Ride and Stride Winners announced

At a special awards ceremony in St. Peter’s Church Barrowden on Saturday 8th November, The Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland, Dr. Sarah Furness, announced John Williams as the 2025 winner of the Davenport Cup for visiting most churches on the day. Winners of categories were announced for the greatest number of churches visited by walking, the quirkiest mode of transport, youngest participant and oldest participant. Cyclists who visited 35 churches or more were awarded certificates, as were walkers who visited at least 16 churches
• The charity was thrilled by the £29,408 raised this year, the highest ever total for a Rutland Ride + Stride
The county was buzzing with people on bikes, walking and even someone driving a heritage tractor, taking part in ‘Rutland Ride and Stride’ on Saturday 13th September! Riders and Striders from all over Rutland did a brilliant job of raising money for their designated churches and the Rutland Historic Churches Preservation Trust (RHCPT) to preserve the county’s historic churches & chapels. Church recorders, bakers and servers made all the riders and striders welcome - if they had time to stop!
An awards ceremony was held in St. Peter’s Church Barrowden, on Saturday 8th November. The Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland, Dr. Sarah Furness, who is President of Rutland Historic Churches Preservation Trust, announced the 2025 winner of the Davenport Cup for visiting most churches on the day. 23 participants were recognised with awards.
The Lord-Lieutenant thanked participants commenting, ‘In Rutland we have many historic churches across our beautiful countryside. They are an important part of the county’s culture and heritage, at the heart of communities. Thank you to all who gave up their time on the day, to welcome Riders + Striders to sign in, rest and refuel in Rutland’s churches and chapels. Today is about recognising the enormous effort made by all the Riders & Striders. But special thanks must go to this year’s winner of the Davenport Cup, cycling for St. Nicholas, Pilton, visiting an amazing 52 churches on the day – this year’s winner is John Williams! John also won the Cup in 2021 - we are so grateful for his huge effort supporting Ride + Stride in Rutland and helping to preserve the county’s heritage.’
David Wood, Chairman of RHCPT, congratulated everyone who took part to help raise an amazing total of £29,408. He commented, ‘This is the highest amount ever raised through Rutland Ride + Stride in a single event. We are thrilled with what has been achieved. The funds raised will enable Rutland Historic Churches Preservation Trust to help even more churches restore their buildings.’
Cyclists who visited 35 churches or more were presented certificates, as were walkers who visited at least 16 churches. Tim Arguile and Peter Coulson both walked to 19 churches on the day while Beverley Hancock walked 20 miles between 18 churches. Certificates were also presented to Simon Forster for the quirkiest mode of transport who drove between churches on his vintage tractor. Also, to 19-year-old Josh Davies who played the organ at 12 of the churches he visited, to 14-year-old Hayden Thongphay as youngest Rider, and to 81-year-old Richard Adams as oldest Rider. He also had a special tribute for never having missed a Ride + Stride. 30 years ago he was the first recipient of the Davenport Cup.