It was pure fluke we arranged a  holiday in Hastings at the exact time of their 1066 celebrations to mark 950 years since the famous battle which changed English history.

The enactment put on by English Heritage was epic, both in terms of scale and quality:  The sheer attention to detail was a joy to behold with every costume cared for down to the last buttonhole.

Running up to the battlefield was a row of shops to supply us and any soldiers with their daily needs: boar hides, leather satchels, knives, jewellery, bone needles, hand loomed blankets, buckles and beer all hewn and authentically made so that seeing enactors interacting genuinely felt like a step back in time.

On either side of the battlefield were the camps of the Normans and Saxons, true living and breathing hives of activity.

From cooking food and tending livestock to weaving and making music.

The day was packed with individual events, including a falconry show.  This is the closest I’ve ever got to a real golden eagle.

And so the battle began..

(The irony of the jester watching on..)

It was fabulous!

Laters, Kate x