Wales Medieval Festival – The Tournament

As a persistent traveler I don’t often get to sit down and watch a TV show at the time it’s broadcast.

So the fact streaming services like Netflix and Now TV have become so popular in recent years is a godsend. Especially when I have hours to kill in an airport – I can fire up my laptop and binge watch a show.

But it’s not just travelers that do this, and people all over the world have been logging on to watch shows like Breaking Bad online.

 

But when it comes to shows which are incredibly popular online, there’s one which tops the lot – Game of Thrones.

 

It’s proved such a hit people haven’t stopped talking about it, and there have even been GoT festivals set up, including one not far from my native Northern Ireland.

 

Hop on a ferry across the Irish Sea to Holyhead on Anglesey in Wales, then drive across the island to the Welsh mainland and you’ll reach Conwy, which is home to what might be the UK’s first GoT festival.

Last month the whole town turned into a Welsh version of King’s Landing when it hosted a Game of Thrones style medieval themed festival.

 

The festival, which was called The Tournament, included jousting displays, jesters, an archery tournament, and naturally a huge feast of a banquet.

 

It wasn’t just warfare though, there were medieval wool markets, with visitors able to buy knitted memorabilia – which admittedly is a little bit odd. They were found in the middle of the town and replicated the way Conwy would have been hundreds of years ago, when it was a massive trading centre for wool produced by Welsh hill farmers.

More than 20,000 people turned out for the event, which was organised by Conwy’s chamber of commerce, Visit Wales, Conwy Town Council and Conwy County Council.

So maybe next time I head home to Northern Ireland I’ll time it to coincide with the Tournament and stop off at a Welsh holiday home.