A young girl in a pinafore is studiously pushing whole grains of wheat into a small hole then turning the stone handle to produce course flour, collected on a cream sheet.

The sound of clashing steel breaks the serenity as two soldiers dressed in armour wield their heavy swords in a carefully orchestrated sword fight. Nearby arrows rest in a hand-made willow quiver, tips facing downward and feathers fluttering in the breeze.

Men and women bustle around the open-sided tent which is the camp kitchen, preparing the evening meal using wooden tools and heavy black metal pans. A young lad pushes a stick into the ground and stands beside his father, taking it in turns to throw a circle of woven sticks towards the marker in a game of quoits.

The encampment represents the time of the Glyndwr revolt of the 1400s and is set in the picturesque grounds of Loggerheads Country Park, near Mold, as part of Denbighshire Countryside Service's contribution to National Archaeology Week.

All those taking part in the re-enactment are from the Samhain Welsh Medieval Society which was founded about 17 years ago by Michael Roberts. He is called the Penteulu, which translates as head of the family, which is what a leader of a war band was known as.

Over the course of a weekend in July, members of Samhain transported visitors to the park back to the turbulent Middle Ages and the uprising of Owain Glyndwr. Group members shared their knowledge and expertise with the visitors as they gave demonstrations of cooking, craft and combat while dressed in hand-made clothes of that period.

Samhain member for the last 15 years, Fred O'Brien, says: "Living history is a very absorbing hobby. It's something families can do together and there are several family groups in the society. It's an excellent way of educating youngsters in that they are enjoying this but actually learning about history which is very important in my opinion.

"Knowing what has gone before gives you a good idea of what might happen next," he says.

Fred is a designer who plays the role of "Brendan the scribe" who was born in Donegal and orphaned after his family was slaughtered by marauding English soldiers around 1330.

He describes the group as local history enthusiasts who make as much of the camping and clothing kit as they can. Fred says thousands of people are now "doing" living history in this country.

"There is an entire industry built around it," he says, adding magazines, leather and wood workers are servicing the living history devotees.

Around the world, there are groups re-enacting periods from Roman times through to the Second World War, says Fred. "It is very engrossing."

He says children and adults tend to find history more interesting when the group is dressed in clothes of the period rather than in jeans and trainers.

Fred's 11-year-old grandson, George Bennett, says his role is to be a medieval boy and he really likes being a part of the group. "I like archery and sword fighting and helping to cook and everybody is friendly," he says. George really enjoys it when the group goes to various castles around Wales, where they sometimes camp.

"I have been into history since I was about five-years-old," he says enthusiastically, adding he likes the medieval times the most.

John Garner lives in North Wales and is a cellar technician during the week but on many weekends throughout the year, he dons his medieval clothes and becomes John of Hallam, a captain of archery.

He says his character is a down-at-heel English nobleman's son who wears leather riding boots, chain mail armour and carries a sword. John says owning a sword or armour in those days was only for the wealthy and the cost of a good quality sword then is the equivalent of owning a Ferrari now and having full-plate body armour then is like owning a mansion now.

Around John's waist is a long leather belt with various leather sheaths and a leather pouch which was carried instead of a wallet. In the pouch he carries hammer-pressed metal coins and says often soap, a knife and spoon and perhaps a toothpick would be stored in there also. Wooden rosary beads dangle from his belt.

John's passion for bringing history alive began when he joined a re-enactment group and was a member for 20 years. He is now a member of Samhain. Back then, they wore biker boots rather than the hand-made boots made specifically for that era. "Over the years you make your own gear and it's more authentic," he says.

In his spare time, John reads many history books. "There's always something you can learn and always old books around in old bookshops as well as new books coming out all the time about medieval times."

Tess Price is a member of Samhain, along with her husband Mike, daughter Georgie, nine, and son Henry, 13. Tess dresses as a medieval cook and helps with the cooking whenever they go camping. They have been involved with the group for five years.

"It's great for the kids because they can do their own thing and learn a bit about history without realising it. The group is family-oriented and the kids are well-involved which is good for us," says Tess.

"I have learned a lot since I have been in it. The cooking is a new thing for me but I only really started doing the cooking last year. I am learning to make pan bread.

"You just make a basic bread mix of flour, water, salt and a bit of sugar. You knead it, roll it then put it in a big flat fry pan and put it on the fire. You keep checking underneath the bread so it doesn't catch and then turn it over. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to cook but it depends on the heat of the fire," she says smiling, pointing to a giant frypan cooling on the grass near the campfire.

Mike Roberts says hundreds of people visited the camp at Loggerheads over the weekend. "The atmosphere was fantastic," he says. "You don't lose your enthusiasm for it. It is always fresh and interesting for me and fresh and interesting for the people involved."

Children are running around playing happily and the serenity around the camp is wonderful. What's more, there is not a mobile phone, computer or television in sight.