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Thousands turn out for Viking Festival finale
Flame torch-wielding warriors on the march at Sheringham's Scira Viking Festival finale.Photo: KAREN BETHELL - Credit: Archant
Sheringham's eighth annual Scira Viking Festival drew to a spectacular close, with crowds in their thousands turning out to watch more than 150 re-enactors accompany a 28ft longship through the town for a ceremonial boat-burning on the beach.
A parade led by a group of flame torch-wielding warriors made its way down the high street on Saturday night, closely followed by the wooden boat, which was ferried on a trailer to the seafront by a team of re-enactors led by festival founder Colin Seal.
Families lined the promenade and clifftops to watch as re-enactors from Gorelston-based Wuffa Viking and Saxon Re-enactment Society set the boat alight with their torches before firing flaming arrows into the blazing vessel.
Town mayor Madeleine Ashcroft said the festival was a "tremendous boost" to the town.
She added: "It brings the whole community together, it helps the local economy and it showcases Sheringham for the rest of the year."
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