Royalist column Intercepted at Ludgershall ....

The Royalist raiding column is on their way back home, as they near Ludgershall they see Parliamentarian horse on the edge of the town.....

 Sir Warwick Hunt leads the parliamentarian horse out of Ludgershall ...

 and deploys them across the road blocking the royalist column....

 The royalist horse form up and their dragoons head to positions on the flanks

 Sir Warwick Hunt leads the parliamentarian horse forwards ...

The royalist dragoons are in position and the horse are ready for action ...

 The parliamentarians charge home, losing a few men to fire from the royalist dragoons ....

 The royalist are hit hard but their reserve troops pile into the melee....

 The royalists hold the situation and the fighting is hard .....

The parliamentarians are pushed back .... 

 and finally break and rout, Sir Warwick Hunt makes a last stand with whats left of his men ...

 and pushes back the royalists ...

 but the royalists are slowly gaining the upper hand, their dragoons have mounted up ...

 the remaining parliamentarians can hold no longer and rout ......

What's left of the royalist column reforms and move forwards back on its route home .....

On the road east to Tidworth, Sir Warwick Hunt tries to rally his men but to no avail.....

 

a Victory for ye Kinge ....

The Royalist raiders move south-west

The Royalists had turned east after their attack on Amesbury then doubled back slightly as if returning northwards but then veered south-west and swooped on Stockbridge...

The Parliamentarian garrision of a company of foot took refuge in the church, contained there by the dragoons....

 While the horse set about their work, burning supplies and firing houses ....

 The commander of the raid orders the trumpeter to sound assembly its time to move off -

  to return north to Royalist territory, they plan to go north via Ludgershall and thence to the either Pewsey or Marlborough.

---oXo---

Meanwhile the Parliamentarian commander in Sarisbury had issued orders for his horse regiments to assemble, he marched north to Amesbury, not finding the Royalists there they headed eastwards in the hope of intercepting them in case they had been further south ....

---oXo---

A map of the raid, Royalist movements in red, with their route home 'dotted'; Parliamentarian movements in blue, with the next move east after Amesbury 'dashed'

The Royalists make their move ......

The Royalist raiding column had reached Pewsey without incident; they rested over for a day but there departure was delayed by 2 days of heavy rain. After the ground had dried out sufficiently they set off and reached their first target a few miles away at Collingbourne Ducis - beating up the quarters of the Parliamentarian dragoon outpost ...

 They then formed up and headed south ...

They hit Amesbury next - a small of detachment of Parliamentarian horse gave them no trouble and they rode off in great haste. In Amesbury the Royalists piled up supplies and burnt them, setting fire to some of the houses too.

The Royalists left moving south as if going to Sarisbury, but after a couple of miles turned east towards Idmiston.....

---oXo---

The detachment of Parliamentarian horse having left Amesbury in a hurry ride hard to Sarisbury ...

Later at Sarisbury, one of the detachment finds Sir Warwick Hunt, the Parliamentarian commander, in the cathedral close and tell him of the news of the Royalist cavalry raid ...

Sir, a large force of about 500 or more Royalist horse have attacked Amesbury...