Festival features Yorkshire's Bayeux Tapestry

3 hours ago

Paul JohnsonEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

News image — A file picture showing re-enactors dressed as soldiers fighting for King Harold in 1066

BBC Five men dressed as Saxon soldiers, with chainmail, steel helmets, axes, spears and colourful round shields. — A file picture showing re-enactors dressed as soldiers fighting for King Harold in 1066

Guided walks will highlight "hidden gems" including Yorkshire's answer to the Bayeux Tapestry.

The Walking East Yorkshire Festival, which runs from Saturday until 20 September, is designed to showcase the region's "spectacular landscapes" and "fascinating heritage", according to East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

Among the events will be a history walk and talk about the Battle of Stamford Bridge, fought in 1066, and the Stamford Bridge Tapestry, which was inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry and completed in 2021.

Other guided walks will take in stretches of the King Charles II Coastal Path, including the chalk cliffs of Flamborough Head and the Wolds Rangers Way.

A section from a stitched tapestry in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry, showing a number of men dressed in medieval clothes, along with horses, weapons and trees. — A detail from the Stamford Bridge Tapestry, which tells the story of the battle

There will be tours of country estates, including the Regency period Wassand Hall, and a look at the life and legacy of Mary Wollstonecraft, the pioneering advocate for women's rights who spent her formative years in Beverley.

The festival, which also includes cycle rides, is in its 16th year.

Here are three of the highlights:

Battle of Stamford Bridge: In September 1066, King Harold II fought off a Viking invasion in a great battle at Stamford Bridge on the River Derwent, but his victory was short-lived, as less than three weeks later he was defeated by William, Duke of Normandy, at the Battle of Hastings. This free, two-mile walk, on 16 September, takes in the battlefield and a heritage centre where Yorkshire's answer to the Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of the battle.

The silhouette of a man walking a small dog on a lead on a clay and grass clifftop above the sea. The tide is in with white surf rolling up the beach. The sky is blue. — The fast-eroding clay cliffs near Mappleton

Rock and Rollback: East Yorkshire has one of the fastest-eroding coastlines in the UK and this free, three-mile walk from Hornsea to Mappleton, on 14 September, highlights centuries of change, including the villages lost to the sea. The coastline here is also full of surprises, from wildlife thriving among the sea defences to the fossils found on the beaches. Numbers are limited, so book ahead.

Window on the past: If you cannot commit to a guided walk, you can still take part in the festival by downloading the council's What Was Here? app, which features more than 30 walking routes along with historic photos and maps that reveal how each area has changed over time.

A full programme of events and booking details are available on the festival's website.

Listen to highlights fromHull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

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