No, I’m not talking about dozing off during the sermon. Turns out that England’s Churches
Conservation Trust, whose job is to take care of 347 “orphan” churches no longer used for worship, has selected a number of them for overnight rentals.
No real hotel-like facilities; campers bed down in pews, and have to find their food elsewhere (sort of like a b&b with neither b nor b). In most cases there’s a pub nearby, and for the author of a recent article in the Guardian (UK), the Trust arranged for a nearby place to open early and serve breakfast.
Other churches have become artists’ workshops and galleries, medical offices and even a circus school (high ceilings for acrobats?)
If you’ve a yen for church camping, or “champing,” you can reserve through the trust at visitchurches.org.uk
Photo: Churches Conservation Trust
