The Free Company of Aquitaine

10/06/2026

The weather in the UK is unpredictable at the best of times. After a heatwave at Castle Rising it decided to keep us guessing at the 555th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet, just north of London. A beautiful evening for set up on Friday was followed by a cold, wet and windy Saturday, where awnings and flags were thrown to the ground with bows, arrows & our weapons displays soaked by heavy squalls that rolled in without warning, to depart equally as fast. Thankfully the weather gods felt pity for us on Sunday, and a mercifully fine day enabled us to dry out our battered camp before pack down. As always the stalwart British public attended regardless and at times our camp was so busy they formed an orderly queue for the chance to speak with us! A heartfelt thank you to the organisers and everyone who took the time to visit us.

08/06/2026

The lads have just returned from a terrific weekend at the Barnet Medieval Festival, even if we were assaulted by high winds and heavy rain on the Saturday, a far cry from 2 weeks ago. The daily battle was particularly authentic this year! 😉 More photos to follow (with thanks to Benedict Burns for the background work).

01/06/2026

One week on from a fantastic Castle Rising event and the lads have rehydrated, linens have been washed and bruised forearms, aching shoulders and the odd patch of sunburn have healed just in time for our next foray to the Barnet Medieval Festival. In commemoration of the 555th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet, a decisive Yorkist victory in the Wars of the Roses, this year’s event is bigger than ever with two battles per day, living history camps, craft and fashion demonstrations, displays of mounted knights, archery, cannon and a medieval market. We will even have a couple of new faces in our camp!

31/05/2026

Soldiers Through The Ages at Castle Rising last weekend was everything I love about that event, coupled with some incredible weather. Rather than post the usual photos and descriptions I will let this little video I made with the lads say it all.

I hope this video gives you a flavour of the 'Soldiers Through The ...

29/05/2026

New video of our time at Castle Rising coming soon!

20/05/2026

Our second event of the season at the majestic ruin of Castle Rising in rural Norfolk is fast approaching and with the forecast of a heatwave this bank holiday weekend (23rd - 25th May) there's no excuse not to come along and experience one of the best shows in our calendar. Set within the mighty earthworks of one of the largest and best preserved medieval keeps in England the show is packed with quality living history groups, thrilling arena demonstrations, the signature moated parade and an arena finale covering 2000 years of history.

Documenting Black Knight Historical's flagship event at Castle Risi...

10/05/2026

The lads from Aquitaine have just returned from a terrific 3 days at Herstmonceux Castle over the bank holiday weekend, our first appearance there since 2016. Instead of taking photos I decided to make a little video instead. It's a new camera and a new editing package, so I have a lot to learn but I hope you like it. Best viewed in 4K. No AI was used in the making of this video. If it was we would look a lot younger!😆

During the bank holiday weekend of 2nd – 4th May 2026 I, along with Andy, Jake & Shaun of The Free Company of Aquitaine, attended the Medieval History Festiv...

28/04/2026

What better place to begin our season than Herstmonceux Castle where in 2011 Martin, Ben, Luke & I first came together to form the fledgling FCoA. Rapidly becoming the highlight of our show calendar, the cancellation of its Medieval Festival in 2022 ended a tradition that for me started way back in 2002, visiting as a member of the public, eager to learn about this potential new hobby. Resurrected under new management the event’s new look will complement our smaller, leaner and more authentic archer’s camp. It still very much a work in progress but if you are planning on visiting please come and say hello and help us get the re-enacting year off to a great start.

04/04/2026

Crecy 680th anniversary update. Many of you have been asking for more detail on the upcoming event at Crecy on 21st-23rd August this year. Rest assured the event is going ahead and the final programme is almost complete. While we are only acting as advisors for the archery we have seen the draft timetable, site plans and proposals for the many displays and activities happening each day and everything is coming together nicely. There will be a Big Shoot each day, as well as a battle. Some form of basic competency test and bow/arrow check will likely be required to attend both, as per Agincourt in 2015. Your own blunt arrows may be used for the volley, but arrows will be supplied for the battle. Re-enactment safe low poundage longbows will be required for the battle, typically around 50lbs and under. No limits are likely for the volley but range may be restricted by the available length of the field (150m). If we have armoured re-enactors within the field to give some form of target then no flat shooting will be allowed in the volley, but hopefully it will form part of the battle. We are hoping our camp will have an archery range where a warbow demo will be possible, either scheduled at a set time on the timetable or as an ongoing display throughout the day, so if that is something you would like to join just let us know. In the evening, to complement the medieval banquet, there may also be an opportunity for anyone interested to take part in various skill at arms displays. Once their plans are finalised the Crecy museum will post these on Facebook as well as on the event website. In the meantime, feel free to ask any archery-related questions below, via PM or for general enquiries visit

Il a dix ans à peine, et déjà, il passe des heures dans ses livres d’histoire. Il connaît les chevaliers, les batailles, les rois et les armoiries mieux que son propre cartable. Il se souvient des mots de son grand-père qui a participé au 650e anniversaire de la bataille de Crécy, il y a 30...