On arrival at Hastings, which probably by this time was virtually deserted, he unloaded his boats. He constructed a wooden fortress and waited for news of Harold. It would not be long.
It would have been only five days after the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Although Harold knew William was coming, he never thought it would be this soon. He was now in a dilemma. He was three hundred miles from Hastings with a depleted if not defeated force. On the 13th October 1066 he camped on Caldbec Hill, 10 km north of Hastings. Here the most famous English battle would be fought. Harold's men had been arriving all day in small groups on the 13th October 1066. These men had fought a battle on the 25th September, 260 miles to the north and were now expected to fight another only a few days later. Despite the hardship of it all, the troops morale must have been quite high. Having defeated Hardrada would have boosted their confidence, But not their numbers. Edwin and Morcar declined to help on this occasion, preferring to mind their business in the north. This lack of support severely reduced the numbers Harold would be able to use in the battle. He made the decision to fight William before he could consolidate any further. The location of the battle was chosen with care by Harold. Caldbec Hill was chosen for a number of reasons. Firstly it was well known in the area. It gave a natural advantage to anybody wishing to fight from there because of its natural all round visibility. It was easy to reach by road or track from London and was close ( possibly too close ) to William's position. By nightfall, at least 7500 men should have arrived. Made up of housecarls and fyrd, preparations were laid to challenge William as soon as possible. This would be indicative of Harold's impetuous nature. Why Harold chose to fight William the next day has always been something of a mystery. If he had waited another day for his full force to arrive, the outcome may have been totally different. The morning of the 14th October 1066 would be the culmination of a battle between two men who had politically and mentally been at war for many years. William's force consisted of three main forces. The Norman army, commanded by himself. The Bretons, commanded by Alan Fergant and the Flemish army commanded by Eustace of Boulogne and William Osbern. Seeing William take the initiative must have come as a surprise to Harold. He totally miscalculated the invasion in the first place by dismissing his ships for the winter.

Now he was being forced into battle before he was really ready.
To meet this challenge, Harold moved his men down from Caldbec Hill to within two hundred metres of William's position. The Saxon way of fighting was different to that of the Normans. The housecarls were in the front rank and were responsible for forming the shield wall. This would be particularly effective against the initial onslaught. Behind the housecarls were the fyrd or militia. Again, depending on the length of the line, would have been about ten deep. Harold set up his command post behind and centrally positioned to give him an elevated view of proceedings. The battle was about to begin. English used a tactic which was very effective against Normans and so were able to face their enemy very successfully in the first part of the battle. William, however, did not give up and made up a trap. He gave the English an impression that a part of his forces was turning and running. The Saxons followed them and many were lost. At this stage of battle, Harold was hit by an arrow. When his troops realised what happened their line was broken and the fight was soon over. William had won against all the odds. Their proud tradition honoured to the end. William surveyed the site and was moved by the emotion of it all. The body of Harold could not be identified because of the mutilation the Norman's had inflicted upon him. The following morning He called for his long term mistress, Edith Swan Neck. She would have been the only person able to identify him from body marks, as facially he was unrecognisable.
After the battle Normans had to face many difficulties and capture one town after other, but by the end of 1070 the England was their. The uniqueness of the Norman conquest in British history is that not only did the ruler change, but also the whole of the ruling class changes, and there was even a new language. The English nobility lost their lands, and the new landowners built castles like Warwick and Windsor that survive to this day. This was the beginning of a new chapter in the British history.