The second day of our Tour’s second area of England along the South Coast across Sussex and Kent up towards Greenwich.

The Battle of Hastings was a defining moment in English history, a Norman usurper to the English throne defeated Harold Godwinson on Senlac Hill in 1066 and began a period of English history in which Saxons were deprived of property, discriminated against and taxed into oblivion. But enough of the EU! English Heritage staged a great re-enactment of the battle in which the stupid English would have won if they hadn’t broke ranks and chased the fleeing Norman foot soldiers downhill, only to be slaughtered by Norman cavalry. We timed our visit to the South Coast to coincide with English Heritage re-enactment weekend at Battle Abbey in Sussex. It was a magnificent setting with a Saxon encampment and Norman encampment on opposite sides of the battlefield. Each camp had demonstrations of weaponry, crafts, food preparation and conversation during the day. The battle itself was a one hour affair at the end of the day and followed closely the events that occured as far as we know them.  (The Two Doctors Tour of England overview)