A FESTIVAL devoted to York’s Viking settlers and fearless warriors is returning to the city in February.

JORVIK Viking Festival is the largest Norse-themed festival in Europe, regularly attracting over 40,000 visitors to York, and this year, the festival returns to the roots of the Vikings, telling the story of how they first arrived before creating the capital of Viking-age England.

Invasion: The Dawn of Viking York, will feature many of the festival’s trademark events, including the call to battle as the Viking hordes march from York Minster to Coppergate, on Saturday, February 17, from 1pm.

An encampment will run for the duration of the festival in Parliament Street, enabling visitors to get up close with the Vikings on the move, learning what they traded, the clothes that they wore and the sagas they shared around the fire.