Tucked away in the rolling plains of Three Hills, Alberta is an absolute gem called Good Knights Medieval Encampment.
The camp is run by a husband and wife duo, Sir Daniel and Lady Linda, who have a long-standing passion for re-enacting the middle ages. Together, they’ve created an experience that feels just as authentic as it is fun and unique. Let's explore the story and scene of this one-of-a-kind medieval experience combined with a yurt stay.
The Story Behind Good Knights
We learned that Daniel and Linda met long ago as teenagers and, while on a high school trip to England, they fell in love with all things medieval. Over the years they got involved in medieval re-enacting, medieval crafts, costuming, archery, and sword fighting.
When Linda and Daniel moved to the scenic area of Three Hills AB, they began hosting an annual medieval festival for their friends and family – with lots of fun activities like archery, crafts, sword fighting, and of course a medieval feast. This festival continues (13th year) and has grown to host around 100 people each year.
A few years ago they thought about turning their passion into a business.
They searched around for other medieval venues and similar encampments, and discovered that there were way fewer of these camps than expected - and none in North America (all in England or Western Europe).
Thus Linda and Daniel took matters into their own hands and expanded their facilities to offer a festival-like experience to the public. Building on what they knew worked this is a very effective way to become popular.
A Unique Experience for All to Enjoy - Including Medieval Yurts
Now heading into its fifth year, the ‘Good Knights Medieval Encampment’ offers a unique and fun experience for people of all ages.
The actual encampment itself offers guests their choice of several deluxe medieval tents, as well as a Mongolian yurt for overnight stays. All the tents are built on wooden platforms, with electricity and attached bathrooms. Each has a comfortable bed, electric heater, and bedding, and is decorated with chest and rich tapestries.
We had the pleasure of staying in their medieval yurt – which they bought from Groovy Yurts in 2020.
It had a lovely queen-sized bed and a double futon bed and was luxuriously decorated with wall hangings, furs, and rugs. They even built a private washroom onto the side of the structure and provided seating on the outdoor platform that made for a lovely breakfast setting (which they serve to you in the morning).
Linda and Daniel really liked the concept of the yurt but found other companies' yurts were of poor design and low quality. A friend had one of these that they used for summer campouts, but they found that it would not hold up to being set up for an entire season’s use.
After some research, they found Groovy Yurts and liked the sturdy, authentic structure of the Groovy Lite – a simplified version of the traditional 5-wall.
Beyond the Yurt - Great Property, Wonderful Hosts
The property also includes an outdoor kitchen containing anything you may need to cook and serve personal food, a feast hall, a fully stocked costume closet, and an archery range.
Guests are never bored as there is a range of exciting activities to try; such as siege engine demos, sword classes, craft classes (such as lucent hand weaving, embroidery, leather craft, etc.), and long-bow archery (all included). Breakfast (served at your tent) is also included. Guests who stay on a weekend also get to experience a 5-course medieval feast – served in one of the two feast halls (no buffets – as this is not a medieval feast).In 2020 some activities, such as public feasts, were put on hold due to safety concerns from COVID.
They hope to res the public feasts in 2021 as things begin to return to normal.
We did get the chance to try long-bow archery, which is not as easy as one may think. Many of the first few rounds of our arrows ended up in the faraway grass - rather than anywhere remotely close to the targets (we did get better).
However, we looked very fashionable wearing our medieval costumes (which they provide on arrival).
When in Calgary, Red Deer or Southern Alberta
We highly recommended that if you get the chance to head to this magical site, try out the archery, and while you’re at it, try all the activities you can. We guarantee, you’re going to want to bring all your friends back to Good Knights, regardless of what age you are. Some would go so far as to say, “It’s better than Disneyland."
You can find more information about the Good Knights Medieval Encampment on their website at www.goodknights.ca or on social media @goodknightscanada.
