A Peterborough resident or not, the Heritage Festival is an event people have marked on their calendars every year. With a spectacular show that totally blew my mind, this years festival won’t be forgotten anytime soon!
Peterborough Heritage Festival 2015
The Heritage Festival—which takes place in the city’s Cathedral grounds and its surroundings—is free of charge and always offers lots of enjoyment with many activities to keep everyone entertained.
The event schedule is two full days from Saturday to Sunday and is packed with fun.
The whole family has plenty of time to enjoy the beauty of the falconry display, watch battle displays, test their skills at archery or listen to medieval music, and there’s even a chance you might stumble some period costumes. Of course no festival would be complete without food, and the Heritage festival offers some period markets taking shoppers take the medieval ages as well as a food fayre to browse.
An enchanted Market
The Period Market is one place I really find myself attracted to, I always inevitably end up spending a good amount of time admiring each stand every time I attend this event. How can someone not be completely enraptured by such a charming period?
In the Market you can try on medieval dresses or buy fabric to make your own, taste special food, experience a rune reading and go crazy with the most wonderful shopping you can ask for. Seriously, you should probably attend the Festival just for this! And yet, it is not the only reason you should do so.
Joust of St Peter
This year in particular, Vivacity—in collaboration with Perkins Engines Company Limited—organised something quite outstanding.
For the first time since 1467, a full blown medieval joust was staged in the middle of the city centre, which marked a first not just for Peterborough but the UK in general. For anyone not familiar with the term, the joust is a competition where two armoured knights tilt at each other attempting to break their lances upon their opponent to score points.
Before the joust began the crowd were told how the joust was scored: 5 points for the helmet, 3 points for a shield, 2 points for the body and 1 point for the arm. The riders are all part of an international jousting circuit and are professionally trained for joust re-enactment. This combat endurance show was a spectacle as crowds cheered on their favourites – a must see for all future attendees!
