Carnage

This year, the Jorvik Viking Festival celebrated its silver jubilee. To mark that milestone the organizers wanted a more spectacular show than usual, complete with a ship burning and firework display.

For the first time in ages, I didn’t have to give anyone a lift to York this year and so arranged to car share with JD and stay over for the whole weekend. We set off mid afternoon on Friday and after an easy trip, dropped our gear off at the school hall and dropped in on the LHE at the Guildhall. Having said hello to the guys who’d been hard at it all week, we grabbed some food before heading off to the pub. The Bay Horse was already starting to fill up and throughout the evening more and more of Regia arrived. We had a great night chatting and planning battle tactics for the following day!

On Saturday morning we kitted up and in dribs and drabs headed off on the (longer than you think) walk from the school hall to the Museum Gardens for training at 10. I wandered in via breakfast at a decent little café with Jane and some of the Lith, arriving just after practice had started.

Saxon and Viking armies clash at York

Jorvik Viking festival 2010 is already underway in York. This weekend, we will be there as Regia Anglorum turns out in force to stage displays including two large battles.

York is the first major event of the year, and always one of the biggest. It is often a first taste of reenactment for spectators and new members alike. 2010 marks the 25th anniversary of the festival and this year should be particularly spectacular

You can find information about the festival on the Jorvik Viking Centre website. Don't forget to check the Saturday schedule when we'll be in action!

Also, you can get an idea of what to expect with our galleries of Regia at York in recent years:

York 2007

Regia in pitched battle with the Norman infantry

Every year, re-enactment society The Vikings hold a re-enactment of the battle of Hastings on the very site of the battle itself. But in 2006 the call went out to groups across the world, as this time it would be one of the biggest re-enactments ever staged in Britain.

I’d been in two minds about going to Hastings ever since Regia announced that we were going to take part. On the one hand standing in an ‘army’ of over a thousand warriors re-fighting probably the most famous battle in English history on the site of the actual battle itself had huge appeal. On the other, I’ve never liked scripted, fixed end combat and the Battle of Hastings obviously has to end in a Norman victory!