On the same day the battle of Barnet was being fought and lost, 14th May, Queen Margaret and her son, Prince Edward, landed at Waymouth on the southwest coast of England. Margaret had hoped to rendezvous with Warwick, defeat King Edward and return King Henry to the throne. Upon receiving news that Warwick was dead and his army scattered she hesitated and contemplated returning to France. Bolstered with promises of support from the likes of the Earl of Pembroke she resolved to move north and make for Chester and Lancashire the Lancastrian heartland. To confuse Edward she sent patrols eastward towards London with the purpose of raising troops and of giving the impression she was moving in that direction. Instead she first moved west to Exeter and then northeast to Bath. Edward soon learnt of the new threat rising in the west and quickly moved to meet it. New forces were summoned and ordered to gather at Windsor 25 miles west of London. From Windsor he continued moving west to Cirencester and then Malmesbury hoping to confront Margaret before her forces passed the Bristol Channel and moved into Wales and the West Midlands. As the distance separating the two forces decreased their level of caution increased. Edward took up a defensive position on Sodbury Hill a few miles east of Bristol while his patrols sought out the exact location of Margaret’s host. Margaret’s army was southwest of Edward’s at the time and she was aware of his presence. She sent scourers towards Sodbury as a feint while the balance of her forces slipped passed Edward’s right making first for Bristol and then Berkeley. It was not till the morning of 3rd May that Edward became aware that Margaret had given him the slip.He roused his army and set off in pursuit. Edward realizing that Margaret would need to cross the River Severn if she was to continue north and that she would probably cross at Gloucester. Edward sent word to Sir Richard Beauchamp in Gloucester to have the gates of the city closed against her. When the Lancastrian army reached the city early on the 3rd they found their passage of the river blocked. Eventually they moved off northward towards the next crossing place at Tewkesbury, arriving there late in the day. The army had been on the march since late the previous day and they were exhausted. It was decided to not attempt a night crossing but instead to take up a strong position south of the town near the abbey and await the arrival of Edwards force on the morrow.