On Saturday a group of walkers from the small town of Neston near Liverpool, England took advantage of the glorious weather conditions to celebrate the area’s own Viking Heritage by walking between 2 churches.
This was the “Olsok walk” in celebration of St. Olave’s (Olaf’s) Day – the patron saint on Norway. In Norway the St. Olave’s walk is hundreds of miles – Neston’s answer was a modest 13 miles from St. Mary and St. Helen’s Church, which has excellent examples of Viking age stonework, to St. Olave’s Church in Chester.
Organisers Steve Harding – Professor of Biology & Viking expert at Nottingham and Dan Robinson – former Keeper of Archaeology at the Grosvenor Museum in Chester said; “Wirral Norsemen first tried to take Chester by force 1100 years ago. This time their intentions were entirely peaceful and the people of Chester were very welcoming – we’ll be back again next year”.
Neston is the same name as Nesstun near Bergen in Norway – a Viking name meaning “settlement at a promintory”
For more information visit: www.nottingham.ac.uk/-sczsteve/Olsok08.htm