Knucklas 17 was an Iron Age Festival held this summer by Knucklas Castle Community Land Project at Knucklas Castle on the Welsh border.
The day was great fun – full of different things about the Iron Age, including the playing of a replica mighty Carnyx which lead a procession down the hill. This an enormous horn with a boars head at the end which has been found by archaeologists in early Celtic sites, and we imagined a time two thousand years earlier when perhaps this horn had been played on our castle’s slopes – in battles or in ceremonies – we can only guess.
We ate delicious organic food, while admiring the stunning views across the Teme Valley, practiced ancient crafts including weaving, pottery, wood-turning and fire-making and learnt about Iron Age crops and ancient farming methods. In the daytime there were guided nature walks through the woods to the top and treasure hunts. There was a camp fire, a barbeque and drinks and various performances in the marquee: story-telling, hilarious solos, poetry, folk and jazz, all M.C’d by Ian Marchant disguised as a roving druid.
We were able to raise further badly needed funds for the Project and thank you so much Vegware for your support!
Knucklas Castle Community Land Project.
is a non-profit-making cooperative which manages 21 acres of land in the village of Knucklas in the Welsh borders. The castle is a listed ancient monument, though little remains above ground, and the site is of great natural beauty with stunning views from the summit in all directions. It has a rich heritage of history and legend, from the many struggles between the Mortimers and the Welsh kings to ancient myths of Arthur and Guinevere.
The Project has made paths with a sculpture trail to the top. Here sheep graze on a managed programme to encourage the wild flowers which now flourish. On the lower slopes the woods have traces of ancient woodland and lower still a community orchard has been planted and community allotments established. Here food is grown organically, and there are bees and chickens and some of the produce is sold to support the Project. We aim to give everyone from local villagers to those further afield the chance to build a sustainable relationship with the environment.
The Land Project hopes to raise enough money to purchase the land outright.
