Head back in time to old York (Jorvik Viking Centre)

Member Name: CTVicky

Product:	Jorvik Viking Centre
Date:	15/08/09 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Educational, good for the kids

Disadvantages: Long queue!

I visited this quirky bit of York in July 2009.

I must say, this wasn't what I was expecting. I had envisaged voluptuous ladies with plaited blonde wigs and the old viking helmets, with some old ships thrown in for good measure.

At the beginning of my visit, we were treated to a little "simulator" experience which involved watching a young man and a young woman playing dress-up on a large screen, while us in the audience were being rocked to and fro. I think that part was aimed more at the juvenile section of visitors.

The main part of the tour was an experience though. It was a ride-through which reminded me of Disneyland's "It's A Small World", only it had a very distinctive musky smell and it was more suited to worldy miners than wide-eyed minors. The displays are marvellous though. There were lots of lifelike models of the people of Jorvik and the sorts of houses they lived in.

When the ride finished, it was like being in your average museum. There were leaflets full of information you could take away with you, interactive screens and viking relics to look at.

What I particularly enjoyed was the archeological section of the centre where you can sift through old bones, pottery and rocks and learn how to identify different materials.

There was also a genuinely fascinating talk held by one of the attendants, referring to an actual skeleton dating back to the Viking period.

If you go, make sure you get there by ten o' clock in the morning as the queue tends to get infuriatingly long after that.

Summary: Definitely worth a visit when you're oop North, like.