Viking replica ship arrives at St Katharine Docks

A Viking longship has arrived in London, its final stop after a two-year global voyage.

The Saga Farmann, a replica of a Viking cargo vessel, sailed along the Thames and under Tower Bridge earlier this week.

The ship is on display at St Katharine Docks in Wapping and is open to the public until Sunday morning. It will then be the main attraction at the Docks' Classic Boat Festival on 6 and 7 September.

The ship set sail from Tønsberg in Norway in April 2023, and has since spent more than two years retracing the Vikings' ancient trade routes across Europe. It sailed along the Rhine and Danube rivers in central Europe to the Black Sea in the summer of 2023 before spending the winter in Istanbul.

The ship was crewed by 14 people from around the world, with the crew changing fortnightly

The voyage continued around the Mediterranean in 2024.

However, the ship was severely damaged due to extreme weather while docked in Rome over the winter, which threatened the final leg of the journey this year.

Nonetheless, the final voyage, named the Saga Lundenwic, went off as planned, with the boat sailing up through France to the English Channel, including a stop at the UN Oceans Conference in Nice in June.

Lars Bil, project manager for the voyage, said it had "shaped me to be a world citizen"

Lars Bill, project manager for the voyage, explained how the ship's crew changed every fortnight, bringing together people from all over the world.

He said: "It's like a social experiment, you get so bonded with each other making this ship move.

"It's shaped me to be a world citizen. I've got friends from all around the world now."

The crew lived together on the boat, with no shower facilities on board.

Jazz musician Tomáš Hetmánek joined the crew after approaching Lars in Istanbul in 2023

Tomáš Hetmánek was one of those who joined the voyage, having approached Lars as the ship arrived in Istanbul in 2023.

Asked what his advice would be following the expedition, he said: "Many of us want to do something, but most of our life is spent in our dreams and in our head.

"I would say just do it, and do it now, because life is too short."

His wife Nevin said that leaving the ship was "like leaving your family behind" after two weeks together.

The Saga Farmann is a replica of the Klåstadskipet ship from AD998

The Saga Farmann, a 20-metre-long replica of the Klåstadskipet from AD998, was built by the Oseberg Viking Heritage Foundation.

Construction began in 2014, using ancient Nordic clinker techniques and traditional oak and pine wood.

The ship incorporates modern safety features, including four electric motors to assist the volunteer crew.

It has capacity for 18 crew members and is capable of speeds of 10-12 knots under sail.

The ship sailed into London on Tuesday, mooring next to London Bridge at about 22:00 BST.

It headed back out through Tower Bridge at 16:00 the next day for the short row to St Katharine Docks.

It will be joined by more than 50 other vessels at the Classic Boat Festival, including the Dunkirk Little Ships and Thames sailing barges.