The Vikings are coming to Worcestershire

Modern-day Vikings will be conquering Worcestershire on Sunday, May 6 and setting up camp at Bishops Wood Centre in the grounds of the National Grid substation in Crossway Green.

Members of living history groups from around the country will set up an authentic Viking village using tents of the period, cooking food from genuine Viking recipes and demonstrating various traditional crafts.
  
Visitors to the centre will be able to see demonstrations of shoe and coin making, weaving, leatherwork, spinning and fire-making.  There will also be demonstrations of combat showing how a range of Viking weaponry was used.

Refreshments will be available from the Boreley Pig Roast and the Warehouse Café serving locally grown organic food. 

The Viking Day is open from 11am to 3pm and costs £3 per adult and £1 per child.  For Friends of Bishops Wood entry is £2 for adults and children free.

Head of Centre, John Rhymer said:  ‘Thousands of children have visited Bishops Wood with their classes to take part in our Saxon and Viking programmes. The Viking Day will give them and their families a chance to find out even more about this fascinating time in our island’s history”.

The Saxon Hall which stands in the grounds of the centre is an authentic reproduction of a hall of the early Saxon period and is based on a reconstruction at West Stow Saxon Village. It took four years to build and was built by volunteers led by Bob Green who works at the centre.

Bishops Wood Centre is situated just off the A449 at Crossway Green, near Stourport.  It is run as a partnership between National Grid, Worcestershire County Council and Worcester College of Technology. Set in 70 acres of ancient woodland and meadows, the centre’s award winning building was designed as a model of good practice for ‘green’ architecture. 

A map to the centre is available at: www.bishopswoodcentre.org.uk

Ends

For more information and to arrange photo opportunities contact John Rhymer on
01299 250513 or Jane Taylor on 0121 532 2026

National Grid
National Grid is a leading international energy infrastructure business - the largest utility in the UK.

Through National Grid Gas plc it owns and operates over 6,800 kilometres of high-pressure transmission pipeline across Great Britain, and 132,000 kilometres of lower-pressure distribution gas mains in the North West, the Midlands, East Anglia and North London – more than half of Britain's gas transportation network, delivering gas to around 11 million homes, offices and factories.

Through National Grid Electricity Transmission plc, the company operates the high-voltage electricity transmission network across Great Britain, and owns the network in England and Wales.

National Grid will continue to manage the National Gas Emergency Service freephone line 0800 111 999*.

*All calls are recorded and may be monitored.

National Grid Environmental Education Centres

Bishop's Wood is part of National Grid's network of environmental education centres based on electricity substation sites around the UK.  Our centres are run in partnership with local education authorities, environmental charities and other organisations, and provide outdoor learning opportunities for schools and a range of activities and training for adults, community groups and companies.

National Grid environmental education centre sites range in size from a few acres in an urban setting to 80 acres of meadows and ancient woodland.  All provide a safe and secure environment for all age groups to learn about their natural world.