Granny Buttons, when reporting on the recently revised location for the Battle of Bosworth Field which lies near the Ashby Canal mentioned that many canal boaters moor up to visit Mancetter near Atherstone as the reputed site of the famous last battle of Queen Boudica. The exact location is, of course unknown, but as Wikipedia notes, most modern historians favour sites along the roman road of Watling Street and call it the Battle of Watling Street. Some place it in the West Midlands, but other sources place it further south.
As residents of a Northamptonshire village lying alongside Watling Street, we were particularly interested when the Dan & Peter Snow Battlefield TV documentary a year or two ago put the battle's location near to Towcester, Northants.
So why not moor up on the Grand Union near Grafton Regis and walk through picturesque Alderton to Cuttle Mill where the site really is?
As the Iceni site says, "The Roman army and its leader Suetonius returning from Angelsey and the famous battle for the Isle of Mona, selected a place advantageous to them and waited for the Iceni to come to them. It is debatable exactly where this battle took place, although it would seem, from research done, that the most likely place is near Towcester, in a place on Watling Street Northamptonshire, known as Cuttle Mill. Here is somewhere that is perfectly described by Tacitus in his writings. Suetonius chose a position with dense woodland behind him and a narrow defile in front (defile – narrow passage between mountains). Although outnumbered by the Iceni by ten to one, the choice of battleground gave Suetonius a distinct advantage."
