Who doesn’t love to spend a night under the starry sky, listening to the music of nature and gathering around the bonfire with your loved ones while talking about nothing and everything? Camping has been a popular adventurous activity among tourists and travelers worldwide. But what if you had the option to camp in a church? Sleeping under the beautiful structures and intricately carved arches is an experience that is privy only to the members of the clergy. But thanks to a new trend, you can do it too. The entire experience is known as champing. Interesting concept, right? Here come the deets.

Who Started This Trend?

The trend “Champing” or camping in a church was started and promoted by the Churches Conservation Trust. The trust works to preserve the historic and unique architectural landmarks in the form of these old churches.

Why Did the Churches Conservation Trust Start This Trend?

The Churches Conservation Trust started this trend to gain more funding to preserve more churches through the capital that Champing would bring in. The charity is trying to encourage the younger generation to visit churches, and due to the weekly service having been stopped in these churches, the trust is trying to open up new ways for collecting public donations.

How Is the Experience?

The church campers or the ‘champers’ describe the experience as a unique blend of culture, religion, and adventure. They say one might think it would be unsettling living in a church overnight, or even scary. But the truth is, it is rather satisfying. You are given an opportunity to live in these massive, beautifully crafted premises overnight and you are helping them preserve the old churches by doing that. The stay is comfortable with comfortable mattresses and blankets. The bonus is the beautiful view of the intricately carved ceilings and sculptures all around you.

With everything going on in the world right now, it’s easy to assume that we won’t be going on vacation for a while. As countries across the globe fight their own coronavirus battles and try to get used to the new normal, flights have been grounded, and airports have closed their doors. Many people have suggested that this shutdown could last months, but it seems as though airlines could be opening up again sooner than you think.

Closing Their Borders

As the COVID-19 battle rages on, countries have come up with their own methods of containing the virus and stopping any further spread. One of the ways they have done this is by asking airlines to stop their flights, and some countries have even closed their borders. Those that haven’t are asking travelers to quarantine for two weeks when they enter a new country, and because of this, fewer people are risking it. This has had a serious knock-on effect for airlines, and many of them have asked for financial help and guidance from their respective governments. However, it seems as though things could be on the up.

Opening Up Again

In fact, it’s been noted that there will be a “significant rebound” in the realm of air travel in the next few weeks. This is largely because countries such as Spain and Italy are once again opening their borders up to travelers in the hope of restarting their economy, and those travelers will require flights. Experts suggest that this resurgence will start to take place in mid-May to early-June and that it will see a steady rise in people wanting to fly across the globe again. However, there’s no doubt about the fact that travelers are going to be wary about the process, and will expect airlines to put social distancing measures in place to keep them safe.

So, could vacations be on the cards sooner than we think?