LONDON (AP) — Thousands of people including many in full costume have marked the 950th anniversary of the 1066 Battle of Hastings with a dramatic reenactment.

The reenactment Saturday is part of a weekend of festivities to commemorate the landmark event in British history. Tickets have long been sold out.

Some of the participants dressed as warriors walked roughly 300 miles (480 kilometers) from York in northern England to the Battle Abbey in East Sussex in southern England to recreate a march that preceded the battle. They camped along the way.

The famous battle between William of Normandy and Anglo-Saxon King Harold ended in the latter's death. William assumed the crown on Christmas Day and ruled until his death in 1087.

Thousands of combatants died in the fighting.