We took advantage of the drier and internet before walking down to the market. It was about a 10 minute walk and the sky was already threatening. We bought mainly food and then looked in at a couple of old shops on the way back. John found dinky toys all at high prices. We found another pub as well as a fish and chip shop and a small general store. We then had a light lunch in the apartment.

Although it was already raining steadily we set off for Battle . We did a couple of caches when it was a bit clearer then a church one where we got 'caught' by a church worker who knew all about it. He asked if we had done the other nearby church ones. There are so many caches here that we can’t put them all on the GPS. We saw a couple of accidents again, but the trip otherwise was smooth but in the light rain for most of the time. The only issue was that we had left the camera behind.

We saw the English Heritage movie first and it was excellent. It gave the whole story of the battle, with the Bayeaux Tapestry often shown, with parts also animated. John said it made the whole 1066 story clear. I knew a lot of the background but there was still a lot that I learned about the battle itself.

It told us that the English were holding the line although the fighting was savage. Then one group of Normans turned tail when they though William was dead and were chased by one group of the English . When William realised what was happening he removed his helmet so his troops could see he was alive and the he sent men after the chasing English group and surrounded and slaughtered them. The rest of the line was still holding. William then decided to do the same thing again i.e. feign a retreat. Again it worked and after a barrage from William’s archers the English numbers were so reduced their line broke and they turned and fled, only to be slaughtered. Reports from the day talk of the fields being covered in blood, with 7000 dead. With about 10 000 men, William took over a country.

The information area also had replica weapons of the day and there was also a trail for children to follow.  

We went on the short battlefield walk because, in the words of a local, it was ‘tipping down’. We had audioguides as well as the panels around the site. We heard a description of Harold that praised his courage, looks, intelligence etc and then said that was the Norman view . However it was also said that he was rash.

The story did try to give both the Norman and the English viewpoints. The Bayeaux tapestry emphasises that William had been promised the throne and Harold stole it. The English version has Harold a popular successor to an ineffective King. He had also just vanquished the Vikings at York.

The rashness was then emphasised. It was a 4 day march to York before the battle there. Then his troops had marched back to Battle. William and his men had destroyed much of the English area they had been through. Harold was advised to wait to fight as his men were tired and also in the hope that the Normans would run short of supplies. He didn’t and the rest is history. In 1066 England had 3 Kings. The last was William the Bastard (as he was known but not to his face) who then became known as ‘William the Conqueror’.

We had a quick look at the remains of the abbey that William had built. The high altar had been at the very spot that Harold reputedly fell with an arrow through his eye (although recently this has been disputed and it is suggested he was just decapitated). At one stage the abbey had up to 140 monks. It was very prestigious and novices had to apply at least 3 times and also have money to be admitted. Parts were very well preserved and we could see the marble columns and vaulted ceilings. As we left we went past the walls which could have been walked at the time. This was very unusual for a monastery.

We had a short walk around the town, which was full of historic buildings. The pub was over 500 years old. The pharmacy had been established in 1740 on the site where a shoemaker had worked in the 12th century, paying a rent of 7 pence. It was a nice place but the weather was getting worse so we left after about half an hour.

As we drove west we stuck probably the worst weather to date. The heavy rain was persistent. Already parts of the road were under deep puddles. It made it a slow trip although we were lucky and didn’t get caught in any jams. There was an accident on the road but on the other side. We bought fish and chips from the local chippie (huge pieces) and sat and ate them in the warm and dry apartment.