Are you ready for a fun day out exploring some of Worcestershire & Dudley’s best scenery and most historic buildings? Great! Here you will find all you need to take part in Ride & Stride 2025. On this page:
- What does being a sponsored participant involve?
- How do I get sponsors?
- Where do I send my sponsorship money?
- What forms do I need to fill in?
- How to register
What does being a sponsored participant involve?
To participate in Ride & Stride you will need to travel to as many – or as few – churches as you like within a day or part of a day, and get some of your friends, family and colleagues to sponsor you. It’s that simple!
What am I raising money for? Half the money you raise goes to the Worcestershire & Dudley Historic Churches Trust to help us support churches in urgent need of funds for the upkeep of their buildings. The other half goes straight to a church that you nominate to use however they like.
Do I have to cycle? No, not necessarily. There are no rules regarding how you travel between churches, so long as you let your sponsors know beforehand what means of transport you’re going to use. Cycling is most common, but you may prefer to walk, drive a car or even ride a horse between churches. Of course, the method you choose will affect the number of churches you are likely to visit, and therefore how much money your sponsors may be willing to pay per church.
How do I record which churches I’ve visited? You can download the churches visited form (see below) and write down the name of each church you visit and the time to reached it. If the church is open and manned, you can ask someone there to sign their initials on your sheet.
A church I’ve visited is locked. What do I do? Don’t worry. If the church is not manned or you find it locked, you can just use your own initials or write ‘not open’ on the form. Closed churches still count towards your total!
I am busy on 9th September. Does that mean I can’t take part? No it doesn’t, you don’t have to go on the official day but can choose a more convenient date if you prefer. However, fewer of the churches will be open on other days.
How long should I expect it to take? It’s entirely up to you how much of the day you can give to your sponsored journey. Churches are generally open between 10am and 5pm, but you don’t have to use the whole day – the more time you have, the more churches you can visit.
Will there be refreshments on the way? Some churches do provide light refreshments for their sponsored visitors – take a look on our churches and routes page to find out which churches have told us they will be doing this. We recommend you also take some of your own food and drink to make sure you stay hydrated.
Do I have to pre-register? No, pre-registration is not required, but it is recommended so that you stay in the loop regarding any updates and so that we can make sure you have everything you need to take part. You can register using the form on this page.
How do I get sponsors?
You can ask anyone you know to sponsor you, but a good place to start might be your own church. After all, if you nominate it on your form half of the money raised will go to that church.
Ask your sponsors to fill in their names on the sponsorship form. You can do this either digitally or on paper by printing out the form you can download below.
- Sponsors can either choose to give a fixed amount (e.g. £10) for the whole thing, or an amount per church (e.g. £1 per church visited)
- Sponsors who are UK taxpayers and eligible for Gift Aid should write their name and postcode on the form. This helps us to get the equivalent of 25% of their donation added by the government
- Other sponsors can choose to omit their postcode if they wish
Usually, you will collect the money from your sponsors after you have completed the Ride & Stride and can reveal how many churches you managed to visit.
Where do I send my sponsorship money?
Please fill in a sponsorship form as you collect sponsors. You can send the completed sponsorship form to our treasurer:
Mr Michael Howard
24 Charles Dickens Close
Droitwich
Worcestershire
WR9 7HW
michael@mhoward.me.uk
Please ensure you mark clearly on the form which church you would like to benefit from 50% of the money you raise.
- If paying by cheque, please enclose a cheque for the full amount you have raised, payable to WDHCT. We will refund half the amount to your chosen church or chapel.
- If paying by BACS, please transfer the full amount of money you have raised to the bank account detailed below, and mark on your form ‘paid by BACS’. We will refund half the amount to your chosen church or chapel. We prefer payments by BACS wherever possible.
Account Name: Worcestershire & Dudley Historic Churches Trust
Account No: 01166146
Sort code: 30-95-41
Reference: R&S [Your surname]
Sponsors can no longer donate to the Trust via ‘Just Giving’. You can still use a platform such as Just Giving to collect your own donations, but please still fill in the sponsorship form (you don't have to write out all the sponsors' names - just the name of the platform and the total raised) and send us a bank transfer or cheque for this amount.
What forms do I need to fill in?
There are two forms that you need, which you can download here:
If you cannot access these files or require another format, please get in touch via our contact us page.
How to register
You can register online using our short registration form here:
Worcestershire & Dudley Ride & Stride 