Hesliwella! - that's what Heswall was called by Vikings - unleash your inner Norseperson this Thursday and Saturday with a Viking Heritage Walk

Above: a gallery of pictures

The 14th St. Olav's Wirral-Chester Viking Heritage walks are taking place very soon, and offer you a chance to understand how, around AD902, Norsemen, led by a chap called Ingimund, settled in this part of the world 'in great numbers' and left a lasting mark on the area.

The walks began in conjunction with the Grosvenor Museum in Chester and the Municipality of Trondheim in Norway in 2008, and are powered by the knowledge of Viking expert, Wirral-born Professor Steve Harding of the University of Nottingham.

Steve is a biochemist, not an historian: "I was brought up in Wirral," he says, "but I didn't actually know much about its Viking past until by chance – as a final year physics student – I stumbled across a book on Scandinavian England in my college library. Half the book seemed to be about Wirral.

"I was astounded and ever since I have been fascinated by the Vikings."

Every year at the end of July thousands of Norwegians walk many miles in the direction of Trondheim to celebrate their greatly loved patron saint St. Olav.

As Steve once discovered, Wirral is steeped in Viking heritage. For example, Ingimund gave the peninsula its own saga; there's the site of a former assembly or parliament at Thingwall; and the port at Meols - while Viking genes are present in old Wirral families.

This year, as Steve explains, things have been changed to allow greater accessibility: "In the past we've had either a single or two walks lasting 9-13 miles and these have been a bit of a slog, so this year we are having three shorter walks."

For the first walk on Thursday (St. Olav's Day) at 6pm, enthusiasts and St. Olav's pilgrims will meet at Chester Railway Station and walk via St. Johns Church to St. Olave's Church, believed to be on the site of an older church founded by the Norse Viking settlers.

Then, on Saturday morning at 9am, enthusiasts will meet at Denhall Quay at Neston (Denhall derives from an Old Norse name "the Danes' spring", and Neston "the settlement at the promontory"), and walk through to the Church of St. Mary and St. Helen, home to an amazing set of Viking Age fragments, which once formed part of at least two 10th century ring headed crosses, one of which - recording events from the life of a Viking couple - has been beautifully reconstructed and displayed.

Then at 12 noon on the Saturday enthusiasts will gather at Thurstaston (meaning "Thorsteinn's farmstead" in old Viking) Visitor Centre for the third and final walk to St Bridget's Church at West Kirby ("the West Village of the Church") where there is a stained glass window dedication to St Olav.

St. Bridget's Church was also founded by Viking settlers and enthusiasts will see the fabulous Viking hogback in the Church, along with other artefacts from the Viking Age in the Charles Dawson Brown Museum – after, promises Steven, a cup of Viking tea.

Steve adds: "We would like to stress that, in common with the walks in Norway, walkers and St Olav's pilgrims come at their own risk – we only provide a guide. People should bring sensible footwear and water."

In terms of accessibility, wheelchair users should be able to take part in Walks 1 and 3.

For more information about the walks, visit the St Olav's website by clicking or tapping here.

And please email Steve if you'd like to take part. His address is: [email protected]

If you'd like to introduce youngsters to the Vikings in Wirral, Steven has even created a Key Stage 2/3 learning resource - and you can find it right here.