Sorry to all of my loyal readers (yes both of you). I have not been posting much new lately, but it has been for good reason. I recently started a Master of Arts in the History of Warfare in the War Studies department at King's College London.

I am thoroughly enjoying it, but the reading and writing schedule has not left much time for Battlefield Biker lately. I hope to get better soon and even post some of my assignments here, especially book reviews. We'll see if Battlefield Biker readers are more or less forgiving than my professors.

I've got 2 professors of serious professional reputations and am soaking up their expertise. Alan James is teaching my core History of Warfare module and my Imperialism module. Andrew Lambert is teaching my Navies and Seapower module. Each module is a combination of lectures, seminars and writing. Their is a heavy emphasis on the research and historiography which is one of the main reasons I decided to go to King's.

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing for Battlefield Biker, but was running up against my own limitations in research and writing skills, so I decided to take this MA to improve both.

Stick with me and I promise to post some new stuff.

On 10 January 1642, King Charles I had to leave London as the unrest against him grew. He had recently tried to arrest five members of parliament on treason charges, but failed. His coach had been surrounded by a mob when he had demanded that those who were sheltering the five members should give them up. This was enough to scare Charles and his Queen, Henrietta, into leaving London. They first decamped to Hampton Court, then Windsor Castle and finally to Oxford to set up an alternative government to the Parliament in London. Parliament was busy activating its militias, called the "Trained Bands." Although there were some attempts at reconciliation, the train of events leading to civil war was already underway.

Books from Amazon.co.uk

Motorcycle Ride

I'm sure it was faster for Charles by horse and carriage, but if you don't mind fighting London traffic, you can retrace the royal route to exile. Start in Whitehall, then to Hampton court, then to Windsor, then to Oxford.

Maps

Looks like Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman are mounting up for two more long rides. I thoroughly enjoyed the LWR series and actually found that I liked the guys. Yeah, sure, there was some cheesey bits, but it was made for television, so that's natural. Good on them and I'm looking forward to the new series.
Hat tip: Bike in the Fast Lane

Having lived and worked in the United Kingdom for the last 12 years, I've had a good chance to see a lot of the countryside of the UK. However, my recent rides around the English Civil War battlefields have given me a new perspective on the countryside and how much of it remains. There is still a good amount and it is beautiful.....and much against my gut, civil planning has made this the case.
I am torn over the level of civil planning required to build in the UK. The liberal in me says, if you own the land, you should be able to do what you want to with it. However, the pragmatist in me knows that the countryside would be quuickly overrun by the hordes building houses all over the place. Whilst it is understandable and even agreeable for this to be the case in place like the US, it is open to much more debate in a place the size of Oregon and a population of 60 million. Back on the other hand, why should urban dwellers be subjected to high housing prices and cramped, mid-20th century standards of living just because someone wants to see a 400 year old hedge retained instead of a string of houses. I think, in the balance, I still come down on the side of much less restrictive planning, but not as wholly as I might have at one time.