Medieval Lerwick

Shetland's capital and the most northerly town in the UK, a stone harbour town on Bressay Sound in islands that were Norse until 1469, and host of Europe's largest fire festival, Up Helly Aa, on the last Tuesday of January.

1 festival no articles yet next event 26 January 2027

Medieval festivals in Lerwick

Balou46 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Music, Feasts & Theatre Viking & Norse +1

Up Helly Aa (Lerwick)

Lerwick, Scotland

Up Helly Aa is Lerwick's Viking-themed fire festival, held on the last Tuesday of January: about a thousand torch-bearing guizers led by the Guizer Jarl's squad in Norse dress march through the town and burn a full-size replica longship, then tour a dozen halls performing skits until morning. It grew out of 19th-century tar-barrelling, with the first torch procession in 1881 and the first galley burning in 1889; the next edition is Tuesday 26 January 2027.

26 Jan 2027

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Months with a festival are linked. Expected dates say so. January

More medieval festivals in Scotland

All festivals in Scotland

Medieval Markets & Fairs Jousting & Tournaments +1

England's Medieval Festival

Nutley, England

England's Medieval Festival is a three-day jousting, living-history and market festival over the August bank holiday weekend, with camping, evening entertainment and a large 'Kid's Kingdom'. Founded in 1993 at Herstmonceux Castle, it moved in 2023 to The King's Grove at Pippingford Park in the Ashdown Forest, East Sussex.

29–31 Aug 2026

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Battle of Hastings Re-enactment in Battle

Antonio Borrillo · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Reenactment & Battles Living History & Museums

Battle of Hastings Re-enactment

Battle, England

English Heritage stages its annual re-enactment of the 1066 Battle of Hastings on the original battlefield at Battle Abbey in East Sussex on the weekend nearest the 14 October anniversary. More than 500 re-enactors recreate the clash between Harold's Saxons and William's Normans, with living-history camps, falconry, a medieval market and a sword school for children.

10–11 Oct 2026

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Reenactment & Battles Living History & Museums +1

JORVIK Viking Festival

York, England

The JORVIK Viking Festival takes over York for a week every February half-term with a Viking encampment and traders' market in the city centre, a march of hundreds of warriors, talks, crafts, a best-beard contest and a ticketed finale battle with pyrotechnics. Founded in 1985 by the team behind the JORVIK Viking Centre, it is the largest Viking festival in Europe and draws around 40,000 people.

Expected Feb 2027

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Other medieval cities in Scotland: Battle · Loxwood · Nutley · Tewkesbury