'Viking Boat' at Andover

As you can see from the picture it isn't really a Viking Boat but a flower display in the shape of a Viking Boat. The following is quoted from the plaque in front of the display.

The Vikings in Andover

The Viking longboat marks the Test Valley in Bloom Millennium celebrations and commemorates the story of Olaf the Viking, whose invasion of the south coast played a significant part in Andover's history.

In 994 A.D. Olaf caused such terror that king Ethelred, whose royal court was at Winchester, offered him £16,000 in 'Danegeld' with which Ethelred tried to secure the safety of the nation. In return Olaf was confirmed as a Christian by Bishop Alphege at the church in Andover and gave his word he would never come to England again as an enemy. Olaf later became King of Norway and used poets, traders and voyagers to spread the Christian word through his land. During his rampage through southern England it is thought that Olaf and his army set up camp at Danes camp, a small enclosure on the River Test between Longstock and Leckford.

Longboat and Oarsmen by Colin Philips and Andy Frost
Commissioned by Test Valley Borough Council 2000