Medieval festivals in England

August 2026

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

Family

October 2026

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

Family

January 2027

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

Family

February 2027

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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

Family

July 2027

Antony Stanley · CC BY-SA 2.0

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Reenactment & Battles Medieval Markets & Fairs +1

Tewkesbury Medieval Festival

Tewkesbury, England

A free two-day festival on the original 1471 battlefield that re-enacts the Battle of Tewkesbury with around 2,000 re-enactors, plus living-history camps and a large traders' market. Held every second full weekend of July since 1984, it is one of the largest medieval battle re-enactments in Europe.

10–11 Jul 2027

Family

Jousting & Tournaments Living History & Museums +1

The Loxwood Joust

Loxwood, England

The Loxwood Joust is a ticketed medieval festival staged over three weekends in August on Loxwood Meadow in West Sussex, billed as the 'Kingdom of Loxwood'. Alongside daily jousting it mixes living-history camps, falconry, blacksmithing, an executioner's show, archery, music and theatrical spectacle, with weekend camping and evening entertainment.

Expected Jul–Aug 2027

Family