Farewell to Viking longboat

Jan 9 2009 by Richard Fletcher, The Journal

STANDING in a field in the wilds of Northumberland, a Viking longboat is an unusual sight to come across – but it will not be there much longer.

The 23ft replica oak craft, which has brought history to life for many schoolchildren, is being taken to the Midlands and will no longer appear at fairs and events in Northumberland.

The boat will be lost to the region when its creator, Neil Wallace, emigrates to Canada to start a new life as a software engineer.

Mr Wallace, 44, from The Lee, Longframlington, who was among the 50 greatest Northumbrians in a recent list, said: “I had a number of prospective projects and demonstrations fail to find funding.

“There’s a market here but it’s all gone. It was a business and I was enjoying it.

“It’s quite something to see these things – the real McCoy rather than just in books. I made sure children got to hold them, to feel the weight and realise how hard life was. I can make anything. If someone wanted me to make a castle I could sit down and work it out.”

Mr Wallace has demonstrated his crafts and discussed history at numerous events, making artefacts through his business, Grizzly Products. He has spoken to thousands of Northumbrians and brought history to life for many school groups, even dressing up as a Viking. But his unusual skills will be lost to Northumberland when he leaves for Canada with county council IT worker wife Gill, and three-year-old daughter Naomi.