Learning of the invasion, Harold took his housecarls north travelling 185 miles in 5 days. Leaving the southern coast was a terrible decision for Harold, however, at the time he must have been confident that it was too late for William to cross the channel.
- The first of the September storms had damaged some of Harold's fleet and possibly drove William back from an initial invasion attempt.
- The wind was still blowing from the north when Harold set off, which he knew would prevent William from crossing the Channel.
- Just as Harold had struggled to provide for his army, he knew William would have found it difficult to keep his army waiting through the Summer.
Harold's 5-day forced march was an outstanding military achievement as it was very difficult to gather thousands of men in such a short time.
After the battle of Gate Fulford, Hardrada and Tostig exchanged hostages with York, which had surrendered without a fight.They had demanded more from Yorkshire. They were informed that they would be handed hostages at Stamford Bridge and on 25 September, awaited them when Harold launched a surprise attack.
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