The British mentality of never backing down from a fight is well known, so the vast number of battles fought on English soil over the last thousand years should come as no surprise.

From the Battle of Hastings to Marston Moor, English history is soaked in blood and gore, having played host to some of the most decisive battles in European history.

As a history buff the battles of Britain have long fascinated me, conjuring up a childish excitement akin to the first holiday to the seaside.

But before anyone gets the wrong idea, this excitement is not borne out of a masochistic fetish for death and mutilation, but rather an insatiable interest in the manner in which the history of an entire country can be so decisively, and violently, determined in just a few, gruesome hours. However, with literally hundreds of battlefields to choose from one must decide in advance what sites to see.

As a result, I decided to focus my battlefield tour of England on the sites of two of the most significant battles in English history; Hastings and Bosworth Field.

The site of the Battle of Hastings, actually located in the town called Battle rather than Hastings, is largely covered by the ruins of Battle Abbey, constructed by William the Conqueror in 1070 to commemorate his victory over the Anglo-Saxon king Harold Godwinson.

Much of the abbey remains, although most is of medieval rather than Norman construction. Nevertheless, visitors can stand on the very spot where King Harold was killed, possibly by an arrow through the eye as depicted by the Bayeaux Tapestry.

An interactive audio tour is available, permitting visitors to stand where the Anglo-Saxon army once stood as the Norman forces advanced towards them, offering genuine insight into the events of this most crucial battle. Tickets cost £5.50 for adults and £2.80 for children.

From Hastings I caught the train to Bosworth, the site of perhaps the second-most influential battle in British history.

It was on Bosworth Field in 1485 that the medieval period came to an end with the defeat of Richard III by Henry Tudor, ushering in the golden age of English history. Bosworth Field is one of the most compelling battlefields in Britain, offering visitors the opportunity to re-live the battle with interactive displays and battle re-enactments.

Children and adults alike can handle authentic weapons and armour and take a walk around an outside circuit providing a blow-by-blow account of how the battle played out.

However, the best time to visit Bosworth Field is in August when the battle is re-enacted in all its medieval ferocity. Adult tickets for the event cost £10, or £7 for concessions.

Despite the absence of thousands of gaudily coloured and heavily armoured men having at each other, battlefields and, in particular, the sites of the battles of Hastings and Bosworth Field are evocative attractions.

These relatively small shards of England represent a seismic shift in the political, cultural and national identity of an entire whole country, and provide a fascinating glimpse of English history that will satisfy everyone from history buffs to the most bloodthirsty schoolboy.

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