Champing

Name: Champing
Address: London, GB
Telephone: +442078410436

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Champing™ is exclusive overnight brought to you by the Churches Conservation Trust Why is it so popular? Visit our website to find out more!

Champing™ – a unique opportunity to stay somewhere truly extraordinary
The Churches Conservation Trust has done some pretty cool stuff before, but making Champing™ into an actual Thing has to take even the biscuitiest of biscuits. We have surprised and delighted people all over the world with a very simple idea: a new use for beautiful ancient churches.

22/10/2026

Will the church be heated while we’re Champing? 🔥

Escaping the cold is on all our minds, as the cooler weather has decided to descend upon us all of a sudden!

Many of our Champing churches only remain open for the main season (March to October) as it can get a little too chilly to spend the night in these old buildings.

However, if you still need your Champing fix during the winter, we have a few churches that remain open during the colder months!

📍 St Thomas’ Church, Cumbria
📍 Sibford Meeting House, Oxfordshire
📍 Arlington Baptist Chapel, Gloucestershire
📍 Thomas Paine’s Chapel, East Sussex
📍 St Botolph’s, Norfolk

These churches have a variety of facilities such as heating, showers and kitchens - a great introduction to Champing for those that enjoy modern amenities! 🚿

Image 1 © CCT
Image 2 © Joseph Casey
Image 3 © Jenny Woolgar

20/10/2026

Step inside All Saint’s church in Aldwincle, as Vikki Jenner and Chana take you on a tour of this stunning church, with a mishmash of architecture from across the centuries! ⛪

Listen to the full episode of “Nights in the Nave”, our Champing podcast, on your streaming platform of choice.

Audio from episode 1 “A Good Knight’s Sleep” 🎧

17/10/2026

Obsessed with The Traitors? Imagine hosting a game with your friends in a historical church and staying for the night!

It’s the perfect setting for a night of trust, trickery and making memories.

Choose from one of our Champing churches that cater for groups of 10 – 12 guests and gather your friends for a unique night away!

📍 St Mary's Church in Arkengarthdale, North Yorkshire
📍 St Mary’s in Edlesborough, Buckinghamshire
📍 St Peter’s Church in Wolfhamcote, Warwickshire
📍 All Saints in Langport, Somerset
📍 All Saints in Aldwincle, Northampton

Image © CCT

15/10/2026

The churchyard at St Leonard’s Church in Old Langho is certainly starting to look more autumnal as the days go by. 🍂

We have limited dates remaining for the 2026 Champing season, so be quick if you’re wanting to book your last-minute getaway!

Head to our website to see our remaining dates for this and our 30+ other amazing churches.

When you’re booking be sure to use our 10th anniversary code “BIRTHDAY10” get 10% off single night stays for parties of 2+ guests!

https://champing.co.uk/where-to-stay/

Image © CCT

13/10/2026

Notice anything unusual about the clock on the bell tower of St Mary Magdalene, Whitgift? 🕛👀

If you look closely, you’ll notice that the roman numeral at the top that should read ‘XII’ for 12. Instead, it bears the numeral ‘XIII,’ for 13!

No one has yet been able to provide a definitive explanation for this unusual numbering, although there are a few theories...

Was it a mistake or a joke? Is there a symbolic or religious meaning to the misnumbering? 🤔

Another explanation has to do with a discrepancy between the clock’s mechanism and the painted numbers. When the clock struck twelve, the hand didn’t line up exactly with the numeral, so another ‘I’ was added and the second painted over. With time and wear, however, the original ‘I’ began to show, until the number began to look like ‘XIII.’ Since that time, restorations of the clock have emphasised, not hidden, the extra ‘I.’

What do you think? Do you have any theories of your own? 💭

Images © CCT

10/10/2026

Unique stays for book lovers!

Here are some of our top Champing church choices for those who live and breathe literature…

🎭 All Saint’s in Aldwincle, Northamptonshire: Seventeenth-century poet, translator and playwright John Dryden was born nearby and baptised in the church. His grandfather was the rector at All Saints!

🪦 St James’ in Cooling, Kent: The churchyard at St James’ was Charles Dickens’ inspiration for the opening scene of Great Expectations, where the protagonist Pip meets Magwitch. Here, you can find ‘Pip’s Graves’, the forlorn gravestones of 13 babies that Dickens describes as “little stone lozenges”.

🪭 All Saints in Rotherby, Melton Mowbray: Make a day trip to the iconic Belton House & Estate that has featured in many regency film and TV adaptations for books like and Pride & Prejudice the Bridgerton series!

📚 St Laurence in Hilmarton, Wiltshire: Jane Austen lovers flock to Bath every year to walk in the footsteps of her beloved characters, but just an hour outside of the busy city centre are many quaint villages, like Hilmarton, just waiting to be explored.

Image 1 © Joseph Casey
Images 2-4 © CCT

08/10/2026

This and no internet 😌🍃

Find an escape from busy, modern life when you try Champing, the unique concept of camping overnight in historic churches 💚

06/10/2026

Can you go Champing by yourself?

It’s a question we get asked a lot and of course, the answer is yes!

We’ve had many solo Champers over the years, whether they are using a church a place to sleep on a walking or cycling tour or just looking to enjoy and new type of camping. ⛪

You will have the church completely to yourself during your stay so you can enjoy all the peace and tranquillity that these stunning buildings have to offer 😌

Images © Joseph Casey

03/10/2026

📢 Final call for 2026 Champing stays!

The Champing season ends 26th October, so now is the time to get your last-minute autumn camping holiday booked in! 🍂

Drink your morning tea (or coffee) in a tranquil churchyard while listening to the morning birdsong, discover what the local town has to offer and explore a centuries old church that you have all to yourself during your stay.

Learn more and book your stay on our website
https://champing.co.uk/

🤫 Pssst! We’re celebrating 10 years of Champing - so make the most of our birthday discount!
Get 10% off single night stays for parties of 2+ guests by using the code “BIRTHDAY10”

Images © CCT

01/10/2026

Why do bats love being in churches? 🦇

Churches and churchyards are a haven for bats, providing them with plenty of nooks and crannies where they can roost in a quiet, safe space.

Bats and their roosts are protected in the UK, so we work with conservationists and wildlife specialists to help keep Champing churches a safe space for bats and guests to rest. 😴

With the nights drawing in earlier as winter approaches, you’ll be able to catch a glimpse of bats swooping around, catching their food in the crisp, autumn sunsets!

Have you spotted any bats while Champing?

Image © Daniel Hargreaves

Address

London

Telephone

+442078410436

Website

http://www.champing.co.uk/

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