The Avon Valley Churches

To put these into context, here is a map of the Avon Valley. I have recently looked at the churches from Salisbury upstream to Amesbury.

St. Andrew’s, Great Durnford

St. Andrew’s is a real gem of a church, sitting on the banks of the Avon. I found it open. There is always a sense of anticipation when I open the door of a place I haven’t visited before. St. Andrew’s didn’t disappoint! It is wonderfully atmospheric and gives a sense of what many rural churches would have been like before Victorian restorations. It is grade 1 listed because of this and well worth seeing (for those of an architectural bent have a look at http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-321418-church-of-st-andrew-durnford-#.WMHDrUdBqk0). For the visitor I found some prayer cards and booklets (good ones too) and some post cards for sale. A laminated simple guide helps the visitor to understand what is what. There is a votive stand to light candles along with a book to enter prayer request into and some ideas for prayer. There is a small children’s area and I was the first visitor in the visitors book this year! It deserves many more. The church website can be found at http://www.woodfordvalleyparish.org.uk This is very good with all sorts of information on these thriving churches.