A man with a passion for Anglo-Saxon history is recreating the ill-fated 300-mile 20-day march of King Harold from York to Battle in Hastings weighed down with authentic four-and-a-half stone armour.
Lewis Kirkbride is due to leave on Friday and is already more than half way towards his £10,660 cash target raised for the mental health support organisation ManHealth.
1066 Battle Walk combines Lewis’s passion for the period, he’s a keen re-enactment hobbiest who has performed and mentored at festivals such as Bishop Auckland’s Kynren, with the months of training he’s undertaken to reach the level of fitness required for a cause he has a very personal stake in.
He said: “I’m thrilled that we’ve already raised so much money before I’ve set off on my 1066 Battle Walk and I’m delighted that we’re raising awareness and cash for such a worthwhile cause as ManHealth.
“With male suicide the highest its been for 20 years and County Durham experiencing the some of the worst male suicide statistics in the UK, the recent lock down and social distancing restrictions couldn’t have come at a worse time.
“King Harold facing foes on all sides and being weighed down in armour is a good metaphor for what people with depression and mental ill health are going through everyday.”
Lewis will begin his monumental progress from Stamford Bridge, outside York, to Hastings in Sussex mapping the ill-fated route of King Harold and his army as they march to fight William of Normandy.
For more information on how you to help and support the cause, email Lewis.Kirkbride@hotmail.co.uk or info@manhealth.org.uk
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