ANOTHER HUGE “LEAP” FOR “RIDE AND STRIDE” IN 2025!

Huge thanks and congratulations to our 3 teams who participated in this year’s Ride and Stride, to raise funds for the Northamptonshire Historic Churches Trust. They succeeded not only in visiting many churches in the area, but also in persuading many of you to sponsor them generously. Without them and without you, none of this would be possible.

As a result St Peter’s raised the wonderful total of £1,214 - £24 more than last year! Half of this will be returned to us, to help us maintain our lovely historic church for worship, not only in our own lifetimes, but for future generations to come. The other half, together with the Gift Aid, will be used by NHCT to award grants to other historic churches for essential maintenance and improvements.

Our wonderful teams

The Wardle family

Our Head Chorister, Lilly, accompanied by her father Barrie, cycled 21 miles and visited 11 churches out in the countryside west of Northampton. Her younger sister, Robyn, and their mother Paula, provided transport for them and their bikes from St Peter’s, dropping them off to start cycling from Moreton Pinkney. Robyn and Paula then walked over 7 miles, visiting 3 churches, until they were thwarted by sinking into mud and encountering some rather over-curious cows!

The Halstead family

Peter cycled in the morning, visiting 7 churches, including St Peter’s. He was then joined in the afternoon by Hilary and Lara the dog, to visit 13 churches in town, where they had the opportunity to chat to lots of interesting people.

Jenny McCarthy and Anne Jones

These intrepid more mature members of our congregation decided that riding in a car was perhaps a more sensible option than on a bicycle. They visited Ecton, Mears Ashby, Sywell and Overstone.

We are enormously grateful to them all for taking part and giving so many of us the incentive to sponsor their enthusiastic commitment and achievement.

Thanks are also due to those who volunteered their time to sit in our church, to offer a warm welcome and refreshments to those visiting, not just to our own teams, but also others raising funds for their own churches.

A fantastic effort and achievement all round! Let’s hope they’ll have encouraged others to start planning - and perhaps make sure they will be fit enough - to Ride or Stride in September 2026?!

Rosemary Pestell - your local organiser.