Battle of Edington Guthrum, with two other unnamed kings, "departed for Cambridge in East Anglia". He made several attacks on Wessex, starting in 875, and in the last nearly captured Alfred in his winter fortress at Chippenham. By 878, the Danes held the east and northeast of England, and their defeat at the Battle of Ashdown had paused but not halted their advance. Alfred the Great had spent the winter preceding the Battle of Edington in the Somerset marsh of Athelney, the nature of the country giving him some protection. In the spring of 878, he summoned his West Saxon forces and marched
Battle of Ashdown Wessex, preferring easier targets. 'Æscesdūn' or Ashdown is generally thought to be an ancient name for the whole of the Berkshire Downs. It is not known exactly where the two armies met, though it was around a lone thorn tree. Thorn Down at Compton, near East Ilsley — meaning "Place of Conflict" — is therefore a popular contender. Modern investigation suggests a site on the Ridgeway between Aldworth and the Astons. Victorian theory states that Alfred’s men gathered at the valley-fort now called Alfred's Castle near Ashdown House at Ashbury. Ethelred’s troops had taken up position nearby, at Hardwell Camp,