I have just returned from a few days at the Battlefield of Waterloo, in the excellent company of Count Goya (who organised the trip) and the Archduke. I had never visited it before, though I once had a near miss, spending three days at La Hulpe, which is very close by, on a business trip, but never setting eyes on the battlefield.
We were very lucky with the weather, Goya's ideas of where we should go on each day could not be faulted, and our accommodation (more of which later) was absolutely marvellous.
I took a couple of hundred photos, but many of them are sights which are familiar to most people (and usually available in a superior form online or in books), many are too personal to be of much interest and quite a lot are - well, rubbish, really. I shall only reproduce a very few of the countless monuments I photographed, and will organise the posts around the days of our stay.
If there is an impression to be given, it is more of the experience of visiting the battlefield than any kind of narrative of the battle itself. We did get a few surprises about the topography, and had some interesting what-if discussions, which I shall return to.
Righto.
First important thing to say about the trip is that, if you travel to Waterloo, you should go to whatever trouble and expense is necessary to avoid having anything at all to do with Ryanair, whose contempt for their paying passengers, unprofessionalism and general enthusiasm for applying fees and fines are probably too well-known to mention again here. We flew to Charleroi by Ryanair, and I can promise this was my last ever involvement with them. Mafia.
We were collected by car at Charleroi airport, and made a couple of stops on the way north to see various monuments and have a quick look at Quatre Bras, where little remains of the battlefield now. The old buildings at the crossroads were finally demolished about 2 years ago, and what looks like a modern office building is being built there.
We went on to our B&B accommodation, at Braine l'Alleud, just off the north-west corner of the Waterloo field. I cannot praise this place enough; it is conveniently placed for walking to the battlefield, quietly situated, very comfortable, and our hosts could not have been more kind or helpful throughout. Magnificent breakfasts, too. If you are planning to visit here, I recommend it very strongly. Here's a link to their website.
The famous wooden representation of Christ, on the wall of the chapel, which was scorched by flames coming under the door from the adjacent chateau
View south, across the farmyard, from the site of the chateau. You can see the gardener's house and the South Gate. The young gentleman in the soldier's greatcoat was our guide; please note that the Archduke won a boiled sweetie for knowing the name of the French commander at Waterloo. Respect, please
As in Britain, 1st May is a national holiday in Belgium, so it was a bit of a challenge finding a restaurant which was open for business, but Goya spotted one on the horizon through his field glasses, and we ended a successful day appropriately stuffed with food, and planning Day 2.
Excellent getaway! Looking forward to your Day 2 Report.
ReplyDeleteHi Jon - enjoyed the trip very much. Good to get a change of scene (not to mention weather). Editing my photos to a suitable size will be the major effort in this mini-series.
DeleteFantastic you lucky man. I was due to go this year with Legers tours but due to my ongoing health issues had to cancel. I hope to try for next year and will read your reports with great interest. The B and B looks superb
ReplyDeleteThat's sad about the Legers tour - you must go when you are fully back in fighting form.
DeleteSupplementary note: I was delighted to make the acquaintance of Chimay Bleue, which is very like frothy Xmas Pudding - amazing stuff. Now I've checked I realise this is very difficult to obtain in the UK since we joined the Third World.
DeleteGlad you had a nice time over on la cont in ont, and that the journey there and back wasn’t traumatic enough to spoil the occasion, despite Ryanair’s best efforts.
ReplyDeleteRyanair cancelled the return flight at very short notice, and offered us a replacement at many times the price. We bought tickets for the flight back from Brussels Airways, which is a proper airline, and waved two fingers in the general direction of Michael O'Leary.
DeleteLooks great, very interesting! Sort of timely too, I note that yesterday was the anniversary of old Boney's death. I look forward to the continuation..
ReplyDeleteHi David - yes, poor old Boney is well dead, I fear. Some decent sites coming up in Part 2.
DeleteYou lucky man! It's several years since I last went, having been once before. Last time I did Ligny, Quatre Bras and Waterloo.
ReplyDeleteWe struggled to find the museum in Ligny so I resorted to trying some schoolboy French on a local - luckily they understood but said the museum was shut, then taking pity on us they contacted the curator who opened it up for us specially! Q-B was really interesting (luckily pre-demolition, etc.), Gemioncourt and the 'gulley' running down to the Materne were well worth a look, both being more significant than I had realised. We finished off with a 12-mile walk from Wavre to Waterloo following the route taken by one of the Prussian Corps - I forget which off the top of my head. All great fun and something I must do again sometime.
Your trip sounds very good - the 12-mile march wouldn't have gone down well with our veterans' regiment, but I am impressed. I understand that there is a lot to see at QB, but you have to know what you're looking for, and we would have needed more time than we had available.
DeleteInteresting; thank you. I look forward to your next report... I doubt I'll ever get there so it is good to read other people's impressions and see their pictures.
ReplyDeleteI was struck by just what a good defensive site the ridge at Mont St Jean was. I understand it was recommended by Marlborough a century earlier, but there are a lot of subtle advantages in there. For one thing, the east side of the field very quickly becomes a mass of little hills, woods and twisty lanes, so Wellington's left flank was secure from mass attacks (though I think the bocage-type terrain was a nuisance to the advancing Prussians). Interesting stuff. I got more surprises than I expected (did I mean to say that?).
DeleteSounds like an excellent trip (with the exception of the Ryanair part). I have heard from friends who have visited that, if you didn't know better, you could get the impression that Napoleon won the battle, based on the amount of coverage and number of memorials etc that are dedicated to him!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't choose to disagree with your friends, but my own impression was that the French monuments, with very few exceptions, are for units or individuals who suffered there, rather than Napoleon, which is probably all right. The British certainly win the monuments contest, far beyond the actual proportion of the Allied army which was British. Some of the monuments are extremely useful for adding extra information (well, new to me) about where the various formations and regiments were. The interior of Waterloo church is remarkable for this.
DeleteExcellent pics of what must have been a fab trip. I look forward to more pics!
ReplyDeleteI'm on it, Ray!
DeleteExcellent! Now that's what I call a trip. B&B looks very good, and decent rates. Looking forward to seeing the next episodes.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good trip. I'm a bit disappointed with some of my pictures (the Wounded Eagle looks like a pile of dirty washing, and I took a series of photos of La Haye Sainte from across the main road which each had a passing truck blocking the view) - may have to go back to retake some of them, and get some more Chimay Bleue.
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