Near the shores of Hastings, this historic battlefield can be visited on a short day trip from London. Only a one and a half-hour train ride from Charing Cross or about 1 hour 45 minutes by car. Entry to the site costs 13.60 GBP1 or free with an English Heritage membership. There’s an audio guide included with the ticket to listen to the history as you walk throughout the site. There’s a visitor center a short walk from the entrance which you should start with. There’s lots of info here providing background on William the Conqueror of Normandy and the Anglo-Saxon King Harold of England.
Following the visitor center, you can head to the trail of the battleground. There are two options; a trail which goes on a circuit down to the battleground and then up to the Abbey, or the trail which goes straight across to the Abbey with a panoramic view of the battleground. There are several numbered information panels on the trail which you can input into the audio guides which narrate the events of the battle. It took us about 30 minutes to walk throughout the battlefield and up to the Abbey. We then walked around the Abbey learning about its history from the information panels there. We then visited the garden next to the Abbey before heading back to the entrance. At the entrance, you can head up the tower where there is a small museum with some artifacts. You can also climb to the top of the tower which has views of the town. We completed our visit in about an hour before heading for some lunch and back home.
