The Vikings at Cressing Temple 2008 June 21st and 22nd

The Dark Age Festival on June 21st and 22nd at Cressing Temple, near Braintree, will see the Vikings once again invade Essex - but this time they are there to help raise money for Farleigh Hospice. David Smith, who is organising the Dark Age Festival will be donating 10% of the profits from staging the event to Farleigh Hospice.

The event will feature The Vikings, Europe's largest dark age re-enactment group, who portray Saxons and Vikings in authentic living History encampments, with displays of the crafts and skills necessary for life back then.

Not only were the Vikings fearsome warriors, they were brilliant craftsmen especially skilled at working with metal, as can be seen from the jewellery found in burial sites such as Sutton Hoo. They were also merchants and traders, with a trading network that extended from Greenland to Constantinople. In fact, they established Dublin as a trading post!

The Vikings have a long association with the history of East Anglia, and are in many cases our ancestors! Come and meet them at Cressing Temple and discover your long lost family!