Back to the Future - a review of 2025's memorable Champing summer season

October is upon us, and with it comes the end of the 2025 Champing summer season, so we asked our very own Champing champion Rosa, to round-up the past few eventful months, and announce which cosy churches we'll be flocking to this winter.

2025 saw our Champing network grow by six churches, from an atmospheric stone chapel in the Cotswolds and a grand Grade I listed church on the edge of the moorland in County Durham, to a fascinating pre-fabricated ‘Tin Tabernacle’ near the Norfolk coast. We are thrilled to know that the income earned through Champing this year can help support the vital care and conservation of these beautiful buildings.

A small but mighty cohort of our churches have also elected to keep their doors open beyond the Champing summer season, opting instead to offer unique and cosy stays year-round. This year, All Saints, Rotherby and Arlington Baptist Chapel join St Boltoph’s, Limpenhoe and Tom Paine’s Chapel, East Sussex, to welcome guests through the winter months. With chilly walks, frosted windows, and Christmas markets to explore, wintertime Champing opens up a wealth of possibilities for adventurous guests. Don't worry, however; all four of these churches are heated, so Champers can except a cosy space to return to when temperatures drop.

As well as these additions to the Champing offering, this season has brought with it new revelations about the tourism industry, holiday accommodation, and the way we travel in 2025. We’ve heard first-hand from some of our churches the stress that a sudden increase in tourism can place on a community. For these churches, an increased number of overseas and domestic visitors on a day trip to the area doesn’t necessarily equate to higher footfall in the church, increased donations, or a heightened appreciation for the importance and fragility of the UK’s architectural heritage. Other Champing communities, situated in some of the most beautiful parts of the country, feel overlooked by the travel industry, which has yet to recognise the value of their unique situation and offering. Our hope is that, in the new year, Champing can provide a different way to travel; a slower look at life in our Champing communities across England and Wales, a chance to engage with church volunteers or community members, and a sense of the importance of the historic buildings that give these places their character. 

In celebration of the October weather and the final month of your Champing summer, we’re taking the opportunity to look back at some of the folklore and local legends associated with our churches. You can read more about 6th-century saints, buried treasure, and clocks that strike thirteen in our most recent Champing blog. To stay up-to-date we also encourage you to follow us social media and sign up for our newsletter.

Thank you for a wonderful Champing summer season.