Bosworth Battlefield & the Ashby Canal - Day Walk

Much of the interest on this walk centres on the Battle of Bosworth, which was fought on the slopes of Ambion Hill and in the adjoining fields to the west of Market Bosworth.  The route passes across part of the battlefield, now a country park and well worth a lengthy exploration, I hope to find the visitor centre by lunch time so we can have good look round. 

After lunch we'll take the Battlefield Trail across Ambion Hill to Shenton Station.  Along the way illustrated panels show the positions of the armies and how the day unfurled.  The Battle of Bosworth, fought between the armies of Richard III and Henry Tudor on 22nd August 1485, is regarded as one of the most critical and significant battles in English history.  It bought to an end the 30 year long War of the Roses and is regarded by historians as marking the effective end of the Middle Ages, and was the last battle during which an English King died.  The victor ascended the throne as Henry VII, the start of the Tudor dynasty (and end of the House of Plantagenet).

The afternoon walk includes a tranquil stretch along the Ashby Canal as well as offering some fine views over the surrounding gentle countryside.

For over 300 years the Dixies were lords of the Manor, owning a large estate around the pleasant town of Market Bosworth.  This is still very evident today, with signs of Dixies here, there and everywhere.  This also has an interesting tale of what happens to some hereditary titles, the Dixie Baronetcy went extinct in 1975 when the 13th Baronet died with no male heir. 

Gay History and Legend

By the time of Shakespeare, a century has past since the defeat of Richard III.  In the Renaissance period Richard is now firmly portrayed as the villain, fairly or unfairly we'll perhaps never know.  In the first episode of Black Adder, "The Foretelling", it explains that King Richard III was actually a kind, benevolent ruler who doted on his nephews and that his popular image as a murderous usurper is based on lies spread by his rival, Henry Tudor. 

Shakespeare portrays Richard, in his wordplay as "unfinished," ultimately Shakespeare enticing the audience of the time to conclude that Richard represents a figure that transgresses the margins of sexual polarities, making him a threat to the very essence of Renaissance gender identity. 

In 1995, Ian McKellen, an openly gay actor who has fought Britain’s homophobic Clause 28, played Richard set in a fictional fascist England, in Richard Loncraine’s film of Richard III.


Waitlist: If this event is fully booked and you want to attend, just add yourself to the waitlist, because places inevitably become available closer to the date. 


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Image Credits: All images taken by the event leader with permission for ODL use.