Well here I am checking out more property. This time the day was spent with the usual cast of Pippa and Rod, but long for the ride came Amy. Amy use to play football with Pippa in Australia and is living in the UK now for a couple of years and becoming a very seasoned traveller.

This is one of the day trips Rod keeps planning. This time we went to Battle, near Hastings. It is the site of the battle of 1066 between King Harold I of England and William, Duke of Normandy. William would later become William I of England. (spoiler, guess who won the battle?).

We picked up Amy from the DLR station at Lewisham at 9:30 and headed straight down the M20, then the M25, then the M21. Driving around England is like calling the lottery numbers. The day was overcast, even though the weather man said sunny.

Battle is now the Abbey ruins which were built by William I after the victory. We took the recorded tour around the battle field. It was the quietest walk I have ever been on and I had to stay on the lead the whole time. The tour goes down to the south of the field first where William and the Norman, Breton, French and Flemish troops were stationed. The guide tells of the trials of William and the hardship of the battle. Around and up the long hill on the east side towards King Harold's ground and the Saxon army defending.

For the first few hours it looked like Harold would win, but in a nut shell his troops broke line and William surrounded them. After 6 hours, in a flurry of arrows, Harold was struck in the eye and died. This caused the Saxon army to scatter in panic and William became the 'Conqueror'. Nothing left for England but to become Norman French. Change language, change culture and change leadership forever. William was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas day 1066 just 2 months after the battle.

We had a look around the Abbey ruins and the site that Harold's body was found and marked by the alter of the abbey. Now most of the intact buildings belong to a school and the abbey is a collection of ruins with the most intact part being the Monk's rooms and the latrines.

From Battle we drove to Sedlescombe for lunch at the Queens Head pub. 4.5/5 on the pub scale. It lost 0.5 as the regular clientèle were rude. Sunday lunch and Rod actually liked the Yorkshire Pudding which was surprising after his last effort in Bristol. A great lump of batter on a plate with gravy or sauce.

After Sedlescombe we drove to the next landmark. This was Bodiam Castle. Built in 1350's it is the last of the classic Norman style castles before the aristocratic families opted for grand palaces and houses. The castle is moated but the draw bridges are no longer intact. From the outside, all the walls and turrets are brilliantly structured. Inside, according to Rod, Pippa and Amy, as dogs are not allowed inside, were ruins, but fairly good. They climbed the turrets and played Lord and Lady of the manor. Meanwhile I was locked in the boot of the car like a gangster in an Al Capone Movie.

But according to the humans, it was a great day out. I could have done with some more running around. Pippa and Rod joined the 'National Trust' which own lots of fields and mountains, while 'English Heritage', which Rod wants to join, owns building and castles. I know which I prefer, but there is no telling these humans what my needs are.

Stay tuned, apparently Pippa and Rod are off to Me Julie in Milford and to Havant to see Kimmy and Oliver.