What a fabulous event! It’s the first time that the Friends of Newport Ship have visited the Medieval Christmas Fayre that takes place within the walls of Ludlow Castle.
Ludlow castle has outer walls and an inner keep. Within the keep were the main attractions, the medieval surgeon, the falconry master and the re-enactors camp. Outside was the main market, in which FoNS had our stall.
The weather forecast was bright and clear….. and cold! Very cold!! The crowds were queuing, waiting to come in each morning, eager to look around the vast array of craft stalls, listen to the music from a wide variety of minstrels armed with all sorts of ‘interesting’ instruments.
The FoNS ‘medieval gazebo’ (complete with our travelling exhibition and a wide selection of our retail stock) was sited to catch everybody that was on the way out. Many history enthusiasts stopped to find out more about the project, even some from Newport and Cardiff who had never heard of the Newport Medieval Ship!
It was a long day – the event closed at 9pm on the Saturday. There was a rime of frost forming on the display outside the gazebo! Time to retreat to a local hostelry for food and warmth, ready for Sunday opening, and doing it all over again. This great event finished at 4pm when we were able to strike down and get home for a Sunday dinner!
The Friends of Newport Ship intend to be out and about next year at all sorts of events, all over the country. We aim to raise awareness of the project as well as raising funds for the Ship Centre development. If you want to come and help out, to help tell our stories and inspire others to join the crew, then please get in touch. Watch our website for more details of where we are and when – and come out and see and support us.
Friends of Newport Ship 