ARMIES of Romans, Vikings, Roundheads, Cavaliers and Border Reivers will be re-garrisoning Hadrian’s Wall once again during the half-term holidays.
The Living Frontier will feature around 500 re-enactors in events at sites all along the Wall. The events include a march through Carlisle by soldiers from three eras, the first full Roman century to be stationed on the Wall for more than 1600 years and an attempt to re-populate Housesteads Roman Fort to the levels seen nearly two thousand years ago.
The highlight of The Living Frontier events will be a 90-minute pageant at Tynedale Rugby Ground, in Corbridge, on Saturday, May 30, at 8pm. The event will bring together 500 performers and re-enactors and their frontier stories in a spectacular show of music, drama, and technical wizardry that creates a journey through the mists of time to witness two battles, a wedding and a Viking funeral.
The Living Frontier gets under way on Sunday, May 24, and Monday, May 25, at Birdoswald Roman Fort, near Brampton, in Cumbria.
Visitors to the fort will come face to face with Roman soldiers, from the time of the invasion of Britain to the end of Roman rule and the time of the legendary King Arthur.
On Tuesday, May 26, the action moves to the west with Senhouse Alive!, in Maryport, on the Cumbrian coast.
This event will include historical tours, Roman food and a chance to make your very own Roman goddess.
On Thursday, May 28, re-enactors representing Romans, Vikings and English Civil War soldiers will march through Carlisle to be addressed by Emperor Hadrian, as time converges in the centre of the city.
Roman centurion Pompous Maximus and his devious slave Servillius Wretch will also be turning up in Carlisle on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday – after many years in the wilderness – to check on how the Roman Empire is doing.
Meanwhile, the Sealed Knot will be taking people back to the English Civil War at Carlisle Castle on May 29 and 30.
The Castle was a stronghold of the Royalists during the Civil War but was under siege by Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads.
On May 29, at Housesteads, there will be an ambitious attempt to re-populate this iconic Roman Fort to the sort of levels seen 2,000 years ago, and capture it on film. The organisers of The Living Frontier want to get around 250 to 400 people into the fort at 5pm for a massive group photo.
Other events are also planned. For further information, times and tickets to the pageant visit www.livingfrontier.com or telephone (01434) 322002.
The programme is being managed by Hadrian's Wall Heritage Ltd as part of culture10's programme of world-class festivals and events for North East England and has been extended westwards into Cumbria through the support of Carlisle Renaissance.
Tickets for the pageant will cost £10 for adults and £5 for children. Anyone who buys a ticket for the event will also save 50% on admission charges between May 29 and 31 at all the other venues where the Living Frontier events are taking place.