The Viking Voyage – BCC Timewatch Documentary (2008)
An epic voyage showcasing the thrilling experience of 65 amazingly brave people who wanted to set sail from Roskilde, Denmark to Dublin, Ireland on the Viking Age reconstructed longboat ‘Havhingsten fra Glendalough’ — in translation ‘Sea Stallion from Glendalough’ — was filmed by the BBC for the historic TV series Timewatch.
The longship with which the crew sailed is a replica of the Skuldelev 2 ship which is on display at the Roskilde Ship Museum. The original Skuldelev 2 longboat was constructed in circa 1042 in the proximity of Dublin. The reconstructed version of this vessel is 29 metres long and can carry 60 oarsmen.
Havhingsten fra Glendalough (Sea Stallion from Glendalough), a reconstructed Norse longship under construction at the dockyards in Roskilde (2003). Image source: Wikimedia Commons
The crew had quite a difficult task on through their maritime route from Roskilde, on the island of Zealand (Danish: Sjælland), Denmark to Dublin, Ireland. For a start, they sailed along the straits of Kattegat (between southern Sweden and Denmark), and then Skagerrak (between southern Norway and Denmark), making a brief stop at Stavanger, in Norway.
Subsequently, the Sea Stallion from Glendalough continued its quest and set sailed once again from Stavanger to the west, to the British Isles. The crew also made a stop in the Orkneys, before eventually sailing on the Irish Sea to Dublin. They met with harsh weather conditions and each member of the crew had only one square metre inside the longship to live, work, eat and sleep. It was a test for the reconstructed model of Skuldelev 2 which the replica fortunately managed to pass in the end.
Below you can watch the entire episode from BBC Timewatch highlighting the voyage of the Sea Stallion from Glendalough from Roskilde, Denmark to Dublin, Ireland:
- BBC Two – Timewatch, 2007-2008, Viking Voyage on www.bbc.co.uk
- The return of the Viking warship on www.news.bbc.co.uk
- Roskilde Viking Ship Museum on www.vikingeskibsmuseet.com
- Timewatch: Viking Voyage on www.open.edu
- “Timewatch” Viking Voyage (TV Episode 2008) on www.imdb.com
- Viking ship lands in Ireland after nearly 1,000 years on www.reuters.com
- Havhingsten fra Glendalough on www.viking.archeurope.info
