Battle Abbey

You know, I'm going to stop whining about the weather and how dreadfully cold it is.. My photos as I post them on to my blog and instagram show blue sky and sunshine - and no-one is going to beleive for a second how cold it really is.. or how rainy and blustery the winds are. ( straight from the Bunyas.. in joke with Alexanders and Rowes...)

The Abbey was established almost immediately after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, with buildings added, fortified and strengthen over the next few centuries.

This is a photo of the gatehouse leading into the Abbey at Battle. It was built int he 1300s to keep those nasty French out during the 100 years war.  I don't think the French got this far, but the Abbey was fortified and prepared for defence just in case.

The High Alter and cloisters are all gone now, but it is believed that where King Harold fell is sacred ground so the church was built directly on top of it.  All we have as reminders are markings on the ground where the footings were and this slab to commemorate the event.

It doens't seem possible that over eight thousand soldiers fitted onto this field and stood against each other, fighting to the death all day long.

The peaceful meadow is a little eerie. By all accounts it ran rivers of blood on the day with the dead littered so high, none of the grass could be seen.

The Abbey was very successful in the middle ages, and built accommodation houses for the hundreds of monks who came to study and pray here. I love the arched columns and the work put in to the brickworks for this simple storehouse.

Being mid term, the kids had the opportunity to do some hands on activities, including dress ups ( the armour and weapons are a bit of a mish mash of crusades, Roman and viking.. but don't let that stop a bit of fun.

The kids painted shields and made viking boats with insignia sails.

I am loving how each visit to a particular spot is building their knowledge of history, and they are now able to identify certain kings, queens and specific events which changed the way the world operated.

The Long Man of Wilmington

The long man of Wilmington is a 70 feet long figure marked out on the side of a hill. Its been there for centuries. Historians are still baffled as to how old it is, as until 200 years ago, it was marked out with grass and some chalk - rather than what is very obvious today ( chalk outlines) There is some evidence that it was around when the Romans occupied the UK - so it dates to at least the 2nd century.

Its purpose too has a few different camps of thought. I'd always believed it was a symbol of fertility as there are some texts which point to certain ceremonies being held in particular spots to ensure a couples chance of becoming pregnant.. I'll leave it up to your imagination what and where those ceremonies may have entailed.  However, there is some belief that it shows a warrior character.

Regardless of what it might represent, its an incredible feat of artwork in a difficult environment with few tools.

We parked at the official car park and started the walk to the feet of the man. We didn't make it as it got muddier and deeper as we went. 

I'm hoping my photos give you some sort of scale of the figure. Its an incredible sight.

Bodiam Castle.. Take 2

With all the recent rain and storm activity, the river close to Bodiam has burst its banks and flooded the surrounding marshlands, almost to the moat. Most of the carparking area is under water, which is why it was closed the last time we came.

This panorama shot aught to show the extent of the flooding across the plains.  The river is normally way in the distance.

To be honest, most castle ruins look similar on the inside, crumbling walls, archways and narrow winding stairs to the towers. What sets Bodiam Castle apart from others is it completeness from the outside. For all intense purposes, it embodies what the romantic medieval castle aught to look like. 

The sun blessed us again.. But the biting wind made taking photos on the towers a task only for the insane.. 

The kids love archery, having been inspired by the incredible skill ( and wit) of the archer at Warwick Castle last summer. The archer here was very skilled and had the patience of Job.. Ankle deep in slushy mud, he made certain each kid was positioned correctly and understood the range of movements in order to shoot the arrow perfectly. Ive taken some video footage, which only beknownst to blogger, will not load.. So check facebook or instagram for two brief videos in that. 

Both kids did well, hitting the targets, despite the gusty wind.

We took our time to wander around the inside of the castle, but I have to admit I didn't take as many shots as I might have liked to as it was so cold, every time I took my hands out of the gloves, they absolutely froze.