I started ringing by accident back in September 2015 after a friend of a friend and previous learner at St Peter’s in Kineton (The Edgehill Ringing Center) heard that I was living in the Kineton area.

She absolutely insisted that I must go and meet Graham Nabb at the Edgehill Ringing Centre and experience the wonderful bells there – she really couldn’t have been more enthusiastic! As I had only recently moved to the area and was looking for some local activities to join in with, I decided to go along.

The Tower at St Peter’s, Kineton (8 bells)

I had had no previous ringing experience and had no idea what to expect. I went along one Monday practice night to see what it was all about. Everyone was really welcoming and I got to go up and have a look at the bells and even got to have a go at ringing some backstrokes. From this point on I was hooked!

I arranged a few one-to-one sessions with Graham over the coming weeks to learn the basics of bell handling. At the Kineton tower a lot of time is spent making sure you get the basics spot on – and you know about it through constant reminding when you forget – and this really helped me progress quickly to do my first open ringing at the end of September.

Since September with the help and patience of everyone at Kineton I have progressed to LtR level three – learning to plain hunt whilst remembering all the basic skills has been a whole new challenge!
Once I started learning to ring I realised why my friend had been so enthusiastic – I found I couldn’t get enough. Change ringing presents a wonderful challenge, there is always more to learn and room to improve and everyone involved is so welcoming. I now ring several times a week, both at Kineton and at other local Churches and I have been lucky enough to ring my first two quarter peals this year; one on the tenor and the most recent ringing the treble bell something I thought would take me years to get to do. The teaching at Kineton is fantastic
and they are always ready to put on extra sessions using the simulator to help –  and the nagging “hands down at back stroke” never stops!