BBC Countryfile Magazine

Walk in CONQUEROR COUNTRY

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

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