Vikings heading to Alnwick for unique Sunday market

Authentically costumed Norse Vikings will be in tents demonstrating Viking crafts on Sunday, August 8 from 10am to 4pm.

Bailiffgate Museum and Art Gallery has teamed up with Market Place Management Ltd, the new leaseholders of the market, to organise a special Sunday market with a wide range of crafts, food, clothing, handmade leather goods, ironwork and Viking themed gifts and books.

Northumbria Vikings, a North East dark age re-enactment group, are part of the national UK Vikings, the largest and longest established dark age re-enactment society in the United Kingdom.

Their living history display will show life 1,000 years ago and demonstrate crafts of the time such as woodworking, metalworking, boneworking, weaving and pottery.

When most people think of Vikings they imagine bearded warriors wreaking havoc, or legendary gods with magic hammers.

But the Norse people who settled in northern England in the 9th and 10th centuries also had a fascinating culture.

The current exhibition at Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery – ‘Vikings: Fact and Fiction’ explores who they really were: from the clothes they wore to the activities they did for fun.

The exhibition brings visitors up close to 1,000 year old artefacts and shows how the Vikings impacted the world, not just through raiding and conquering but through craft-making and trading.

This myth-busting exhibition is a unique collaboration with the JORVIK Group, the people behind JORVIK Viking Centre in York.

Sally Brewis from Bailiffgate, who is organising the event said: “We are very excited about the Viking Village in Alnwick Market Place which is a first for the town.

"The Northumbria Vikings re-enactors will show how Vikings lived, demonstrate authentic craft-making and talk about the Norse culture.

"We are very grateful to Alnwick Town Council and the new leasesholders, Market Place, for their support for the event. It will be a great day for the whole family.”

Entry is free and visitors will be able to buy hot and cold food; soft drinks and alcohol.

The Vikings: Fact and Fiction exhibition at Bailiffgate runs until October 3.

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