Saturday and Sunday 13 and 14 September 10.00 am to 5pm

The Sae Wylfing on the Deben at last year’s event

A Viking marauding party will invade Woodbridge, and pull a replica long ship along the Thoroughfare in the town centre on Saturday at noon, on the first day of  Maritime Woodbridge. The shops in the town centre will compete for a prize for the best nautical window display, and there will be a nautical painting competition and a Viking treasure hunt.

The Viking Warriors will set up an encampment on the riverside, where visitors will be able try their hand at Viking fighting skills and learn about how they lived. There will also be a lecture on the Vikings in Suffolk by Time Team historian Dr Sam Newton and on how the Vikings built and sailed their ships by Vibeke Bischoff, curator of the Rosskilde Viking Ship Museum, in Denmark

Maritime Woodbridge attracted around 10,000 visitors last September, and the show will have even more attractions this year. Classic wooden boats of all kinds and sizes will assemble in the docks. Four Thames sailing barges are expected, and three yachts (including Nancy Blackett) formerly owned by Swallows and Amazons author Arthur Ransome, will be open to visitors. Ashore, classic wooden dinghies and launches built by local yard Everson’s will be displayed.

The marine exhibition in one of the former Whisstocks boat sheds will be bigger than ever, and the Maritime Proms, a free nautical music concert, will again round off the afternoon on both days. Even if it rains, Maritime Woodbridge chairman Michael Rines says visitors should not be put off, because so much is under cover in the massive former boat sheds.

The opportunity to try their hand at paddling a coracle in a specially constructed pond (50% bigger this year) will again enable children (and adults) to get themselves soaked. Through the day, free boat trips will be available, and shanty groups and two bands will create a festive atmosphere.

There will be exhibitions of marine paintings and photographs.  The famous Tide Mill on the dock side and the traditional boat building yards and sailing clubs will be open to visitors. A Suffolk Punch-drawn carriage will connect the event to the attractions in the town.  These will be open as part of National Heritage Open Days,and will include the Town Museum, the Suffolk Punch Heavy Horse Museum, Buttrums Windmill and the Quaker burial ground wildlife haven.

Everything in the event except the carriage rides is completely free, the event being funded by The National Lottery through Awards for All and by Suffolk County Council Single Gateway.

Many Woodbridge businesses and voluntary organisations have also made generous contributions, with the East Anglian Daily Times as media sponsor.

Last photo: ‘Children’ getting themselves wet in the coracle pond last year (East Anglian Daily Times)

For more information, contact Michael Rines on 01394 610034