Over 15 million visitors per year come to Cumbria. Many visitors are drawn by Cumbria’s special landscapes of which our historic churches are an integral part.  But even less obvious tourist destinations such as the west coast receive significant numbers of visitors.

There is a huge opportunity for visitors not only to discover churches and their history, but also to contribute to the burden of maintaining historic church buildings. The welcome and interpretation are key, but they are not always easy to get right.

There is interest at a national level in doing more to encourage churches in developing their role as visitor attractions, and support available from Government and national organisations.  In this section we have listed the key initiatives and bodies who may help.

Visit Cumbria
The most comprehensive information about visiting Cumbria’s churches is at www.visitcumbria.com/churches.  This is a very useful resource that is run by a volunteer in Cumbria.

Most places of worship are covered, and if yours is not then you can submit information and photographs via the site and it will be added.  When you look at your churches entry, you can check how many people have viewed it.  If information, such as opening times, is missing you can provide it for inclusion.

Examples of Best Practice on the Web
St Peter’s Wootton Wawen in Staffordshire have set up an excellent visitor exhibition, ‘the Saxon Sanctuary’

The Divine Inspiration project in Coventry Diocese presents information about churches to visit clearly and attractively.  It has also produced some resources for churches wishing to welcome visitors.

Welcoming Children
A visit to a church can cover a number of areas of the school curriculum such as art, design, history and of course RE.  The Churches Conservation Trust has developed a range of educational resources for teachers.  The Cumbria Wildlife Trust also has a range of educational resources for visits to churchyards as part of their Wildlife in Sacred Places project.

Cumbrian Churches on the Web
Some local churches whose websites are particularly welcoming to visitors include Hawkshead Hill Baptist Church, St Martin’s Brampton, and Kirkby Lonsdale Parish

Updated November 2008