An army of young volunteers are spending part of their summer holidays camping at some of the nation’s most iconic buildings to preserve and protect Cathedrals, Churches and Chapels, as part of CSV’s Cathedral Camps volunteering summer tour.

Cathedral Camps, which are run by UK volunteering charity CSV, will see young people cleaning spires, clearing graveyards, painting railings, polishing altars, oiling doors, sweeping aisles and surveying tombstones.  ‘Campers’, all aged between 16 -25 years old, get-up-close to many of the nation’s favourite and oldest cathedrals and faith buildings.

This year, CSV’s Cathedral Camps is celebrating its 30th anniversary and will be returning to their first ever camp locations: Winchester Cathedral and Ripon Cathedral as well as visiting St George’s Chapel Windsor Castle, Edinburgh Cathedral, Brecon Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral and many more.

It is the ideal opportunity for any young person who has a personal or career interest in heritage conservation; is doing a Duke of Edinburgh award or just likes having fun and getting to know people from all over the world!

Venue highlights for 2011

Ripon Cathedral is described as the ‘perfect’ Cathedral due to its epic proportions and is set in the Yorkshire countryside. Founded by St Wilfred, the ancient Saxon crypt of St Wilfrid’s original church has survived intact since 672; making it the oldest church building in England to have remained in continuous use.

St George’s Chapel situated in Windsor Castle is home to the late Kings and Queens, including King Henry VIII, Queen Jane Seymour and Edward IV. The Queen and HRH Prince Philip regularly attend, and more recently Prince William and Catherine have been.

Brecon Cathedral is perched on a hill above the River Honddu within the beautiful setting of Brecon Beacons National Park. Campers will be treated to a jazz festival, kayaking and acres of stunning landscape.

Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire has a rich architectural and artistic heritage and a strong musical tradition. Campers will have access to hidden spaces not usually seen by the public, including the sacristy door made of Horse Armour left behind after the battle of Tewkesbury in 1471.

Edinburgh Cathedral is the largest ecclesiastical building in Scotland, which stands in the heart of the busy West End but maintains an aura of stillness and peace. It was built in the 19th Century and designed in a Gothic style. Campers will be polishing, gardening, dusting and will be treated to a tour of Edinburgh.

Lichfield Cathedral is home to the largest ever collection of Anglo Saxon gold and is the only medieval cathedral in the UK with 3 spires. It is one of the oldest places of Christian worship in Britain and the burial place of the Anglo Saxon missionary, St Chad.

Leader of the pack, Emma Robinson will be heading up the Lichfield Cathedral camp. She says “What could be better than spending a week surrounded by some of our finest national architecture and getting to know fellow volunteers from across the world, whilst making a tangible contribution to the future of our unique heritage. I’m really looking forward to it!”

Rebecca Wilkinson, CSV’s project manager for Cathedral Camps, said: “Every year our army of young volunteers demonstrate a positive impact to protect our faith buildings. Their spirit and passion plays an important part to preserve our architecture from disrepair.”   

Cathedral Camps Summer programme 2011

06 - 13 July                     Edinburgh Cathedral
06 - 13 July                     Salisbury Cathedral and Wiltshire Churches, in partnership with Churches Conservation Trust
13 - 20 July                     Wells Cathedral
20 - 27 July                     St Albans Cathedral and Abbey Church
20 - 27 July                     St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
27 July - 03 August       Winchester Cathedral
27 July - 03 August       Leicester Cathedral
27 July - 03 August       Truro Cathedral
03 - 10 August               All Hallows by the Tower, London
03 - 10 August               Southwell Minster, Nottinghamshire
03 - 10 August               Lichfield Cathedral
03 - 10 August               Holy Trinity, Hull
10 - 17 August               Brecon Cathedral, Powys
10 - 17 August               Canterbury Cathedral
10 - 17 August               Southwark CofE Cathedral, London
17 - 24 August               Islington Union Chapel
17 - 24 August               Tewkesbury Abbey
17 - 24 August               Norfolk Churches, in partnership with Churches Conservation Trust
24 - 31 August               Ripon Cathedral, North Yorkshire
24 - 31 August               Chester Cathedral

Each camp runs from Wednesday to Wednesday for one week with Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday free for relaxation or exploring the local area.  Activities are arranged for the evenings to see the sights and have some fun with fellow campers.

Campers make a contribution of £155 towards accommodation, food, tools, equipment, instruction, supervision and work materials.

For further information and booking details about Cathedral Camps contact www.cathedralcamps.org.uk or call 0207 643 1395

For further press information contact: Francesca Toma on 020 7812 0037 or 07966 168686 or Jason Tanner on 07941 433598

Notes for editors
1.    CSV (Community Service Volunteers) creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their communities through volunteering, training and community action. Last year 167,064 people gave their time as volunteers through CSV. The charity trained 12,196 people of all ages.
2.    CSV started working with Cathedral Camps in 2007 when it managed to secure a new future for the Cathedral Camps programme, which was established 30 years ago.