Scira Viking Festival 2020
It was during a wet and blustery February in north Norfolk where Vikings descended upon the coastal town of Sheringham to attend the annual Scira (pronounced Schira) festival. The town name translates as, ‘the homestead of Scira’s people’, and is believed to have been named after a Viking invader.
A week long event held all about town with many activities for people of all ages to partake in. Several war bands travelled across the UK to attend, some as far as Reading, and there was even a Scottish flag flying amongst the camp.
Walking down the main
high street, I could hear
the faint sound of music
coming from the beach
When I arrived in Sheringham and began walking down the main high street, I could hear the faint sound of music coming from the beach, that’s when I knew I was heading in the right direction. I followed the music and as it got louder, I eventually found myself at a makeshift Viking camp on the edge of the hill overlooking the sea.
Even though it had been raining earlier and was still windy, the encampment was busy with visitors. Many of the reenactors were gearing up for something, possibly preparing for the fight ahead. However this was only on a small patch of grass beside the camp. It wasn’t until the afternoon on the beach that we would get the big battle that many attendees had come to watch. Also with the incoming tide, it made for some exciting scenes.
Though what makes this event special is what came in the evening. The parade of burning torches through town, the 28 foot long boat that followed the rear, to the eventual gathering on the beach with the traditional burning of the boat.
Due to high winds and the rising tide, the boat had to be set on a different part of the shore, but what made it special this year was the firing of flaming arrows into the sea, but I could just imagine these being fired to set the boat alight.
