1066 and all that!

The Site of the 1066 Battle

1066 is the date that changed the fortune of England - we stopped at Hastings especially to see what we could see of this long ago day in History. King Edward had supposedly promised the English throne to William of Burgundy, but Harold Godwin decided that he had the greater claim. These events led to the Norman invasion and the death of England's last Saxon King.

William marched his troops many miles from the coast up the hill to Battle, and waited for Harold to return from fighting the Danes. The battle lasted all day and the course of history was changed. The Abbey was built with the alter placed over the spot where Harold died. After surviving and expanding for many centuries, this abbey, like so many others, fell during the Dissolution on the orders of Henry VIII. We were pleased to come to this historical place that we had heard so much about and see it for ourselves.

The Remains of Battle Abbey

In the afternoon we visited Bodian Castle, which looked every inch a castle with rounded turrets, arrow slits, the portculis complete with murder holes and surrounded by a moat. Not much of the interior is left but there was plenty to see and admire. Now in the care of the National Trust, it should last for many more generations.

Bodian Castle