Battle of Bosworth

On Sunday we made the short drive up to the 'Battle of Bosworth' country park, near to Market Bosworth in Leicestershire. This is the location of the battle that saw the death of King Richard III (at the hands of Henry Tudor) and therefore ended Plantagenet rule in England, in August 1485.

Every year, the park plays host to a weekend of special events to celebrate the anniversary of the battle. These include re-enactments, living history, jousting, falconry, a medieval market, special talks and so on. The attractions for visitors are being improved. They have built (with plans to expand) a replica of a medieval village called Ambion Parva, which looks really good. The visitor centre, located within the park, has a nice little gift shop, a large restaurant, and a hall for lectures. An exhibition has been opened there recently that covers the details of the Wars of the Roses and their impact on the country.

For the most part we enjoyed our day there. Most of the displays and activites we saw were fun and interesting to watch, such as the use of medieval weapons and battle tactics, and the falconry and the living history were top notch. I bought a Smaug the dragon candle holder from the large market (I'm a huge Tolkien fan!) The facilities there are generally very good.

Carla thought that the costume show would have been ok if the presenter had spoken through a microphone, and we could actually see the people in period costume - next time, use a stage! Oh, and the jousting was a little amateur, they do it better at Warwick Castle.

Richard III's banner, showing the boar and white rose of York.





Thankfully, the weather wasn't that bad, although it could have been a bit warmer. Glad the worst of the rain didn't find its way there that day!

We will definitely visit there again, as the countryside around there is very pretty and has many pleasant paths to explore, and it's right on our doorstep. There is a now private railway that runs in that area called The Battlefield Line, which is something I want to go on with Mark soon!