Postcard from Naseby

The battle of Naseby - the decisive battle of the English Civil War, was fought on the morning of 14th June 1645.

The Royalist Army under Prince Rupert was massively defeated by the Parliamentary New Model Army under Lord Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell in a muddy field in a shallow valley, somewhere between Northampton and Leicester. On that day, 1,000 Royalist troops were killed and 5,000 captured for the loss of only 150 Parliamentarians.

Flick and I visited this quiet, serene, lonely place and were able to imagine the bloodshed and carnage as the ghosts of long-dead soldiers continually re-enact the grotesque carnival until the end of time.

Resting by the monument was a vase of dying flowers - laid by someone in memory of the poor souls who fell 350 years ago.