Church offers overnight camping to avoid closure

Campers can wake up surrounded by stained glass windows

Campers are being invited to have overnight stays in a Victorian church to help save the building from closure.

St Donas church in Llanddona, Anglesey is believed to be the first church in Wales to offer the experience of church camping or "champing" for tourists.

The idea came about after the church was mooted for closure, so parishioners wanted to find other ways to use it.

The Reverend Canon Robert W Townsend said: "People absolutely love the idea, and have really taken it on board."

The church is just 100 yards (about 91m) from the beach and about a mile away (1.6km) from the main village of Llanddona, a popular Anglesey holiday destination, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Visitors pay £50 per person, per night, to bed down on camp beds inside the church.

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"The idea came about, about a year to 18 months ago. We couldn't justify having two churches running just for one congregation, we have St Dona's and St Iestyn which are close to each other," said the vicar.

"We had many discussions and the dreaded 'closure' word was mooted."

One champer said she found there was "an ambience of holy hospitality"

One of the first to "champ" at St Dona's was the the Right Reverend Mary Stallard, Assistant Bishop in Bangor.

Speaking of her experience on the Diocese of Bangor page, she said: "My experience of champing was much more relaxing than I expected.

"It's not the same as sleeping in your own bed at home, it is more like camping or staying in a caravan, but it feels different because it's such an unusual setting.

"There was something unique about the experience of sleeping in a church, I found an ambience of holy hospitality and I would encourage others who are interested to give it a try."

The church is also close to the seaside