Battle of Lansdown Hill - 5 July 1643

The Royalists had been gathering strength throughout the west in early 1643, but there were still several Parliamentary strong points that needed to be neutralised, before the Royalist rear would be secure enough to mount an all out assault on London. With this aim, Sir Ralph Hopton set out to draw his old friend William Waller out to battle, so that the Royalists could take the Parliamentary town of Bath. The two met north of Bath on Lansdown Hill.
Waller had had time to prepare, so had used the existing Saxon-times quarry pits and embellished them into a formidable network of trenches and gun emplacements. Seeing Waller on top of a nearly impregnable position, Hopton thought better of the situation and retreated in good order. However, Waller wasn't having it and sent a substantial amount of cavalry down the hill to maul the Royalists as they retreated. The Parliamentary cavalry did a good job and almost broke the retreat, but Hopton held on and rallied his forces to reverse the attack and flank the attacking cavalry some ways back up the hill.
With their blood up, Hopton's infantry made their way up the hill and eventually took over the crest from Waller's infantry. Unusually, Hopton had sent the infantry up the hill to protect the cavalry flanks, but his cavalry had been pushed back and the infantry had to carry the attack. Hopton lost one of his troops' most beloved leaders in the melee, in Sir Bevill Grenvile. The Royalists now held the breastworks on top of the hill but could not really secure their flanks and were running low on ammunition. Waller's troops had reformed behind a stone wall about 400 yards south on the plateau. With darkness falling, neither side had the strength to close the battle.
Neither side had won a decisive victory. The Royalists had taken a tactical stronghold from the Parliamentarians by force, but they had lost their ability to threaten Bath, so strategically it had hurt them.

Rides, Routes and Waypoints

25-40 miles, depending on the options chosen. For the base ride, take the A431 southeast out of Bristol going to Bath. In Bath, follow the A4 through town and on to Chippenham. Near Chippenham, take the A350 north to the A420. Turn Left on the A420 and go to Cold Ashton. Past Cold Ashton, turn left on Freezing Hill Lane to go directly to Lansdown Hill. This ride really comes into its own when all of the steep, curvy farm tracks are taken around the battlefield itself. Note, try to avoid Bath during heavy traffic and watch the debris on the farm tracks around the battlefield.
Use Ordnance Survey Landranger 172. The battlefield is centred on ST 723703. If using a road map, the battlfield is located north of Bath, near the racecourse.