgian, from cavernous and elegant to small and cozy.\u00a0 Also, some have historical connections to important English writers and poets like Shakespeare, which will certainly appeal to lit lovers.<\/p>\n

And several of them are in beautiful villages known for their excellent pubs, which may, in the end, be the deciding factor of your choice. (Cheers!)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Geographically speaking, the churches are fairly widely distributed, enabling you to merrily champ your way across much of the country if you want.<\/p>\n

You can, for instance, champ from St Mary\u2019s in Longsleddale, Cumbria in northwest England over to St. Thomas\u2019 Church in Friarmere, Greater Manchester; then on to All Saints\u2019 Church in Billesley in Warwickshire in the West Midlands; and, from there over to St. Mary\u2019s Church in Edlesborough, about an hour outside of London; and, then to St. Andrew\u2019s Church in Rollestone near the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge; and, finally, all the way down south to St. Mary the Virgin in Walkhampton, Devon.<\/p>\n

The Champing Difference<\/h2>\n

Where camping means getting down to earth with nature; and, glamping<\/a> means communing with nature from a cocoon of comfort; champing is a chance to reflect on nature\u2019s maker, whoever or whatever you believe that to be.\u00a0 For, when staying in a church, your thoughts – even your dreams – easily turn, to some degree, to the creation of the universe and our place in it, or at least to how people thought about it all a long time ago.<\/p>\n

Champing then can be a fascinating way to see the world through the magical lens of the folklore that still pervades the English countryside.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You may, for instance, see foliate heads, which have leaves and vines growing from their faces, that have been carved into the masonry of some of the medieval churches. They are thought to depict an ancient vegetation god who is half man and half shrub and who has come to be known as a “Green Man.”\u00a0 This god symbolizes mankind\u2019s harmonious relationship with nature in ancient times and the cyclicality of Christianity.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve ever listened to the song called \u201cJack in the Green\u201d by Jethro Tull, the British rock band, then you\u2019ve already been introduced.<\/p>\n

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“Green Man,” or Foliate Head, on the Chapter House at Southwell Minster Church\u00a0in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England.\u00a0 (This is not a champing church.) \/ Photo by Steve Cadman<\/a> via Flickr.\u00a0\u00a0Creative Commons License 2.0<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

While camping is full of the ruggedness of fending for yourself in the wild; and glamping is being pampered along nature\u2019s path, champing is a moderately comfortable way of experiencing the world of the pastoral English countryside and the Arcadian rhythms of its village life.\u00a0 We say \u201cmoderately comfortable\u201d because while it offers more comfort than camping does, it provides less than glamping.<\/p>\n

Sorry, but these churches just do not come with shower rooms, standard electricity, heat, Wi-Fi, cable\/satellite TV, swimming pools, s’mores bars, sushi restaurants, etc. as glampsites often do. (Although, we never know when luxury “pods”<\/a> might be coming to the Trust’s champing churches.)<\/p>\n

With its lack of glitzy\u00a0amen<\/em>ities (heavenly pun) then, champing can almost be considered a kind of…well…redemptive glamping, if you will; a welcome way to purge the excesses and spiritual encrustations that glamping can engender – leaving your soul lighter, more open to contemplation, tranquility, and inner peace.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Incidentally, how do you know if you\u2019re an overly pampered glamper? Well, if you even ponder this question as you sip pinot noir and snack on s’mores at a glampsite, that\u2019s a tip off.\u00a0 But look for other signs.\u00a0 If, for instance, you have a tantrum over spotty Wi-Fi, chuck your cell phone into a bush, and then dive right in after it, only to emerge covered in thorns – a horrific, unexpected reminder of camping – you probably need a little salvation. And church camping is right there to save you!\u00a0 (For having glamped, you can never really return to traditional camping anyway.\u00a0 Can you?)<\/p>\n

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All Saints’ Church in Billesley, Warwickshire England.\u00a0\/ Photo by Joseph Casey Photography. Courtesy of The Churches Conservation Trust.<\/p><\/div>\n

Like glamping, your stay in a church includes furniture such as regular beds, camp beds, chairs, and pews, and supplies such as lanterns and electric candles, tea and coffee making facilities, and some crockery. For extra fees, you can get a bedding set, which includes a sleeping bag and pillow; and, breakfast, which is either brought to you by a resident of a nearby village or served in an inn there.<\/p>\n

What about bathrooms or loos, as they are called over there?\u00a0 Well, we think that the Champing website answers this question quite well:<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of our churches have flushing loos. Fancy.\u00a0In our other churches we provide an eco-loo that runs on solar power; a new type of composting loo or \u201cdry separating toilet\u201d to give it the full technical language\u2026 We call it the ChampLav. This is very hygienic, non-whiffy and comfortable! These loos don\u2019t require plumbing, water or a sewage outlet. In some of our churches we house them in little wooden cabins complete with gargoyle above the door.\u00a0You really wouldn\u2019t know the difference, but a word to the wise \u2013 sit down\u00a0at all times<\/em>, lads!\u201d<\/p>\n

So there you are then, sitting on your ChampLav with a trusty gargoyle to keep you company – a happy champer, indeed!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Keep on Champing on<\/h2>\n

With camping in the English countryside on the upswing<\/a>, and with champing gaining in popularity, it’s a good time to give champing a go. And remember, you don\u2019t have to be a Christian to champ.\u00a0 All are welcome.\u00a0 Nor is champing an attempt to proselytize.<\/p>\n

If anything, the Trust only wants to convert you to a “Zealchamper,” which is \u201cThe thing that happens when you spend the night in a church, love it, and evangelize to all you meet,\u201d according to the Trust.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The champing season runs from end of March to end of September each year. Champing\u00a0rates<\/a> vary by weekday or weekend and, on the face of it, seem more competitive with glamping than with camping, which is to be expected.<\/p>\n

We bid you peace and good champing with a video of a champer who has discovered the music of champing:<\/p>\n