Military Britain

One date in British history that sticks in the mind is October 14, 1066. On this day, an invading army of Normans, led by Frenchman Duke William of Normandy, defeated the English, led by King Harold II. The battle took place on Senlac Hill - about 10km north of Hastings, in southeast England. An abbey was built to mark the site and today it is the venue for an annual re-enactment billed as the biggest in Britain. The event grew from having a few hundred participants in 1984 to include 3,400 registered re-enactors in 2006. The 'cast' of actors and amateur enthusiasts sticks close to the story as told on the Bayeux Tapestry. However, some historians have questioned whether Harold did tell one of his archers to be 'careful with that arrow or you'll have someone's eye out'. See www.english-heritage.org.uk.

Commemorating the 1263 Battle of Largs, the last major Viking invasion of Britain, the festival is a series of events that takes place over 10 days in August and September. Staged in Largs, a port town in Ayrshire, Scotland, it kicks off with a Viking parade followed by a torchlight Viking funeral procession and a couple of re-enacted skirmishes. For those who thought Nordic life was all about pillaging and burning, there is a demonstration of falconry, a Viking dog show and a meeting of the Largs Model Boat Club. The whole event is rounded off with a huge party, but not before the 1263 landings have been played out on the town's seafront, complete with the burning of a longship and a fireworks display. See www.largsvikingfestival.com.