Largs: Mastermind's Magnus Magnusson at Viking Fest in 2001

Magnus is pictured outside the Vikingar in 2001 with Lord Glasgow, Council Convener Sam Taylor, Cllr Elizabethe Marshall and Viking guards.

Magnus Magnusson officially declared the festival open on Wednesday, September 3, 1980, having just presented a documentary on the Vikings for the BBC. He also gave the first Haakon Haakonsson lecture, which was appropriately held in The Nordic Suite of the Royal Hotel.

The giant metal statue of Magnus the Viking was put in place on the Prom in 2013, the 750th anniversary of the Battle of Largs (1263), in memory of Magnus.

Magnus Magnusson also wrote about the Norse warriors and their real attributes. His indispensable book of the Viking period presented a rounded and fascinating picture of a people who, in modern eyes, would seem to embody striking contradictions. They were undoubtedly pillagers, raiders and terrifying warriors, but they were also great pioneers, artists and traders - a dynamic people, whose skill and daring in their exploration of the world has left an indelible impression a thousand years on.

Also pictured in 2001, Debbie and Linda Sutherland invite visitors to visit the traditional Viking Village on the promenade - the attraction for kids and adults alike.

The Largs Players had a Mother Goose float on the Viking parade to promote their 2001 pantomime with some well kent faces including the late and much missed Frank McCarrey.

Flying the Flag were The Norwegian Kongsgardmoen Skolekorps providing some additional colour and music to the parade, just as they were passing Nardinis in 2001.

And the Viking crowds were out in force for the famous battle re-enactment which then took place at Largs Pencil, where it had traditionally been for over 20 years before moving locations in later years.