How we're putting churches on the visitor map

The UK’s churches are of huge historical and cultural significance. They are heritage that belongs to all of us. Over two thirds of UK adults agree that churches are a vital part of the UK’s heritage and history, and more than half of UK adults visited a church, chapel or meeting house last year. 

Making it easy for people to discover the history and heritage of churches is a key way that the National Churches Trust is helping churches across the UK to stay open and in use. 

Partnering with the tourism sector 

Our work in partnership with Visit Wales added hundreds of churches to the visitor map, particularly along and close to the three routes of The Wales Way. This included creating trails, ensuring that walkers and tourists know about the wonderful churches, chapels and meeting houses they can discover along the way. We also worked with tourism businesses and others to create unique bookable experiences, including a pilgrimage by kayak and stargazing from a chapel churchyard.  

Through partnering with Visit England, we were able to attract tourists – mainly international visitors from the USA – to England to visit churches and cathedrals. We created unique bookable experiences for them to enjoy, as well as visitors guides for different parts of England and attended international and national trade shows. Doing this increased the awareness of England’s heritage to an overseas audience and the tourism trade, making it easier for people to visit. 

New pathways of support for the nations 

One of the ways our ongoing Cherish and Treasure Ireland National Lottery Heritage Fund supported projects help churches is by increasing the number of people visiting churches in Wales, Scotland, North West England and in Northern Ireland. 

Our local support officers provide training that makes it possible for more churches, chapels and meeting houses to tell their story and open their buildings up to visitors. This training sits alongside our regular grant and maintenance support, meaning we are providing a wraparound service for churches. 

Through these projects (and elsewhere) we work with Destination Management Organisations, local tourism bodies and other organisations in the sector to ensure that our campaigns and publicity tie in with theirs – boosting our message that churches are for open for all. 

For example, Northern Ireland has 895 listed places of worship, with 45 churches and chapels listed as Grade A – buildings of the highest heritage significance.  

Through Treasure Ireland, we are creating trails and bookable experiences where visitors can explore these beautiful buildings and we hope to increase the number of people visiting churches in Northern Ireland for days out or as part of a holiday.  

This will be replicated in Wales, Scotland and the North West of England too, through Cherish. 

A sustainable future for churches   

Our vision is that church buildings across the UK are well maintained, open to everyone, sustainable and valued. This year, we launched Every Church Counts, a six point plan to save the UK’s church buildings. 

Helping churches, chapels and meeting houses to open up and attract visitors is one way to help give these buildings a sustainable future and helping to safeguard their heritage and history. 

For example, since installing a museum in its church building, Strabane Church of the Immaculate Conception in County Tyrone, has noticed a huge increase in visitors. Last year, it attracted 100,000 people, which significantly boosted local tourism. All of the volunteer tour guides at the church have been given accredited training, which has been particularly helpful for many of the young volunteers who are wanting to get a job in the heritage sector. 

“We look forward to working with the new UK Government to meet the challenges that lie ahead to keep the UK’s 38,500 churches, chapels and meeting houses open and in good repair,” shares Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust.