Frosty fun and frightful fancy dress at our winter training

A New Year means only one thing – a new reenactment season will soon be upon us! And the members of the Earl of Manchester’s Regiment of Foote got an early start by travelling from all over the country to attend our annual training event in Yorkshire.

This was a chance to see our friends again, have a great time, and prepare for the season ahead. It was a cold and frosty weekend, with temperatures barely rising above freezing all weekend, but that made the two days of friendship and fun all the more warming!

Aside from getting together for a fun shindig, this annual event gives us the chance to dust off our kit and get back into the reenactment habit in time for the Battle of Nantwich on 24 January. This is the first proper event of the season and a favourite of ours; last year Manchester’s won the Rosebowl, the award for ‘best regiment’, at Nantwich and so last weekend we were back in kit to train for the occasion. The weekend takes place at an outdoor centre run by the Scouts, which makes it perfect for marching onto the training field, where members tried to remember their drill manoeuvres and get back into the swing of things. As well as practicing our drill display, our members brushed up on their sword-fighting skills with some one-on-one duelling and took part in some musket firing, which looked gorgeous in the winter sunshine. 

We were joined by a brand new member of the regiment – Ives – who came on a temporary membership and tried their hand at drumming, though a slight logistical snafu meant a pair of wooden spoons had to double up as drum sticks! That didn’t stop them though and they had a whale of a time with their new reenactment family!

Although this was meant to be a training event, it turns out there was still danger lurking for our troops…

@english.civil.war

What would you do in the face of this threat?? 🤣🤣🤣 We had an amazing time at our winter training weekend near Bradford, where we indulged in two kinds of war – the historical kind … and the @nerf kind! So even if they can’t take to the battlefield, our younger members can still take on the might of the Parliamentarian army! #Nerf #NerfGuns #Reenactment #Fun #FYP @The Sealed Knot

♬ original sound – Earl of Manchester’s Regiment

All keen to get back in from the cold, we retired to the Scout hut where we looked back at the previous 12 months and rewarded those members who have made important contributions to the life of the regiment, and who deserve recognition for making this hobby of ours so much fun. So, it’s congratulations to the 2026 award-winners:

After everyone contributed to a potluck dinner, it was time to kick back and have some fun – the evening was filled with fun and games, as well as our customary fancy dress This year’s theme was ‘vampires’ and everyone – young and old – threw themselves into it with everything from classic caped fiends to vampire hunters to familiar characters from What We Do In The Shadows.

While a never-ending game of Nerf happened around us, we had our now traditional game of Taskmaster – or rather ‘TaskMancster’ – with four teams competing to win at pointless tasks including making the tallest tower out of marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti, cutting a vegetable exactly in half, putting something surprising under a mug, and trying to throw paper aeroplanes onto a target on the floor!

@english.civil.war

Who hit the target with their paper plane?? 🎯🎯 At the weekend we had our annual training event in Yorkshire. This was a chance to see our friends again, have a great time, and prepare for the season ahead. It was a cold and frosty weekend, with temperatures barely rising above freezing all weekend, but that made the two days of friendship and fun all the more warming! After a day of training, we had our now traditional game of Taskmaster – or rather ‘TaskMancster’ – with four teams competing to win at pointless tasks including making the tallest tower out of marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti, cutting a vegetable exactly in half, and putting something surprising under a mug. Teams then had to try and throw paper aeroplanes onto a target on the floor – with some mixed results 🤣🤣🤣 #PaperPlane #Taskmaster #Fun #FunWithFriends #FYP cc. @Taskmaster

♬ original sound – Earl of Manchester’s Regiment

What an amazing weekend with amazing people, filled with laughter and fun. We’re now all back home and recovering but can’t wait to head to Nantwich on 24 January.

Make sure you check out the details for the Battle of Nantwich and, if you want to be a part of this fantastic gang, we have a packed schedule of events planned for 2026 so why not join us and experience this for yourself? You could be taking part for as little as £10, with your historical kit provided! This hobby has something for everyone and by joining our regiment you could: