Doncaster area welcomes 1066 Battle of Hastings 300 mile horseback march

A group of warriors are set to descend on the Doncaster area today and tomorrow to mark the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.
The 1066 recreation march will arrive in the Doncaster area this afternoon.The 1066 recreation march will arrive in the Doncaster area this afternoon.
The 1066 recreation march will arrive in the Doncaster area this afternoon.

A group of soldiers on horseback are trekking from Snaith to Haxey this afternoon as part of a 300 mile recreation of the route King Harold took from Stamford Bridge near York to East Sussex for the infamous Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The route will take in Sandtoft and tomorrow will travel from Haxey to Sturton by Stow via Gainsborough Old Hall.

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English Heritage has organised the trek which will see the volunteers arrive on the battlefield 950 years to the day since Harold fought William of Normandy.

King Harold defeated a Viking army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in East Yorkshire, on 25 September, 1066, before travelling south to face the Normans.

On 14 October, he fought and was killed at the Battle of Hastings.

William then seized the English throne.

Emily Sewell, head of events for English Heritage, said 1066 and the Battle of Hastings was "one of the most famous battles and most transformative years in English history".

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Nigel Amos, who is leading the march on behalf of English Heritage, added: "There's nothing like a personal experience to understand what it was like and offer an even more authentic window on that world to inspire and inform others."