Acorns’ Trip to York

On Saturday, the Acorns made the long journey to York, where they had been hoping to go because they are studying the topic of language roots, and a large amount of English is probably inherited from the Vikings.

After Oxford to Birmingham to York, and many train platforms, their first destination was close – Jorvik Viking Centre. This was a museum built upon the site of an ancient Viking town and it was meticulously recreated, with robots acting as people who lived in the town and a commentary to tell people what was happening. Afterwards, there was a gallery of Viking artefacts dug up by archeologists (such as skeletons, axes and jewellery!), two lectures and a specially made coin to show the style of a real Viking one.

They also visited Barley Hall, a big house recreated exactly how it would have looked hundreds of years ago. Everything was the same: the furniture, the interior design, the jewels, and some of the wood was the same wood used at the time! The Acorns were there to see the magic and mystery exhibition, which was a fabulous experience. They played medieval games, used the costume cupboard, learnt what real mandrakes are and even had a go at reading each other’s palms.

Then they tumbled down into the Shambles – a beautiful old street said to have been the inspiration for some of the Harry Potter movie scenes. They had a look at the street names, and the vast majority of them end in -gate, which is Viking influence (street).

Thank you to Lucinda, one of our Acorns girls in Inters, for her contribution.