I’ve been visiting Military Odyssey for a little more than 20 years and in all that time have missed just 3 or 4 shows, usually because I was away on the annual holiday. I’ve always been a ‘snapper’ (amateur photographer) and never failed to take many, many pictures of the spectacle that is Military Odyssey. In 2006 I switched to digital photography and have many pictures going forward from that year.
In 2015 I created this website – Trains, Tanks and Planes – as a vehicle to display my photographs featuring events that I attend. Each event is presented as a photo essay on a dedicated page and of course Military Odyssey features on a regular basis. I started off in 2016 with a Military Odyssey page but as you might expect my digital photos go back to 2006; with 2025 being the 25th year of the show I thought it would be fun to create a summary of the shows from 2006 all the way up to 2024.
So from this page you can see links to most of the shows from 2006 – 2024, with the exception of 2 years that I missed due to the afore mentioned holidays. Each page features my favourite shots from that year; in selecting the photographs I’ve looked for action, bangs and gun smoke, spectacle, action and the historical interest of the re-enactors and vehicles. The links are of two types, from 2006 to 2015 they feature a relatively few photographs with the aim of giving a flavour of the event, from 2016 to present (that’s 2024 as I write) they feature many more photographs and a more structured page broken down into particular groups and re-enactments.
Over the 20 years or so that I have been attending Military Odyssey I can say that it has changed to some degree or rather than say ‘changed’ I would say developed. It has certainly increased in duration from 2 days to 3 and, as would be expected, the re-enactment groups that attend have changed. I would also say that it is a ‘listening show’ where feedback is sought and acted upon by the organisers, simple things like the location of toilets and the location and height of safety ropes in the arena. This undoubtedly contributes towards the quality of the show and the visitor experience.
As always any omissions or errors in descriptions, captions and commentary are entirely down to me and by omission of a particular group or reenactor I mean no judgement or disrespect, it’s simply a matter of not being able to include every photograph that I take! Talking of photographs, please also consider that the quality of photographs does vary according to my own performance on the day and not least the camera equipment I had at the time, which has gradually improved from a Canon Powershot S2 to my current Canon 90D.
So with no more ado let’s move on to the shows…
The Links
So below are links to the all the individual show pages, a few brief words of context would seem appropriate.
They start at 2016 not because that is when Military Odyssey first started or even because it is when I first visited the show but because that is when I moved from print film to digital images and so I have ready access to the pictures. I have plenty of print images from earlier years but they are all stored away in storage boxes and not easily accessible.
The years 2006 – 2015 are short reviews, that is a collection of photos from my archives for the particular year and rely on my memory for any supporting commentary. 2016 onwards are what I consider to be rather fuller photo essays and created in the year of the show, usually within 4 weeks of the event. It follows that my supporting commentary for these years is rather a trifle more detailed and accurate.
Short Photo Essays
Full Photo Essays
And finally…
I’ll end with a few tips for those who have stumbled upon this page and are planning to to visit Military Odyssey for the very first time.
- Visit for more than one day – there is simply too much to see in one day. I always visit for three days spending one day looking at the small arena shows, one day watching the big arena battles (and vehicle run around) and one day wandering around the living history encampments.
- Buy tickets in advance – advance tickets holders get in 30 minutes before on the day buyers and there’s a discount for multi-day advance tickets.
- Bring a camera or mobile device with a good camera – there is just so much of interest and you will want to capture those memories.
- Bring a collapsible chair – if you plan on watching the battles in the big arena or the drills / demonstrations in the small arenas it can be a long time to stand up and you may as well be comfortable.
- Bring a picnic? – yes by all means if that is your preference, but be aware that all manner of food and drink is available from the traditional bacon roll to Welsh Rarebit, roast meats and curries and much more. An excellent range of ales, beers and ciders is available in the main bar and, usually, a Battle Bar near the main arena and of course soft drinks and quality coffee. Prices have always been very reasonable commensurate with other shows.
- Stay safe – the weather is usually very good for the event, but as we are in GB it can vary and quite quickly, so please do bring sun cream, a hat and water to stay hydrated. Fresh water taps are available at the show to refill water bottles.
I will end with a short piece of video that goes some way to encapsulate, for me at least, the history and excitement of Military Odyssey!
Trains, Tanks & Planes 