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This is a text-only version of an article first published on Tuesday, 21 May 2019. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
Bill Bryson, best-selling author of books on travel, the English language and science, has revealed his 14 favourite churches for ExploreChurches , the UK's new interactive church tourism website.
Author Bill Bryson St Mary the Virgin, Iffley, Oxfordshire, Durham Cathedral, The Italian Chapel in Orkney and London's St Martin the Fields are amongst Bill Bryson's favourite churches. Bill Bryson said: "It is impossible to overstate the importance of churches to this country.
Nothing else in the built environment has the emotional and spiritual resonance, the architectural distinction, the ancient, reassuring solidity of a parish church.
To me, they are the physical embodiment of all that is best and most enduring in Britain. "Explaining why he has included St Mary's, Bill said: "This is a splendid Norman church in a village within the city of Oxford, and it is worth visiting for its rich interior and the story of its anchoress (or pious hermit) named Annora, but its particular glory is that it serves as a perfect destination for a walk along the Thames from the centre of the city.
"A special page on ExploreChurches featuring Bill Bryson's fourteen favourite churches has recently gone live to mark the start of English Tourism Week.
ExploreChurches makes it easy to discover beautiful and fascinating churches and has been developed by the National Churches Trust, the UK's church buildings support charity, of which Bill is a Vice President. The website brings churches to life by using high-quality images and providing information about the history and architecture of individual buildings.
It's then easy to plan a visit as ExploreChurches provides practical information including opening hours, directions and access details. Starting with an initial selection of 1,300 churches, users of the ExploreChurches website can search for churches based on location or by a particular feature such as stained glass or monuments. An innovative feature of the website is its themed lists, which help visitors find churches that fit their passions and interests.
These include: churches on television, the real life locations of our favourite on- screen moments, Wooden Churches, extremely rare in the UK and offering unique insights into our heritage, and churches linked to saints of love and romantic poets. Visitors can share their favourite churches on the website via social media and also comment on what they love most about churches they have been to.