A GROUP of chain mail-clad warriors have set off on an epic 300 mile march that echoes the journey King Harold made to fight in the Battle of Hastings.

Starting in York yesterday, the men, some of who are on horseback, are making their way to Battle to mark the 950th anniversary of the nation shaping battle.

They aim to arrive at the Sussex battlefield 950 years to the day that the English army did on October 14.

By the end of that day, Harold was dead and England had been taken by William the Conqueror, changing the course of this country's history.

It is part of a series of events marking the 950th anniversary of the events of 1066 and the Norman conquest.

King Harold, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, defeated a Viking army led by Harald Hardrada, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, East Yorkshire, on September 25 1066.

He received news that William has headed for England and so took his army swiftly south to face him.

The 1066 march, as it is being billed, set out from Clifford's Tower in York, and will travel through Yorkshire and the East Midlands where in Lincoln they will pass through the same Roman arch Harold and his men would have done on their journey south.

The march, organised by heritage charity English Heritage, will travel through the Fens and to Essex, visiting Waltham Abbey where tradition says Harold may have been buried.

Marching into central London, the re-enactors will join a pop-up Saxon encampment in Hyde Park on Saturday October 8.

In the final week of the three-week journey, the group will travel from Westminster into Kent and through the Weald to Sussex, completing their version of Harold's last journey, before arriving for the annual re-enactment of the battle.

Emily Sewell, from English Heritage, said: "Throughout 2016 English Heritage have been marking the anniversary of 1066 at sites and events across the country.

"This march and our re-enactment weekend are the culmination of this year of activity and a great opportunity for people to find out more about these dramatic events."

Nigel Amos, who is leading the march , said: "The legacy of the Norman Conquest is all around us, and for me this march is a great way of highlighting the enormity of what the people involved in the campaigns of 1066 undertook, as well as appreciating the richness of our country's heritage, from magnificent churches and castles to Roman roads and Saxon villages hiding in plain sight."