FOR some a Bank Holiday is just not complete without some burly, red-faced blokes, grunting, swearing, and trying to hack small pieces of one another with big sharp blades and other unkind-looking things made out of steel.

At Tretower Court on Monday, there was plenty of medieval mayhem and sword action to satisfy those whose taste runs to the historic.

Alongside the savage glee of armed combat, there was also a chance to try your hand at a longbow. But this wasn’t Agincourt and practice targets were used instead of French knights.

And once you had satisfied your bloodlust by watching the likes of the rightful winner of the tournament, Sir John Norbury, go toe to toe with the lowly lord Stafford, you could enjoy a little medieval dancing, or maybe just admire some of the armour, weapons, and old-worldy cooking implements the Medieval Combat Society had brought to town to give everyone a little taste of life in the 14th century.