2026
YORK 24/25 May 2026
The logistics for our displays at this site in 2026 were challenging.
As before access to the Museum and gardens is limited to certain times each day which makes things more complicated.
On site the room on the ground floor of The Museum we used for kitting up last year was not available and we had to take the kit boxes up two floors which was hard work.
Three displays were given each day to enthusiastic crowds.
Our main contact Jim Butler was, as usual, very helpful and is a good friend of the Guard.
LimesFest, Archaeological Park, Xanten (APX). June 12 –16 2026.
At one time our numbers for this job were over 40 however drop outs reduced us to 35.
Due to Covid restrictions we had not been the APX since 2018. We were to go in 2020 but lockdown put an end to that. This trip can be summed up in two parts. The journeys which were difficult, to say the least, and the time at Xanten which was good.
14 members set out from Guard HQ at 2am on Friday 12th June in the Disco with trailer and three LWB vans. A 17 seat minibus with 12 on board left an hour later. The first problem was the M25 which was closed between junctions 10 and 11 meaning we had to take diversions and lose time. All vehicles except the minibus then had to go into the new, since Brexit, customs facility at Sevington Kent to get our ATA Carnet paperwork stamped. This took another hour. Our late arrival at Dover Ferry Port meant we missed our allotted Ferry and had to take the next. At Calais due to the vans taking a wrong turn we lost a further two hours before the paperwork was processed.
To get through the Kennedy Tunnel at Antwerp is at best difficult. The later you get into the day the worse the traffic gets. We crawled at 2 miles an hour. Once clear of Antwerp the journey was straight forward with the last vehicle arriving at the APX at 9.30pm some 7 hours later than anticipated.
At the Park we were billeted in two 10x5 meter tents outside a building with toilets and a place to store and put on our kit. This worked well. However the building was a long way from our static display camp and the display field.
After erecting our static display camp on Saturday morning a quick 20 minute rehearsal with the other groups knocked us into some sort of shape.
Two displays took place each day together with a parade (Pompa) in between.
The displays went well and it was a sight for the public to see 150 Roman Soldiers displaying together making two large Testudos and four Wedges. The Guard led the Pompa on both days.
On Monday, a free day, roughly half of the group travelled to Oosterbeck, near Arnhem where after a very pleasant lunch we visited the Airborne Museum dedicated to the men who took part in the unsuccessful landings in 1944.
Unfortunately the drivers followed their satnavs and we missed certain features. Those who did not go to the Airborne Museum stayed to explore the APX and Xanten itself.
We hoped the return journey would not be as difficult as the one going. At Calais the P and O people said we had the wrong paperwork and tried to charge us an extra £500. Another hour was lost at Sevington, Kent waiting for the paperwork to be processed again and an accident on the M4 caused further delays meaning we got back to HQ 4 hours later than expected.
VINDOLANDA 11/12 JULY 2026
The Guard gave two displays each day to the public. The weather stayed fine on both days.
The lecture room in the Headley Centre is now being used as a library and could not be used, as before, to kit up. By putting cardboard and pieces of carpet on the floor, to protect from our hobnails, we were able to kit up in the Robin Birley Archaeology Centre near to the west entrance. This proved to be a lot more convenient. We set up our static camp near the Archaeology Centre and this too made things much easier.
We were billeted in the Headley Centre which has beds available for half of us. Others were on camp beds. The centre had a TV so, in the evening, members were able to watch England beat Norway in the Football World Cup.
On Friday evening we devoured meals in the Twice Brewed pub and on Saturday evening went to the County Hotel in Hexham.
CHESTER HOUSE ESTATE 25/26 JULY 2026
The Carpenters Arms in Irchester was able to provide meals for over twenty members on Friday evening with a prior booking.
Due to the fact we were nearly eaten alive by mosquitoes last year, in the large marquee, the organiser arranged for us to sleep on the first floor of the Museum building which was ideal.
Two displays were given each day to large crowds. We had asked for the rabbit holes to be filled before we arrived, so we did not have any injuries this year.
There was a BBQ on Saturday evening and bacon butties on Sunday morning in the estate courtyard.
The weekend went well.
ROMAN ARMY MUSEUM, GREENHEAD ,HADRIAN’S WALL 1/2 AUGUST 2026
Eight members turned out for this makers weekend where we showed the public how we make our kit. A good number of public turned up on the first day but less on the second day. It was great to see Pat Birley.
BIRDLIP ROMAN FESTIVAL 18 AUGUST 2026
Guard members gathered at Oakland Farm on Saturday 17th to prepare kit and to go to Birdlip and erect our static camp. In the evening members enjoyed a BBQ on the decking at the Farm.
On Sunday morning before we were able to move the BBQ cooking took place at 6am under the window where the lady of the house sleeps. This did not go down well at all!
The logistics at Birdlip are not easy. We start the day by marching from the village hall to the display site. In order to do this, we have to kit up in the Village Hall and then send our kit boxes, with our modern clothes, up to the display site before the public arrive. This is carefully planned and timed. However, things were made more complicated by two members who decided at the last minute they would not march meaning their kit was in the wrong place. Also, one member complicated the arrangements by deciding at this busy time it was essential he clean his kit.
Marching from the Village Hall there was, as last year, a large crowd waiting to see us march along Ermine Street and then follow us to the site. Two displays were given during the day to appreciative crowds. However, the weather was very hot, and we were grateful when the organisers bought us all a drink at the bar at the end of the day.
Back at HQ kit was unloaded and members departed to their various homes.
GLOUCESTER HISTORY FESTIVAL, BLACKFRIARS PRIORY, GLOUCESTER 19 SEPT 2026.
After telling some members they weren’t needed on this job six members who were down to come dropped out for a variety of reasons. Usually this would be a big problem but on this occasion the reduction in numbers was to our benefit as the site did not lend itself to a larger turnout than the 14, we had.
After Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries Blackfriars Priory avoided demolition by being bought by a wool merchant who in the medieval period converted parts of the site to living accommodation and other parts to a wool factory.
After setting up a one leather tent, three trestle table camp we kitted up in the Scriptorium Buttery before giving two presentations, on a small grass area, during the day. Our displays were fitted around the lecture programme which took place in the main hall, so the day was rather disjointed with periods when there were very few people around,