This year’s Open Tower Day in support of the Guild’s Llewellyn Edwards Bell Restoration Fund raised a very welcome £1,886.
The day consisted of a broadly circular tour beginning at Lyme Regis and ending up at Beaminster ( both ten bells) taking in 21 towers in total. The weather was glorious and provided the ideal day for a tour through the countryside of West Dorset
Some participants managed to ring in all 21 towers, demonstrating the feasibility of the planned schedule, although most people chose to take a more leisurely approach to the day, taking more breaks and ringing in fewer towers.
Most ringers came from within our Guild but there was a fair representation from neighbouring associations and some travelling from places as far as Hereford, Redditch, Yorkshire, Norfolk and Bangor in North Wales.
We are very grateful to all the Tower Captains and their teams of helpers who opened up their towers, those towers which provided very welcome refreshments, and to the members of the West Dorset Branch committee who spent the day leapfrogging between towers to provide support where necessary.
Thank you to everyone who supported the day – not only is it great fun but it raises very worthwhile funds to support bell restoration projects within our Guild.
Next year’s Open Day will be in the Devizes Branch on the 15th August – do make a note of it in your diary.
Andy Waring
Chair, LEBRF Trustees
This is the third year that I have driven down from Hereford to enjoy the LEBRF’s extremely well organized open day. This year I couldn’t quite make it around all the towers, possibly due to parking, which is always going to be a challenge that can’t be helped.
Long Bredy was the highlight of my day as some of my husband’s family are resting there.
I am fairly new to ringing, just over three years now, so I’m racing to do as much as I can as I started fairly late in life.
Chris Brackston (Hereford)
I thought it was incredibly well organised and I really enjoyed it. My husband and I were on e-bikes and had a lovely time, we did 6 towers and then retreated to the beach.
Mary Aylmer
My friend (who has never done a LEBRF day before) and I had a lovely day. We set off from Mere at 7:15 in the morning feeling very much like Barrington and Dawlish from “Monte Carlo or Bust” and embarked upon a day of ringing some lovely bells, meeting all sorts of different ringers and driving through some fantastic scenery. We managed 18 towers and the proof of the pudding was in the eating – my friend would love to do it again!
Katie Smith
An excellent day with really enjoyable towers and great support from the LEBRF for the day.
Mike Attenborough
I’m a learner from St Mary’s in Stalbridge and this was my first open day, and I did find the event very enjoyable! I really liked the varying sizes and style Towers. The parking and facilities information next to each of the tower timings was really helpful.
Enjoyed the walks e.g. in Bridport along the river and walking through the pretty villages to get to each. I especially liked the church with the stained glass windows with bells!
Charlotte Coughlin
This was our first Open Day and we managed to do 17 towers in all. Everyone was very friendly and all tower representatives were lovely and welcoming. Well done to those who organised it. It was a great day.
Louise Swash
Many thanks for organising a fantastic day.
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and even managed to get them all.
Ben
Emma, David, Robert and I had a GREAT day on Saturday.
3 of us had not rung at any of the towers we managed, so more to tick off on our list. The weather was perfect, the countryside and scenery AMAZING.
We managed 14 towers, had trouble finding some of the churches, however the day was fun and looking forward to next year’s tower grab.
Dawn Head
I just wanted to send a big thank you for the LEBRF day yesterday. It must have taken a huge amount of organising, but was greatly appreciated. It was a wonderful opportunity (in particular for us novice ringers) to experience different towers and bells and we really enjoyed the day.
We met people from far and wide so it is clearly a very popular event that people from out of the area plan their year around! I hope you also managed to raise a good sum for your funds.
Jo Warren (Shipton Gorge)
A big thank you to you and your team for a great day out yesterday. We “only” did 12 of the towers but really enjoyed it, especially when we were able to team up with some people to do some nice method ringing (Chideock, Powerstock, Toller Porcorum, Frampton, Maiden Newton, Rampisham).
Hilary and Rob Child
Hilary, Richard and I had a fantastic time yesterday and we are already looking forward to next year!
Angela Gillingham
The anxiety of a novice ringer taking hold. The kindness of strangers whispering advice in your ear. The laughter and sheer joy of being part of a welcoming throng.
The 496 tower steps!
That’s what makes an amazing day – thank you.
Elizabeth Ferguson
The Towers of the 2025 LEBRF Open Day
| Lyme Regis | 10 | 10‑3‑18 |
| Whitchurch Canonicorum | 8 | 16‑3‑26 |
| Chideock | 6 | 11‑0‑24 |
| Bridport | 8 | 21‑2‑16 |
| Burton Bradstock | 6 | 9‑2‑19 |
| Shipton Gorge | 6 | 4‑3‑24 |
| Litton Cheney | 8 | 13-2-23 |
| Long Bredy | 5 | 8‑2‑9 |
| Askerswell | 6 | 8‑2‑23 |
| Loders | 6 | 19‑1‑3 |
| Powerstock | 6 | 18-1-2 |
| Toller Porcorum | 6 | 8‑2‑16 |
| Frampton | 6 | 15‑3‑17 |
| Maiden Newton | 6 | 10‑2‑0 |
| Cattistock | 8 | 13‑3‑13 |
| Rampisham | 5 | 13‑0‑17 |
| Evershot | 6 | 7‑1‑4 |
| Halstock | 5 | 7‑3‑23 |
| South Perrott | 6 | 6‑2‑7 |
| Broadwindsor | 6 | 14‑2‑16 |
| Beaminster | 10 | 22‑1‑27 |
