Support our Charity

There are three main ways that you can support us to keep the viaduct open for all:

  1. You can donate
  2. You can join the Friends and become a member
  3. Or do some volunteering with us
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When you donate to the Friends of Bennerley Viaduct, you are supporting our ongoing work to make the viaduct accessible, and develop a dynamic visitor attraction in the Erewash Valley. We lease the viaduct from its owners, Railway Paths Ltd., because we believe it should be open to everyone, a place to explore history and nature, spend time together outdoors, and inspire new connections. Our staff and volunteers are responsible for all work to keep the viaduct open for visitors, and to tell its stories to the world. Although we have received funding from organisations such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we do not receive regular, guaranteed public money: we need your help to survive. In addition to a one off donation, you please do consider becoming a member, or volunteering your time and skills.

There are several ways to donate to our charity, and every donation is deeply appreciated: you are making a difference.

  1. Direct donation

To make a direct donation, select the amount that you wish to donate, your payment method and (optionally) your email address below and click “Next” to either complete a gift aid declaration or decline to do so. If you retain “Online” as your payment method you will then be taken to PayPal’s gateway, to make payment using either a PayPal account or a credit or debit card. If you select “Cheque” or “Bank Transfer” as payment methods, you will be given a payment reference to use so that we may account for your donation correctly.

Select the amount that you wish to donate and click “Next”. If you want to make a larger donation by card you can Contact Us.

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Cheques should be made to payable to “The Friends of Bennerley Viaduct” and be posted to Castledine House, 5-9 Heanor Road, Ilkeston DE7 8DY. Please write the reference 94009349 on the back.

Please instruct your bank transfer to:
Payee = Friends of Bennerley Viaduct
Account Number = 34642813
Sort Code = 40-19-15
Reference = 94009349

After you have clicked on Next and made a gift aid declaration or declined to do so, you will be taken to a page to instruct your payment, either via PayPal or a credit or debit card.

We would like to make contact with you to thank you personally for your donation. If you are okay for us to do that then please provide us with your email address. However, if you would rather not do so then you can leave this field blank.

  1. Donate through JustGiving

Click the link to donate securely and find out more about our current fundraising campaign.

  1. Text to Give

You can donate by text using your mobile for any amount between £1 and £20 (whole pounds). E.g. to donate £5 text VIADUCT 5 to 70470. This text will cost you £5 plus a standard network rate.

Join Us

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If you’re not already a member of The Friends of Bennerley Viaduct, why not join us? The fee is £10 a year, or £50 for a lifetime membership. Personal data provided to us is protected by our privacy policy.

Benefits of being a Friend:

  1. Know you are directly supporting keeping this unique heritage icon open for all
  2. Voting rights at our AGM: have our say in our democratic organisation
  3. Members-only newsletter
  4. 10% off merchandise
  5. First-look tickets for our events and activities
  6. Socialise at our regular Open Meetings

The details are described in our membership information sheet. If you’re already a member renew your membership below.

Price Change 2023
As a charity, we rely on memberships for our future. We have taken the decision to increase our annual single membership fee to £10. This reflects increasing costs now that we responsible for keeping the viaduct open and leasing the land around it. But we recognise that times are tough: if you have difficulty finding £10, you can opt to pay a reduced membership fee of £5. Our lifetime membership fee has not changed.

To join or renew your membership enter the following details below and click “Next”.

We take our responsibility for respecting your data privacy seriously. You can read why we request this information and what we do with it in our privacy policy.

Contact Details:

You may choose to provide us with your full address so that we can send mail to you; for example, to send you a membership card. If you don’t choose to provide us with your full address, we require at least the start of your postcode for purpose of demographic analysis of our membership.

Payment:

Please select your chosen payment amount and payment method. The payment amount is £10 or £50 depending on whether you wish to join/renew for one year or for life. In light of the current cost of living crisis, we are also offering the option to join/renew for one year for £5.

Cheques should be made to payable to “The Friends of Bennerley Viaduct” and be posted to Castledine House, 5-9 Heanor Road, Ilkeston DE7 8DY. Please write the reference 21138638 on the back.

Please instruct your bank transfer to:
Payee = Friends of Bennerley Viaduct
Account Number = 34642813
Sort Code = 40-19-15
Reference = 21138638

After you have clicked on Next and made a gift aid declaration or declined to do so, you will be taken to a page to instruct your payment, either via PayPal or a credit or debit card.

Volunteering

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At Bennerley we have an amazing team of supporters who volunteer their time to help us. This can be a one off day or more regularly. We have a variety of roles that could suit you, or tell us your ideas about how you could help:

  • Ranger team keep the viaduct safe and clean for the visitors,
  • Work Party members meet monthly to improve the woodland nature reserve
  • Events and Merchandise team talk to people in the community and raise funds for us.
  • Tour Guide or Presentation teams: Love history and communicating stories to the public? We have a lovely team who deliver tours and presentations to groups.
  • Office volunteers help us keep the charity in business by writing newsletters, social media, and helping at the office.

You can volunteer as much or as little as you like, on your own or in a team. Get in touch via our Contact Us page to hear more. We also do corporate volunteering days.