Hello Mr. Cornwell, first of all let me tell you that I´m a big fan of your work, second, since I started reading the Saxon tales I became really interested in the Nordic invasion to England, so I´m going to England in the summer and I was wondering which places (castles, ruins, museums, etc) could you recommend me to visit that are related to these period? Thank you very much. Jaime Sepúlveda
There's honestly not a lot to see! I know of only one Danish encampment that still remains (and unexcavated too), but it's on private land and would be very difficult to see. You could visit Wareham, in Dorset, where the Saxon walls remain - the only Saxon fortifications to survive unscathed. Other than that I'd recommend Winchester, Alfred's capital. The street layout (and property lines!) are those laid out by Alfred himself, but almost nothing remains from the Saxon period, the town you see is mostly mediaeval - but there is a fascinating museum there, and the Cathedral is well worth a visit (the bones of the Saxon kings (though not Alfred's) are in stone boxes high on the choir walls. If you go north then you must see the Jorvik Museum in York, the best recreation of a Danish settlement (underground!), and if you do get that far then keep going north and treat yourself to a visit to Holy Island (Lindisfarne) and see the ruins of the abbey that the Danes sacked and, of course, visit Bamburgh Castle just to the south - Uhtred's Bebbanburg!