Rampaging warriors agleam with horned helmets swept down the hill, their long swords flashing in the weak sunlight, axe and shield at the ready. Blood-curdling war cries rent the air as they thundered towards …  Enough of that!  Why not find out what the Vikings were really all about at the JORVIK Viking Festival being held in York next spring.

The whole city celebrates their Viking heritage in a series of events ranging from battle drills and sword fights to storytelling and folklore.  Try Viking-style arts and crafts; let the children loose in the Kids’ Have-a-go Sword Combat arena and enter Dad in the Best Beard Competition.

There will be plenty of opportunity to find out more about Viking archaeology, participate in walking tours of the alleyways and passages that once rang to the sound of Viking feet, experience Viking food and sup a little Viking ale.

The festival culminates in a spectacular battle between the Vikings (with their Anglo Saxon allies) and the Normans in a fantastic display of sword-skills, axe-whirling and shield thumping, not to mention a bit of blood-curdling!

Book your York hotel now to find out who wins; will it be the Vikings or will it be the Normans?

This entry was posted on Monday, December 29th, 2008 at 12:58 pm and is filed under Britain & Ireland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.