"Advice for Waterloo visit anyone?" Topic

Hello folks

My wife and I will be visiting Belgium quite soon, and some of our time is going to be spent exploring the whole Waterloo landscape.

We'll obviously be 'doing' the whole Lion Mound Hamlet thing (mound, panorama, etc.), and visiting nearby attractions like Welly's Museum, and Boney's HQ. I know I want to look around Plancenoit as well.

I'm wondering if anyone can add some more interesting ideas to help fill out our itinerary. All suggestions – as long as they're sane and polite – will be most welcome.

Thanks in advance, Seb

Start with the Wellington Museum in Waterloo itself, as this is a good "primer" for the campaign as a whole, and gives some good background on the armies and weapons. Next port of call is the "Butte du Lion" and visitor centre (I think they should sell bumper stickers saying "I've been up the Lion's Butte"). Papelotte is a riding school now, I think, and, like La Haye Sainte, is private property; however, you can walk round inside the walled garden of Hougoumont and see most of the buildings (which are currently being rennovated).

If you want to cover Wavre, allow a whole day and get a detailed map of the area. There's very little left in the town centre (other than the church – it's fun finding the cannonball lodged in one of the central pillars), but quite a lot of outlying sites still remain. Unfortunately, these are often situated on minor roads, the entrances to which are confusingly close to slip roads/ramps onto the local motorways, so be careful.

I found Plancenoit to be the biggest surprise – the village is not at all flat like it is on every Waterloo table I've seen, and the drop from the front door of the church to the village square is substantial. There are sunken lanes and buildings on mounds all over the place, which would have made the action far more interesting than typical refights would make you believe (in fact, I think Plancenoit is on a par with Hougoumont as one of the best parts of the battle to refight at low command level/big skirmish type games).

Drive thru Quatre Bras and then on to Ligny. Worth a look. The mill at Fleurus is interesting.

Only 12 days ago much discussion on this topic.

TMP link

So much depends on how much time you have and whether you are prepared to hire a car and drive around (my advice….don't).

If time is limited and funds are not too tight….and it mat be some time before you come again, explore the guide idea. Not as expensive as you'd think if you consider alternatives. These sites are not like Gettysburg. You simply cannot walk Waterloo to Quatre Bras and then Ligny and back to Wavre (even in days of walking). Public transport is surprisingly poor for a modern country. Train Brussels to Waterloo for DoW's HQ, then bus to the battlefield……take in Plancenoit. Long walk to Braine L'Alleud station and back to Brussels. But you have still not seen La Caillou, or Genappe, or Q Bras etc……..

First time, Alan Lindsey took us ( one adult and two 14 year old lads! Mrs Deadhead had more sense) around and proved far cheaper than any alternative. Nice bloke too. Check him on internet,

link

nothing to lose, if just asking a quote…..there are probably countless guides, but we used him some years ago and we got to see far more than if solo. Now I know my way around it is easier!

I took the Waterloo Companion with me when I went and was very glad I did. It is quite bulky, but worth hauling around.

Yes, Wellington Museum, Plancenoit and Hougoumont are well worth the time to explore. We gave the Lion mound a miss and don't feel like anything was missed. Instead, we covered most major areas of the battlefield by foot and car. Spent a lot of time around Hougoumont and in the fields between there and La Haye Sainte. Really enjoyed the Cyclorama as well. If you are not used to European roads and driving, a guided tour would definitely be something to consider. Enjoy your trip.

I don't know whether things are still the same, but, a few years ago, we bought tickets at the visitors centre, near the Lion Mound that covered, among the things that I can remember, the Lion Mound, the panorama, the waxworks (pretty awful) and a tour of the battlefield on a trailer pulled by a tractor (with multi – language commentary). We then walked around parts of the battlefield. It is quite compact. I imagine that the whole things been jazzed up a bit before next year's anniversary.

Unless you are staying in Brussels and only going out there for the day, get a car so that you can venture further afield. If you want another battlefield that isn't too far away, try Ramillies.

We're driving from Cambridge, UK… so we'll have the car with us! Wanted to have complete freedom of movement.

I'm armed with two books that cover visiting the fields On The Fields Of Glory (Uffindell & Corum), and Chandler's Waterloo: The Hundred Days.

Thanks for all the suggestions, and to deadhead for the link to the similar recent thread… I can't wait to be there!

Seb

My only advice is make sure you take a whole day to walk the battlefield itself. I didn't leave enough time, and had to miss Hougoumont, but there is so much to see and feel on the rest of the field I don't regret the time I took. I'd agree about Plancenoit as being a great place to explore.

Peter

If you are on Facebook check out the site project Hougoumont link There is an awful lot of work going on including an underground visitors centre . There are plenty of pics and info on the Facebook page

I was lucky to be able to stay for a few days for an organised tour. Worth doing if you have the time.

I remember two things:

1. On the evening of arrival we were driven around the perimeter of the field in an (admittedly quite high) coach. I was struck by how flat the battlefield looked. There's a story that Wellington picked the field out as a good defensive site, when passing some time before. If so, he really must have been a genius, at there was nothing like a typical tabletop hill.

2. Later we were taken across the field, following the route of the final French attack. In the dip between the two lines the guide pointed out that we could see next to nothing. Showing the importance of perspective on topography – that only a slight dip can hide an army. Also showed how difficult it must have been for Ney. If the field is open I'd very much recommend taking this walk.

Alan

How clever A C London's post is.

That daft mound, or the lorry tour, is for folk who would rather get out of breath for few moments (or sit in an awful vehicle designed for military transport) and view something that is far from spectacular ( compared with say Little Round Top) instead of actually walking the field……and you'll need to come back if you do that anyway.

If you walk it and you really know your "Waterloo", you will find the odd spots where you are in a hollow and can see nothing. If there is a bunch of cuirassiers and Slender Billy has told you there is no danger, you will have no fear at all. (I know that is the Sharpe story and it was really all Alten's fault, but let's pretend). If you stand by the Gordon memorial and decide to step down to the Chausee, you will think twice facing the drop and realise how the ridge looked before the locals destroyed it. Unless you walk down towards Smohain you cannot understand why there was little movement down there. We all think of Belgium as flat and featureless. Blucher's march did not face mountains, but, on a muddy day, before tarmac was invented, see the slope out of Lasne. Imagine pulling guns through a quagmire…..

You do have to walk the battlefield.

You do have to drive the campaign though.

That is the snag…..if you have little time and have spent a fortune crossing the Atlantic, first visit, I know what I would do. A guide…. and I found Alan Lindsey brilliant. Twice back since, I have done it solo and taken my own time to just wander and explore. Totally different……better….but you need the first!

(I know that is the Sharpe story and it was really all Alten's fault, but let's pretend).

No no no, it absolutely wasn't poor Alten's fault, he knew it was a suicidal order, he was just too good a soldier to disobey his orders.

Re the visit. Walk to Placenoit, those tracks are virtually unaltered since3 1815, you get a real feel for it. Also invest in a copy of the Waterloo Companion, its excellent.