the orangesponge: Off to Battle!

A group of us went to Battle today, where the battle of Hastings occurred. A very significant battle in English history, but I shan't bore you with my long winded history storytelling skills!
(on a slightly geeky note, how cool is it that the station we got off at is called Battle?)

Train Ticket - London to Battle!
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At the Battle Station (hehe)
copyright elainers

We left pretty early (845 train from charing cross), but had to stand in the rain outside for a bit as the grounds weren't open yet. £3 pink and purple umbrellas later, we were on our way in to witness the coolest re-enactment I've ever seen. We had a good 4 hours before the actual battle but the most frustrating thing was the weather. Rain, sun, rain, sun, rain, rain, rain... Seriously, make up your mind! I was not clever and wore my toms which were only a week old. So silly considering I have perfectly good wellies that would have been perfect. The pictures really don't do any justice to the yuckness of the weather.. somehow all my pictures make it look like a great summer day. In actual fact they had to cancel the event the next day as the ground was too wet and dangerous, not to mention all the mud!

3pm came and the excitement levels were really high - people were getting antsy that they couldn't see and others were pushing to get to the front. Was a little frustrating but for a while (due the fact I wasn't born a tall Asian), I stood behind a cameraman and watched his screen for a bit of the battle. People left as it started raining again, and we managed to secure a good viewing spot just in time to see the king get killed.

The battle was pretty cool. Hundreds of men dressed up with weapons recreating the clash of the two sides. I was surprised at the scale of the event, plus there were actual horses!

Top 3 things to bring if you decide to go
- Wellies!
- Waterproof picnic mat
- a camera! The place is beautiful.

Thanks Tate for the awesome weekend activity!