The Largs Viking Festival finishes with high flying spectacular with a breathtaking freefall from 10,000 feet by the Red Devils.

It is ‘Geronimo’ on Sunday 7 September, at 3pm, as one of the major highlights is the Parachute Regiment Freefall Team “The Red Devils” who will jump from an altitude of up to 10,000ft at speeds of up to 120mph before deploying their parachutes on Largs Prom. People will get a marvellous view on Largs north esplanade in front of Nardini’s.

Once safely under canopy, team members will demonstrate dramatic, high-speed “Swoops” and spectacular “Canopy Formations” – both unique to parachute displays in the UK – before landing in the sea off the promenade. An informative commentary is provided throughout the team’s display and team members will be available afterwards to meet spectators.

There will be a series of aerobatics displays over the weekend once again which will be performed by pilot Jim McTaggart of the VT10 Company Ltd, primarily using the aerobatic Starduster Too or one of a range of other aircraft such as a Tiger Moth, FW 190, Pitt Specials.

The festival board are delighted to welcome Les Amis d’Onno to this year’s event with their interactive “Medieval Stable” containing two horses for the public to pet, and a selection of reproduction saddles and tack ranging from Roman times through to the 17th century. The stable will be located near the Viking Village on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 September.

It is going to be a striking climax to the week of festivities, with the Red Devils, and not forgetting the traditional Party at the Pencil, including the battle re-enactment of 1263 at Bowencraig seafront, and a spectacular fireworks display on Saturday 6 September, starting at 7.30pm The Model Boat Club have a display on Sunday from 12 noon till 4pm.

The festival will have an iconic piece of steam engine history on display on the esplanade too.

George Kerr of Beith is bringing his Aveling Barford steam engine on Saturday and Sunday. This engine was bought new as a roller by Kent Council in 1935 where it worked for a time before coming north to be part of the local firm of Kings and Co, operating out of their yard in Kilbirnie.

And for ‘foodies’, try out the terrific cuisine on offer from around the world as The Global Market comes to town. It is a new development which expands on the Continental Market and operates from Wednesday to Sunday. Specialities include noodles, tartifellete, Morrocan cuisine, German sausage, Italian coffee, garden ornaments, Peruvian crafts, Italian bags and scarves, Thai crafts and much, much more. Yum yum!

* And it is a fascinating subject for this year’s Hakon Hakkonsson Lecture at the Viking Experience Theatre at Vikingar on Thursday September 4 as we find out what role the ladies played in the Viking heritage - and you may be surprised. Dr Alexandra Sanmark’s lecture ‘Norse Assemblies - an exclusively male sphere?’ starts at 8pm and is sure to be a talking point.

* For the full festival programme, go to the offical website http://www.largsvikingfestival.com/