British Battlefields
 

As a student of British history, I will be interested in visiting the battlefields of British History- Hastings, Edington, Lewes, Stirling Bridge, St. Albans, Marston Moor to name a few. How well have the British kept up their historic battlefields and has anyone visited any.

Not all are kept up, certainly not in the style of US Civil War ones. Hastings certainly is and is very interesting. St Alban's is worth a visit. <BR> <BR>They are marked on the local OS maps with a crossed sword emblem. You will soon realise what a bellicose bunch we are. There are a lot of crossed swords.

There is a group which has reenactments of Civil War battles complete with pikemen pushing matches (I was told they keep score for bragging rights.). These are mostly in summer. I did go to one on the grounds of Castle Howard towards the end of August when I was situated in Scarborough on a home exchange. <BR> <BR>I would check with tourist information wherever you are for these sorts of events. It was really a lot of fun.

Hastings is very nice, we enjoyed out visit there a great deal. I can't remember a battlefield in Lewes and we spent a couple of days there.

Prince Edward (future Edward I)surprised his military teacher, Simon de Montfort, at Lewes. De Montfort was responsible for the first parliament in 1258 as Prince Edward's father, Henry III, was notoriously incompetent as king, a reign of 56 years. Interestingly, Henry III was under arrest and part of de Montfort's train. De Montfort did not kill Henry III though the battle turned against him very early.

How much a tourist trap is Hastings? How long a drive from London? Any tour guides? Museum?