Walk in conqueror country

Almost 1,000 years ago, on these now sleepy fields, war raged. Sam Pyrah explores the idyllic 1066 Country Walk, through countryside once plundered by invading Norman troops

Photos: James Ratchford

I’m lying on my back, thinking of England. The England, specifically, that existed before William, Duke of Normandy, landed his troops at Pevensey and marched into the most famous English battle of all time.

In 1066, the field in which I’m sprawled – a stone’s throw from that historic landing point – would have been underwater. Today, it’s swaying with buttercups and the air is filled with the song of skylarks and the drowsy hum of bees. The sea has retreated by more than a mile over the past 700 years, and one of its parting gifts is the Pevensey Levels, a 3,600-hectare biodiversity-rich expanse of flatland and fen, through which the 1066 Country Walk meanders.

This 31-mile trail tells the story of the Norman invasion as it weaves across East Sussex from Pevensey to Rye, but it isn’t just a march in William the Conqueror’s footsteps. The route reveals myriad layers of Sussex history through its landscapes, settlements and monuments. Pevensey Castle is a good example. Built by the Normans within the walls of a 3rd-century Roman fort, it witnessed centuries of battles and sieges before falling into ruins, only to be resurrected as a coastal defence during the Second World War, with pill boxes added and troops residing within its walls.

The 1066 Walk isn’t new, but it was relaunched last year with new signage and information boards – and the addition of 10 beautiful wooden sculptures inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry and created by local artist Keith Pettit.

Even if you’re no history buff, the route showcases the best of the East Sussex countryside: rolling hills and steep-sided valleys, wildflower meadows and ancient woodland. With the small town of Battle marking the halfway spot, the walk divides neatly into two days with an overnight stop.

WILDFLOWERS ON THE WEALD

Leaving the ghost seas of Pevensey Levels behind, I climb north towards the distinctive shingled spire of All Saints Church. It once served the residents of Herstmonceux, but when Sir Roger Fiennes built Herstmonceux Castle in 1441, he relocated the village so he could enclose the surrounding land.

The moated castle – of which you will get a fantastic view from the trail – was not only the largest private home in England at the time but one of the most fashionable, being built from brick at a cost of £3,800.

I follow the trail along the border of Wartling Wood, where red campion and bluebells spill out on to the path. The temperature climbs along with the gradient, and I’m only too happy to pause in the cool refuge of a sunken lane to watch two speckled wood butterflies dance and spiral one another in a shaft of dappled light.

But it’s a more expansive vista that stops me a mile further on at Boreham Street: a billowing patchwork of green stretches off into the distance, seamed with shaws and hedgerows and scattered with oasts, farms and sleepy villages. This is the High Weald, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the Domesday Book (1086), it was recorded as the most forested area in England.

Woods, wildflowers and ancient buildings have been plentiful thus far. What I haven’t seen is people. Given that the south-east of England is one of the most densely populated parts of the UK, I’m surprised to have encountered just one dog walker and two runners since I set off.

When I stop for lunch at the Ash Tree Inn at the fabulously named hamlet of Brown Bread Street, I’m keen to chat.

At the bar, the waitress doesn’t know why Brown Bread Street is so named, but when she brings my ample-portioned lunch a little later, she has found out that it is because there was once a flour mill here. Place names often reveal past uses – Sussex is full of Furnace Lanes, because of its once-thriving iron ore industry.

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TIME FOR BATTLE

Tent Hill looms in the distance. It is here that William is said to have camped the night before the great battle. It would certainly have made a good vantage point from which to spot any marauding enemies. The view is stupendous – good enough to inspire JMW Turner to paint The Vale of Ashburnham in 1816. I watch a red kite circling as I catch my breath, before cutting across open country and dipping back into the woods.

It is almost dusk when I reach Battle Abbey.

It was here, on 14 October 1066, that 10,000 men, including King Harold, lost their lives and William the Conqueror declared himself King of England. Unlike William, I am in no fit state for battle when I arrive. Dinner and a bath set me up nicely for an early night.

CARVED IN WOOD AND STONE

I leave the comely town of Battle the next morning, and soon find myself striding along a wide, easy track through the Great Wood, serenaded by chiffchaffs and blackcaps. The woods give way, somewhat unexpectedly, to a neatly manicured golf course. And if that isn’t enough of a dose of modernity, crossing the busy A21 certainly is. I’m relieved to melt back into the countryside, roving between pockets of woodland, paddocks and open fields to the outskirts of Westfield. The thwack of leather on willow follows me up the lane from the village cricket green.

At Pattleton’s Farm, I find my favourite of Pettit’s sculptures – Farbanks Henge. Six monoliths fashioned from oak stand in a circle, each with hawthorn planted inside, creating a circle of may blossom in spring. It feels like a gathering point from our pagan past.

I stop for lunch at The Queen’s Head in Icklesham, high above the River Brede, which, in William’s time, was navigable by ships. In 1287, a great storm entirely reshaped the coastline, leaving Icklesham and Rye high and dry and destroying Winchelsea, where I’m headed next, altogether. On the way, from high on a ridge, I get my first glimpse of the sea, shimmering in the heat haze.

Winchelsea wears its history proudly. The gable end of St John’s Hospital, a medieval almshouse, still stands in Chapel Field, amid trees so old and twisted that they, too, are like ancient monuments. Three of the four stone arched city gates dating from the 14th century also remain. Yet this is ‘new’ Winchelsea. Built after the 1287 storm, the grid design that was used is said to have inspired the layout of New York. The town became a hub for the medieval wine trade – you can still visit the medieval wine cellars that sit below the houses – and was an important naval base until the 15th century, when, like its neighbour, Rye, the harbour silted up and trade ceased.

Take a detour through the churchyard of grand 13th-century St Thomas the Martyr Church and you might find Spike Milligan’s grave, with its infamous headstone inscribed ‘I told you I was ill’ (though the inscription is in Irish Gaelic).

The path out of Winchelsea tumbles down a steep-sided grassy slope, with tantalising views of Rye’s citadel in the distance – my finish point.

Passing the village’s tiny Trumpton-esque station, I turn on to the final leg of the trail into Rye. I know this path well, from years of runs and dog walks, as I live close by. But I’m embarrassed to say that I’d never noticed the elegant sculpture that marks the end – or beginning – of the 1066 Walk.

From now on, whenever I pass it, I’ll think of where it leads and how the story it tells shaped the course of our history.

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Sam Pyrah is a journalist and author who focuses on the outdoors. Sam is studying towards an MA in Wild Writing at the University of Essex.

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HISTORY TRAILS AROUND THE UK

• The 62-mile St Cuthbert’s Way links Scotland to northern England, retracing the footsteps of a 7th-century monk who walked from Melrose to Lindisfarne, spreading the word of Christianity. stcuthbertsway.info

• Traverse Cornwall coast to coast on the 27-mile Saints’ Way. Starting at Padstow and finishing at Fowey, it follows the route of early Christian pilgrims. cornwall.gov.uk/environment/countryside/cycle-routesand-trails/the-saints-trail/

• The Saxon Shore Way takes its name from the chain of defensive coastal forts the Romans built in the 3rd century. Starting in Gravesend, Kent, it’s a journey through the region’s maritime past. ldwa.org.uk

• In the heart of Scotland, the 64-mile Cateran Trail tells the story of the ‘Caterans’ – much-feared cattle thieves who roved and raided the Perthshire and Angus glens in the Middle Ages. pkct.org/cateran-trail

• Celebrate the history of Wales on Glyndŵr’s Way, a 135-mile journey through mid-Wales, where Owain Glyndŵr, the last Welsh-born Prince of Wales, wrested control of the country from King Henry IV. nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/glyndwrs-way/

KEY CONQUEST SITES

Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire

The village of Stamford Bridge in the East Riding of Yorkshire sits astride the river Derwent. It was here, on 25 September 1066, that King Harold saw off an invasion by Harald Hardrada of Norway. Three days later, William of Normandy landed at Pevensey, forcing King Harold to march his troops 200 miles south in under three weeks to fight. Many believe that is why he lost.

Colchester Castle, Essex

The first stone castle that William ordered to be built in England, after the Norman Conquest. Construction began in 1076 on the site of the temple of Roman Emperor Claudius. colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/visit/colchester-castle

Dover, Kent

Fresh from defeating Harold, William and his men marched on and ravaged Dover, needing this key strategic base for crossing the channel. The first castle the Normans built on the white cliffs was wooden, but later versions were made from stone. english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle

Berkhamsted Castle, Hertfordshire

After the Battle of Hastings, William faced further resistance as he travelled north. It was at Berkhamsted that the Anglo-Saxons finally surrendered, in December 1066. William ordered his half-brother, Robert of Mortain, to build a castle here. english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/berkhamsted-castle

The Tower of London, London

One of the capital’s iconic landmarks, the Tower of London was commissioned by William the Conqueror. Work began in the 1070s, including the building of the White Tower, the stone keep that signified power in Norman architecture. hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/#gs.2c84zd

Photos: Alamy, Getty