One of the things Chris, my ringing teacher, has encouraged us to do is to visit other towers. So far I’ve rung at eight different towers, and although at times it’s been quite daunting I have found it helpful. The bells in each tower all have their own ‘personality’, both individually and as a group – number of bells, heavier/lighter, longer/shorter ropes, ropes closer/further apart and so on. It’s surprising to find out how accustomed you get to ‘your’ bells, and how you’ve been unconsciously picking up cues from the people you normally ring with, and how difficult it can be when those crutches are taken from you! Having said that, I think ringing on as many different sets of bells as you can is a really good way of improving your ‘bell feel’, and when you go back to your own bells you’ll start picking up on things you just hadn’t noticed before.

The best way of getting a chance to ring at different towers is to check out your local ringing associations and societies, as many of them hold regular ‘branch practices’, where ringers visit each other’s towers. I ring regularly at two towers; Old Glossop, near where I live, in the Derbyshire association, and Mottram, which is just ‘over the border’ in the Cheshire association. The Peak District group is what you might diplomatically call “quiet”, but East Cheshire is very active, so if you are in reach of several associations, check them all out. When we visit other towers we usually go as a group which means it’s less daunting to walk into a strange tower, plus you’ve got people you know for moral support if nerves start to get the better of you and it all starts to go horribly wrong 🙂