Published on: 05/03/2026
On Monday 6 April, Revd Canon Dr Matthew Rhodes will commence the epic Coast-to-Coast walk covering 192 miles, to raise vital funds to restore the iconic spire of St John’s Church Ranmoor in Sheffield.
The Coast-to-Coast walk is almost as many miles as the spire is tall in feet – and will take 13 days to complete. The route, made famous by Alfred Wainwright, goes from St Bees in the West to Robin Hood’s Bay in the East. Matthew will be walking between 14 and 20 miles per day through three national parks. It’s a challenging route with over 6,000 metres of ascent.
The Save Our Spire campaign was launched in March 2025 to raise a staggering £1m to restore the tower and spire of St John’s Church, Ranmoor in Sheffield. In 2024, the tower and spire were added to Historic England’s At-Risk Register after ‘reaching critical condition requiring action to prevent complete loss’. The church has already received donations of £270,000.
St John’s, Ranmoor, is a Church of England church in south-west Sheffield, built in 1879. Just eight years after the church opened, a catastrophic fire destroyed the main body of the church. The tower and spire were the only parts of the original church to remain. The church was rebuilt and reopened in 1888. The spire is significant as it is the tallest of any parish church in Sheffield and its hillside position makes it a much-loved part of the Sheffield skyline.
Matthew hopes to raise over £5,000 from this challenge and raise the profile of the Save Our Spire appeal. The congregation and wider community in Ranmoor will be supporting Matthew by fundraising themselves with virtual walks, quizzes, bake sales and joining him on parts of the path.
Matthew said, “Our spire is an important landmark on the Sheffield skyline. After nearly 150 years it’s showing signs of age and is in urgent need of repair. I am enormously grateful to everyone who is helping us preserve our spire, enabling St John’s to continue serving the people of Sheffield. I’m looking forward to taking on this challenge and raising the profile of the project as well as some vital funds”.
There will be a send-off event on Easter Day to say farewell to Matthew as he embarks on this challenge.
You can find Matthew’s fundraiser here.
