The 600+ medieval churches of Norfolk are an iconic part of our landscape and they are facing a funding crisis, like so many other churches across the country, struggling as the traditional methods of raising money, such as village fetes, have been cancelled.

Our Parish Church, St Mary’s Baconsthorpe, has been focusing on giving support to local charities during this terrible Covid crisis.  Amongst others the Cromer Food Bank, The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and some national charities with local resonance, such as RNLI, Age UK, Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution. We would like to continue to continue to do this, rather than spending all our fund raising efforts on the upkeep of the church. Therefore, I am raising money for St Mary’s Baconsthorpe (where half of any kind donation will go, with the rest going to the Trust), so that we can achieve our aim of continuing to give the collections in our services to those in need. 

In order to make things a little harder for ourselves (4 from the parish are taking part, including our youthful vicar) we are going to run to the sea at Sheringham, swim to Beeston Regis (I am utterly useless at swimming, so this will be embarrassingly slow, but at least we will be swimming with the tide) and then bike around the eight churches inthe Matlaske Benefice, of which Baconsthorpe is a part: Matlaske,  Plumstead, Edgefield, Saxthorpe, Corpusty, Hempstead and Barningham, as well as any other, we pass on the way from Beeston Regis Runton. Let me be clear: for me, the swim is a survival exercise, so there will be no records broken, although my ‘lockdown lard’ will at least keep me warm!

If you were able to make a donation, however small, it would be wonderful.