We spent the 8th of October, exploring the area below Lancaster Hill and then later in the day, the actual hill itself.
"11-12 December 1900 - The hill overlooking Vryheid was occupied by 900 men of the Lancaster Regt who fortified their position with trenches and gun positions. During the night of 11-12 December 1900 Boers of Gen Louis Botha’s second invasion force attacked the position but after fierce fighting were driven off having inflicting some serious casualties on the British including Lt Col Gawne the commanding officer."The outing was excellent with my wife an I covering some serious ground, all-in-all we walked about 8km's
The finds were few and far between, but, the outing was excellent. Of course, not to mention that I got seriously 'zapped' by an electric fence, much to the enjoyment of my wife. I also discovered that I'd somehow lost my battery cover and that my pointer is on it's way out.
The encampments on the hill are amazing, however, very neglected and overgrown making detecting a chore at best with some areas almost impossible to detect. The memorial on the hill is in a terrible state of disrepair, badly overgrown and again, just generally very neglected... Then again, history is written and controlled by the victor!!!
If you are considering visiting the hill, opt for a bakkie or a 4X4 as the road going down the hill is super hectic.
If you would like to read how the battle transpired -
http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol104mc.htmlHere's a few photos...
