Londoners ride and stride for the Capital’s hidden heritage treasures

People will take to the streets on bikes and on foot this Saturday to join London Ride + Stride 2014. The annual event, now in its fourth year, raises money for the restoration of heritage buildings. Participants are sponsored to visit as many historic places of worship as possible, either walking, by bike or on public transport. As well as raising money for the upkeep of these beautiful buildings, participants are guided to the best routes and walks for discovering the hidden treasures of the city.

This year, the Heritage of London Trust has created a number of special walking tours for Ride+Stride participants. There are guides to clusters of Ride+Stride sites in the City of London, Tower Hamlets, the West End and West London, tours which take participants to the key heritage sites along the Bakerloo Line as well as themed walks for churches with links to the First World War and Victorian churches. A number of guided walks have also been organised, including one on major war memorials and one taking participants through key places of worship in central London.

In addition, a number of the sites taking part in Ride+Stride are hosting events and activities for the whole family:

• St Paul’s Cathedral is offering free entry to the cathedral for all Ride+Stride participants
• St Lawrence Jewry, in the City of London, is hosting a mosaic exhibition and workshop
• St George’s German Lutheran Church, in Whitechapel, is hosting an exhibition on the history of Germans in Britain
• All Saints Fulham is hosting a church fete and dog show.

There will also be programmes of bellringing, choir practices and organ music at churches along the way.

Ride+Stride London takes place this Saturday (20th September),the same day as London Open House, so participants can also visit a range of secular and religious historic buildings. Last year, £1.5 million was raised nationally and the Heritage of London Trust will be awarding a prize to this year’s best fundraisers.

The Bishop of Stepney, The Rt Revd Adrian Newman, commented:

“Ride+Stride is educational, enjoyable, healthy, and companionable. It works for young and old alike, it’s good for the environment, it brings places of worship together and raises much needed funds to keep our heritage buildings in community use. It is always a great day out and with this year’s themed, guided walks and the cross-over with London Open House, there is something for everyone.”

London Ride+Stride is organised by the Heritage of London Trust and is supported by the National Churches Trust, the Diocese of London, the Diocese of Southwark, London Open House, Bear Grylls and English Heritage.

Maps of all the places of worship can be found at: www.heritageoflondon.com.

Find out how to participate in London Ride+Stride 2014.