Guided tours of Stamford helped MindSpace and Corn Exchange Theatre

People who went on seasonal guided walks have helped raise money for two town charities.

The Mayor’s Guides of Stamford offer regular walking tours of the town centre to uncover its history and the stories that bring this alive.

And following hot on the heels of their successful ‘Spooky Tours’, the guides brought in a couple of Christmas-themed dates at the end of last year, which proved equally popular with visitors and locals.

Taking part were Blue Badge guide Jill Collinge and Mayor’s Guides Nicola Sandall, Bill Cunningham, Jim Grant, Simon Whatling, and Kiffy Mitchell, as well as Garry Mitchell, who played the fiddle to bring extra atmosphere of days gone by.

On Monday (March 10) some of the guides were free to hand over a donation of £325 from Christmas walking tour ticket sales to Pip Tiffin from MindSpace Stamford, the mental health and wellbeing charity.

A further £150 is being donated to Stamford’s Corn Exchange Theatre, which is run as a charity and is next door to MindSpace in Broad Street.

Guide Nicola said the Christmas walks worked particularly well in Stamford, which has seasonal stories from medieval, Victorian and Georgian times to tell.

Jill added that it was a chance to share how some of the Christmas traditions are rooted in a pagan past, with people eager during winter to get back into the sun god’s good books - by setting light to plum puddings and lighting up trees.

Thanking the group for their donation, Pip said it would help maintain the day-to-day running of the charity, which offers many activities and support groups for people locally.

MindSpace Stamford is seeking three new trustees and is interested to hear from anyone who would like to volunteer, particularly anyone who is an accredited accountant, who has experience in fundraising, in marketing, or in human resources.

As well as attending monthly meetings, trustees support the team with events and engage with volunteers and the wider community.

For information email beka@mindspacestamford.com