The Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust is hoping to enlist cycling enthusiasts in a tour of the county to raise money for local churches.

The Trust is hoping to build on the success of last year’s Ride and Stride, which saw more than 200 cyclists raise £18,000 for local churches.

“We have an event which means you can choose your own route and how far you travel,” said organiser Robin Peers.

“You go from church to church in the county starting from where you like and finishing where you like, but it means every kind of cyclist can take part, sit-up-and-beg bikers to potential winners of the Tour de France!”

Historic churches across Herefordshire are being invited to take part in the day by making sure they have someone manning their building to stamp the forms of the passing cyclists.

The sponsorships raised by each cyclist will be halved between the church of the rider’s choice and the Trust, which awards grants to help churches with maintenance and large scale projects.

“I think we all want to keep our village churches going, whether we attend regularly or never so we‘re inviting keen cyclists to sign up and enjoy a day out and support a local charity,” said Mr Peers.

“We can also offer help with routes to maximise the number of churches you tick off.”

The Ride and Stride will take place between 10am and 6pm on Saturday 12 September.