CHEPSTOW Male Voice covered 800 miles in a weekend for a series of concerts which opened in St Paul's Cathedral.

The choir was to sing under the famous dome but as it creates a nine-second echo the singers were given an opportunity to practise to learn how to cope with the phenomenon.

The 30-minute pro­gramme was completed with In St Paul's which the choir has sung in many cathedrals.

After the recital the choir gathered on the steps of the cathedral where they were met with a large crowd asked for a song.

The growing crowd cheered the choir's renditions of Calon Lan and Calm is the Sea.

The vergers at the cathedral estimated that about 750 had heard the choir inside the cathedral and another 250 had listened outside.

The following day the choir performed in Peterborough Cathedral in a concert on behalf of the city's Rotary Club.

The size of the building again meant there was an echo but musical director Elaine Rigby overcame it with great skill.

The choir was pleased to hear that the concert had raised £5,000 – the most in a single event – beating the previous record of £4,000 for a concert in a Worcestershire village in 2010.

The choir then travelled to Boston in Lincolnshire where the planned recital was cancelled because of a clash of events.

The choir decided to check out the acoustics with one song.

The next stop was the fenland town of Alford where the choir were the guests of the local Methodists and the host was Rev Cecil Munday, formerly minister in Lydney.

The concert was to have taken place at Sutton-on-Sea but the church was struck by lightning earlier this year and so the choir performed at Alford Grammar School for a large and enthusiastic audience.

Returning to the hotel in Peterborough the choir was happy to sing a couple of songs for a private party.

On Sunday evening the choir entertained two special guests, Squadron Leader Tony Iveson and his wife Mary.

Squadron Leader Iveson is a friend of one of the choir members and has written books on his time with Bomber Command in World War II.

He also arranged for the choir to visit the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at RAF Coningsby where they sang in a the shadow of a Lancaster bomber.

Nearly half the 7,400 Lancasters built were lost in action so it was appropriate that one of the three songs was an emotional version of Bring Him Home.

The choir was also happy to oblige with a request for You'll Never Walk Alone.