Stamford Bridge bridge!

We all know the story of 1066 & all that; William of Normandy and Harold's 'eyeful of arrow' which took place on 14th October of that year.
The warm up event, however, took place outside York some 300 miles to the north, a few weeks earlier, when an invading Viking army was defeated at Stamford Bridge. The village came later and was, rather obviously, named after the Main crossing point of the River Ouse.

This is a photo of that crossing!

Taken whilst leaning over the river edge and holding onto the branch of a tree...no idea who the people are on the riverbank but I suspect they were waiting for me to fall in.

Harold's army found it difficult to remove the Vikings from their dominant position and occupation of the strategic bridge.
So he sent some soldiers down the river in boats at night where they removed the enemy by sticking pikestaffs through wooden planks from under the bridge and setting fire to it.

He thus defeated the invading King Harald Hardraada (who, in the true spirit of sibling love, was supported by Harold's own brother, Tostig.....) on 25th September 1066.

This was after marching his army the length of Britain, so he must have been a bit dismayed to hear after the battle that Duke William of Normandy had just landed at Bexhill on the south coast and so he began the long walk back.