Over the weekend (26 – 27 July), Canbury Gardens transformed into a 925 Saxon village, the year King Athelstan, the first king of a united England, was crowned in the heart of Kingston.

As part of Kingston 2025, the gardens saw a group of Saxon re-enactors invite thousands of people from across London to Athel's Town and show them what life was like living in England 100 years ago.

Kicking things off at 10am on Saturday (26 July), the re-enactors invited visitors to watch them in some warrior training, which showed visitors how warriors of the time prepared for battle.

This was then followed by a parade and presentation of the crowning of King Athelstan to the people of Kingston from 12pm – 1pm.

During the presentation, the re-enactors explained how the King chose to be crowned with a crown like the Holy Roman Emperor had been rather than with a battle helmet as was the general tradition for kings before Athelstan's crowning.

The parade began on the other side of Kingston Bridge (Credit: Kingston Council)

From 1.15pm – 1.45pm, there was a fabulous falconry flying display and from 5pm – 6pm, the event saw live music from New Malden's The New MUGs who performed bangers by a variety of artists from Elvis to Miley Cyrus using a ukulele.

Visitors enjoyed watching the falconry flying display (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

To end the day, from 6pm – 8pm, soul band, Soul Rites performed well-known soul hits from across the decades.

On Sunday (27 July), the morning kicked off with Virtual Reality Athelstan, a digital unveiling of the monument to King Athelstan, experienced entirely in Virtual Reality.

This was then followed by another re-enactment of the crowning of the King, which saw the re-enactors parading through the gardens.

Visitors enjoyed watching the re-enactment of King Athelstan's crowning (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

In the afternoon, visitors were invited to watch another falconry flying display and a display showcasing battles of the period.

The day ended with some live music from the Tony Heilberg Folk Rock Band, which performed upbeat versions of British dance music from medieval times up through the 19^th Century.

Throughout the weekend, local businesses set up stalls selling food and drink, including The Cheeky Pea, offering its usual halloumi or falafel pittas as well as medieval hot dogs, a candy floss stall, and the Park Brewery, which offered a variety of beverages including canned Athelstan beer.

The Cheeky Pea set up stall (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

Moreover, local charities and organisations set up stall to keep visitors entertained throughout the weekend.

Among these was the Surbiton Community Forge, which was selling little trinkets all handmade with its bellows and invited visitors to have a go on one of its bellows.

One part of the event that amazed me was that the re-enactors remained in character throughout the weekend - even while relaxing in the Saxon village in between displays.

The re-enactors remained in character throughout the weekend (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

One re-enactor told Nub News that she finds it "very interesting" learning how people of the time lived and experiencing their reality.

Among the visitors was the Mayor of Kingston, Cllr Noel Hadjimichael, Kingston's Town Crier, Mike Seigel, and the leader of Kingston Council, Cllr Andreas Kirsch.

The Mayor of Kingston, Cllr Noel Hadjimichael, had a go on Surbiton Community Forge's bellows (Credit: Kingston Council)

Speaking about the event, Cllr Kirsch said: "It's great to have thousands of people from both the local area and afar come and enjoy Athels Town and to put Kingston back on the map."