Off to Battle!

Part 2 of 2. Check the first part (and explanation) down one.

So, Battle Abbey was pretty cool, I'm not gonna lie, but you have to do the audio tour to really get the full effect.

I got up at pretty much normal time, got myself together and headed for the train. I had to change trains twice, and I was hoping the clouds would clear out, which they never did, though it did get decently warm. I did make it to Battle safely. Then I headed up the street and followed the signs to Battle Abbey, the site of the famous Battle of Hastings in 1066, in which William, forever after to be known as "the Conqueror," defeated Harold, King of England, and gained the throne of England for him and his children, who still hold it to this day.

The Abbey, like most abbeys in England, is mostly in ruins, thanks to the Dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. The Abbot's residence became a private residence, and is now a school. If you go, you have to get the audio tour. There is a 30-40 minute (depending on how much you gawk) walking tour that takes you down the hill, around the Norman positions and back up the hill, going through the battle chronologically as you go. The signs are helpful, but the audio tour is awesome.

Since I'm writing a paper on it, I'm not going to give you a synopsis of the battle. It would wind up being a page, single space. But I can say that it was close. The armies were evenly matched and it wound up being luck, missed opportunities, and a day that was just a little too long that caused the English to lose.

After you go around the battlefield, you can go around the Abbey, which was built on top of the hill where the English made their stand. Legend holds that the altar of the original church was placed on the spot where Harold died. It's kind of funny, because the monks wanted to build elsewhere, they said it was too difficult to build on that hill, but William insisted. The abbey is neat to wander around. You can also go up in the gatehouse, where they have a little museum.

It didn't take me as long as I thought it would, so I sat down and ate lunch, then headed into the giftshop, where I found, not one, but two books. But it doesn't count because one if for my paper and one is really small. And funny.

Two train changes later, I made it back to Canterbury, decided I didn't feel like doing much, did convince myself to write up the battle for my paper, then read my book before going to bed. I slept in today, messed around for the morning, went out for lunch (as part of my continued search for the Harry Potter books) and then came back here to get some actual work done.

Actual work shall commence in 3...2...1... well, maybe like half an hour.