Exciting new interactive walkway receives £8k award from Tesco’s Bags of Help campaign

The Road to Agincourt programme is delighted to announce that it has been awarded £8K from inspiring Tesco’s Bags of Help initiative.

The generous funding will be used to create an imaginative digital interactive walkway – The King’s Great Ships Trail – through Manor Farm Country Park, leading to the wreck of the Grace Dieu at the bottom of the River Hamble that will bring to life the area’s connections to its medieval past.

Using the latest digital technology, the woodland trail will tell the story of King Henry V’s flagship and its medieval connections to the region. It will feature a soundscape filled with medieval music, historical facts and and tales of how the “biggest ship in the world” was constructed in Southampton Docks, and how its wreckage came to lay at the bottom of the River Hamble.

Caroline Silke, Head of Community at Tesco, said:

“Bags of Help has been a fantastic success. We have been overwhelmed by the response of our customers and the feedback has been brilliant. We can’t wait to see the money being put to use bringing these projects to life.

Nominations for the next round of the initiative will open in April and we look forward to helping a further round of groups and projects bag their share of the bag charge fund.”

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch the scheme, and the funding received was thanks to public voting in stores, which saw grants of £8,000, £10,000 and £12,000 raised from the 5p bag charge awarded to environmental and greenspace projects.

Nominations are open all year around and the second round of applications opens next month, with customers given another chance to vote for projects in store.

The King’s Great Ships Interactive Trail will be officially launched at a special Medieval Weekend at Manor Farm Country Park on the weekend of July 30 and 31. As well as the grand unveiling the FREE weekend will feature a host of family-friendly entertainment including historical re-enactments, a medieval village complete with leather workers, pole turners, felters and authentic cooking and singing demonstrations from the period. There will also be the chance to meet archaeologists working on the wreck of the Grace Dieu. Plus the opportunity to take part in medieval sports and dancing and watch tales from the past brought to life.

The Road To Agincourt is a two-year project linked to the 600^th anniversary of the battle of Agincourt run by the Culture Unit of Eastleigh Borough Council. The battle was an iconic moment in English history and had a lasting impact on the local landscape of Hampshire. The Road To Agincourt is working with The Berry Theatre in Hedge End, local organisations, schools and community groups to explore new interpretations of the battle and to raise awareness of the region’s rich and significant medieval history.

Dr Cheryl Butler, Head of Culture at Eastleigh Borough Council and who leads the Road To Agincourt Programme, said:

“We are so grateful to Tesco for this award, it will enable us to enhance the trail and introduce an important part of England’s maritime history to locals and visitors to Manor Farm Country Park.”