Educational day.

What a glorious day it has been. It was nice and sunny from the off and we decided to walk up the railway to the Battlefield Centre above Ambion Wood. There has been much talk of the Battle of Bosworth recently with the re-internment of the body of Richard III. There has also been much discussion over the years as to where the actual battle occured. The Centre was built on Ambion Hill as that was where it was thought to have taken place but recent research has shown that it is more likely to have been down in the valley to the south west.

The Battle has caused many theories over the years and in 1813 this cairn was erected over a spring where it was said that Richard drank during the battle.

The centre was well presented if a little expensive at £7-95 each. The story was told trying not to side with either the House of York or Lancaster. I learned a lot and it was quite eerie thinking on what had gone on in the area, and what the country may have been like if Richard had won. Richard was not actually the heir but rather his elder brother. He and his younger brother were the Princes in the Tower. Henry was about 11th in line and it seems that it was his mother that kept pushing Henry to fight for the monarchy. The Battle seems to have been a very strange affair. The Wars of the Roses lasted many years but there wasn't that many actual battles and most of the country was peaceful most of the time. Richard had greater numbers as Henry had not long ago landed in Wales. The battle seemed to hinge on treachery as the Stanley family just stood on the sidelines until he could see how it was going. There is also some that think the Duke of Northumberland did not assist the King when he should have done but this may have been due to not knowing what the Stanley forces would do. In the end the King fought very bravely but was swallowed up by numbers. They did say that he was offered a horse to escape (As per the Shakespeare speech) but he refused and stood to do or die. As you go around the exhibition you are given a token and at the end you have to decide who to give the token to. I was very undecided as they were both cruel and devious but in the end I plumped for Richard as he fought bravely and was finally beaten by betrayal.

The Yorkist banner at the top of Ambion Hill.

Looking to the north, away from the battlefield site, shows how beautiful the countryside is around Market Bosworth.

After the exhibition we did the walk around the site and ended up at the Shenton Station on the Battlefield site. This is a preserved railway that runs diesel and steam trains at the weekends. This station is actualy the rebuilt Humberstone Road Station from Leicester as the original was demolished in the 40's 

We walked from the station into the estate village of Shenston to go for lunch and a browse at the Whitemoors Antique Centre. This is the aqueduct taking the canal over the Shenton Road.

Shenton Hall was built in the Jacobean style by William Wollaston in the 1620's. The 2300 acre estate stayed in the family until 1940. The government then took it over for the war effort and housed POW's in the grounds. It seems it is now owned by the Brandeaux Family who are in finance and seem to be a bit involved with controversial schemes. There is a huge wall around the property and plenty of surveillance. From the chimneys you get some idea of the scale of the house that was extended in the 1800's.

We had a lovely lunch at the Antiques centre and then a bit of a poke about the large premises. I only came out with a couple of books after parting with £3-50. 

We walked back through the parkland of the Hall eating an ice cream bought at a farm shop. We got back to the boat and decided to move on a bit. By the time we came out ready to move it was pitter pattering with rain but it never came to much as we moved along.

I just liked this Turnesque sky.

The canal goes round the hill of Far Coton on the 300 ft contour. The farm looks quite old and there is the medieval field system still in exsistance with the sheep garzing. It may have looked very similar in 1485.

The countryside is wonderful with wooded small hills, fields and loads of footpaths. It makes us want to come back and explore the footpaths from a stay in a local pub somewhere.

We stopped for water at Market Bosworth and just after there is a new large marina. We carried on a little way and moored up just past the long term moorings. We will be off into town tomorrow.