WIRRAL VIKING CHURCHES HERITAGE WALK

 

 


- in conjunction with Ellesmere Port and Neston District Council, The Wirhalh Skip Felag, St. Bridget’s Church, St. Mary and St. Hilary’s Church and the Municipality of Trondheim

 


All are welcome on the Wirral Viking Churches Heritage walk

 

 

The walk – between two churches – one founded and the other associated with Viking settlers – is approximately 8 miles (12 km). Please ensure that you wear appropriate footwear, and bring food and drink to last the distance!

 

The walk can be done at any time, although from 2008 the main walk will be done as part of the Olsok Pilgrimage which will carry on right through to the Viking church of St. Olave’s Church in Chester.

  

On Saturday 28th July 2007, the inauguaral walk commenced at 10.00 am at St Bridget’s Church, West Kirby and followed the banks of the Dee Estuary along the Wirral Way to Neston where it finished at St Mary & St Helen’s Church.

St. Bridget’s West Kirby was founded by Viking settlers coming to Wirral from Dublin – St. Bridget is a patron saint of Ireland – and the church is the home of the famous 11th Century hogback tombstone.

St. Mary and St. Helen at Neston: St. Helen is also associated with Norse settlers coming via Ireland and the church houses fragments of at least two 10th century ring headed crosses, recording events from the life of a Viking couple.  One of the fragments includes the earliest depiction of a jousting contest.

 

 

Outline Route

 

·         Start 10am at St. Bridget’s Church West Kirby

·         Along the Wirral Way to Thurstaston & the current Visitor Centre or “TJ’s” café bar for refreshments

·         Continue along the Wirral Way to Neston

 

 

Detailed Route

Stage 1: St. Bridgets, vestri Kirkjubyr – Kaldeyjar

St. Bridgets church is a short (10 min) walk from West Kirby Railway station

 

St. Bridgets                                           Hogback tombstone

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 2: Kaldejyar - Thorsteinn’s tún

 

Stage 3: Thorsteinn’s tún – Hesliwella - Geittún

 





Stage 4: Geittún – Parkgata -Nesstún

 


http://www.multimap.com/

This is the end of the walk.  The Church is very close to Neston Railway Station.  At the Church of St. Mary and St. Helen you will see fragments of the magnificient 10th century Viking cross at Neston depicting scenes in the life of a local Viking couple, depicted here in this image reconstruction by Archaeologist Roger White:

Reconstruction of the 10th Century Viking cross fragments at
the Church of St. Mary and St. Helen, Neston

 

 

Enquiries: Steve Harding, Dr. Dan Robinson or Dr. Mike Morris.

 

See also
VIKING MERSEY: Scandinavian Wirral, West Lancashire and Chester. (Stephen Harding), paperback, 240 pages, Countyvise Ltd

Viking Mersey2

 

Postscript.  From 2008 the walk will also form part of a longer 2 day “Olsok” Viking Churches Heritage Walk next year: from St. Bridget’s to St. Mary and Helen (Day 1) and St. Mary and Helen to the Viking Church of St. Olave’s in Chester (Day 2) to commemorate the Festival of St. Olav, patron saint of Norway, and will take place the Saturday and Sunday nearest to St. Olav’s Day (29th July).  Olsok08 will take place on the 27th and 28th July 2008.

 

Links:

 

Wirral and West Lancashire 1100th Viking anniversary Home Page.

 

Olsok Service at St. Olave’s Church, August 2001 with Pastor Oddgeir Bolstad, Sjømannskirkja, Liverpool (approx 4min). Attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Wirral.

 

Olsok Service at St. Olave’s Church, August 2002 with Pastor Kjell Skartseterhagen, St. Olav’s Pilgrim Priest (approx 3min). Attended by the Mayoress of Wirral and her Consul, the Mayoress of Ellesmere Port and Chester and her Consul, the Lord Mayor of Chester and Mayoress and the Canon of Chester Cathedral.

 

Visit the main Olsok site, produced by Trondheim Kommune

 

St. Bridget’s Church, West Kirby

 

Visit the Ólavsøka site, St. Olav’s Festival celebrated in Faroe Islands, also in July