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  1. Strangford Lough Viking Festival
    Viking reenactors will be in Strangford and will tell the shared Viking story of the two villages to visitors. Full-size replica longships will be on display and on the lough. Sailors from the Vikings TV Series will tell you about their adventures.
    1. Event poster visual featuring three Viking characters and event details. Images supplied by Lakes Vikings, photo credit to Ciara McMullen Photography.
      Viking reenactors will be in Portaferry and will tell the shared Viking story of the two villages to visitors. A full-size replica longship will be on display.
      1. Event poster visual featuring three Viking characters and event details. Images supplied by Lakes Vikings, photo credit to Ciara McMullen Photography.
        Primary school children from the wider Strangford and Portaferry areas are being visited by some of our fierce Vikings and will make an artwork to go on display.
        1. Strangford Lough Viking Festival
          Primary school children from the wider Strangford and Portaferry areas are being visited by some of our fierce Vikings and will make an artwork to go on display. The winner from each school will receive a family ticket to the amazing Ballydugan Medieval Village near Downpatrick.
          1. Strangford Lough Viking Festival
            Each person will leave with either a solid silver pendant or ring they have made.
            1. Strangford Lough Viking Festival
              A Master Herbalist will talk about the healing power of herbs since Viking times and how to apply the knowledge today.
              1. Event poster visual featuring three Viking characters and event details. Images supplied by Lakes Vikings, photo credit to Ciara McMullen Photography.
                An archaeologist, specialising in ceramics from the neolithic to the Viking era, will talk about construction and design. This is a two part event, the first of which takes place on 25 March in Strangford. In Part 2, Jacqui will expand on the contribution Vikings made to ceramics in Ireland. She will show replica items made in her own kiln.
                1. Event poster visual featuring three Viking characters and event details. Images supplied by Lakes Vikings, photo credit to Ciara McMullen Photography.
                  Two of Europe's leading exponents of Celtic knotwork meet to discuss their work. A rare opportunity to meet this quality of practitioner face to face. This is a two part event, part 1 takes place in Strangford on 25 March. Sean Parry and Sean Fitzgerald will debate if there was a natural artistic progression during the Viking era, or whether the Vikings copied Celtic art forms.
                  1. Event poster visual featuring three Viking characters and event details. Images supplied by Lakes Vikings, photo credit to Ciara McMullen Photography.
                    Come along and make your own demijohn of Viking mead, under the instruction of local foraging and hedgerow cuisine tutor Alison McGrenaghan and Norway's own Oddgeir Lutzen.
                    1. Event poster visual featuring three Viking characters and event details. Images supplied by Lakes Vikings, photo credit to Ciara McMullen Photography.
                      Come along and make your own demijohn of Viking mead, under the instruction of local foraging and hedgerow cuisine tutor Alison McGrenaghan and Norway's own Oddgeir Lutzen.
                      1. Event poster visual featuring three Viking characters and event details. Images supplied by Lakes Vikings, photo credit to Ciara McMullen Photography.
                        World-famous Celtic and Nordic artist, musician and tattooist Sean Parry, will talk about his work.
                        1. Event poster visual featuring three Viking characters and event details. Images supplied by Lakes Vikings, photo credit to Ciara McMullen Photography.
                          World-famous Celtic and Nordic artist, musician and tattooist Sean Parry, will talk about his work.
                          1. Strangford Lough Viking Festival
                            Walking Tour Strangford led by Brigid Watson of Sustainable Journeys Ireland, with a Viking and natural history emphasis.
                            1. Event poster visual featuring three Viking characters and event details. Images supplied by Lakes Vikings, photo credit to Ciara McMullen Photography.
                              A walking tour of Portaferry led by the knowledgeable Brigid Watson of Sustainable Journeys Ireland, with a Viking and natural history emphasis.
                              1. Event poster visual featuring three Viking characters and event details. Images supplied by Lakes Vikings, photo credit to Ciara McMullen Photography.
                                An evening with a difference! There is nothing more magical than being on your Paddleboard and watching the sun setting into a beautiful purple sky as the glow reflects off the water!
                                1. Event poster visual featuring three Viking characters and event details. Images supplied by Lakes Vikings, photo credit to Ciara McMullen Photography.
                                  Following the torchlit parade and declaration of war by the followers of King Magnus Barelegs at the steps of Portico, the Viking celebration will begin!
                                  1. Strangford Lough Viking Festival
                                    Narrator - Finbar McCormick has a lifetime of knowledge about local history.
                                    More about the Festival and the area...
                                    1. Thursday Events
                                      A round up of all the Strangford Lough Viking Festival events happening in Portaferry and Strangford on Thursday 24 March.
                                    2. Friday Events
                                      A round up of all the Strangford Lough Viking Festival events happening in Portaferry and Strangford on Friday 25 March.
                                    3. Sunday Events
                                      A round up of all the Strangford Lough Viking Festival events happening in Portaferry and Strangford on Sunday 27 March.
                                    4. ***Temporary Suspension of Normal Ferry Service **** Essential health and safety work will be carried out at slipways in Portaferry and Strangford, 14 October 2024 and last for 5 weeks. Alternative arrangements intended for passengers include a passenger only ferry operating a reduced timetable.
                                      1. History of Vikings in the region
                                        Strangford Lough was originally called Loch Cuan which means the quiet lough. When the Vikings came they renamed it Strang Fjord (Strangford) which means the ‘fjord of the strong currents’. The Narrows is renowned for its’ fierce currents. Read more about the history of the Vikings in the region.
                                      2. Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
                                        With over 100 miles of coastline, many Areas of Special Scientific Interest and a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty we want to protect this special place and the impact we have on our natural surroundings.
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