After hopping trains through Brussels, we found ourselves in a small station on the edge of a quiet town. With no people and no map, we headed towards what we assumed was a town centre.
Waterloo is an odd place. You expect there to be signs of its infamous history everywhere. If it were in the UK, there would be an information plaque every few yards, describing every random element and species of bird involved within the period. However, as we kept walking we saw no evidence of anything happening in the town at all, let alone one of the most famous battles in history.
Eventually we grew closer to a cross roads, and in front of us was a very understated building with 1815 across the front.
Inside there was a small shop and some memorabilia, however we were told that if we wanted to make it to the memorial in time then we had to catch the next bus.
Across the road, behind the bus stop, was a church dedicated the soldiers who lost there life in the battle. With 15 minutes to spare, we went in to have a look around.
Inside, a sense of grandeur unfolded. A fitting memorial to soldiers who lost there lives, from all sides, at the battle.
It is a small church, but very beautiful. With commemorative plaques with names on, on every wall, it is a very moving space.
The church is still used as the town's regular place of worship and sermons can be attended.
As two locals came in, to clear away the old candles and straighten up the leaflets, we had to leave to catch our bus to the battlefield itself.
The battlefield is around a fifteen minute bus journey, and a short walk, from the centre of the town. As we arrived, we were met with a minefield of roadworks and a group of builders laughing at our attempts to cross the wet, muddy scaffolding boards that they had laid as a poor attempt at a pathway.
Eventually we made it up to the field itself. The area comprises of a visitors centre, a shop and the mound. They are currently building a whole new centre, which will house a lot more artefacts, for the celebrations. However this is still under construction currently.
As you enter the visitors centre, you purchase a ticket, and then make your way out of the side doors and up to the top of the mound.
The view is quite spectacular, and quite honestly worth the long walk to the top. You can see for miles, over the fields where the battle itself occurred. Unfortunately, however, due to the creation of the monument itself and 200 years of farming, the majority of the archaeology has been destroyed.
Dark clouds started to draw close, and we escaped down the steps into the visitors' centre.
Inside was two cinema rooms (something akin to sitting on PE apparatus benches, and watching a poor projection in a school hall), followed by an overpriced shop. Quite honestly, if it was not for the mound itself, I would have said the whole thing is not worth the money.
As we left the centre, we came across a far older building that was tucked away behind a mass of scaffolding. Inside, up rickety old stars covered in a flaking red paint, was a 360 degree painting of the Battle of Waterloo. Distressed and unloved, it was quite honestly the best part of the whole centre and I hope, as the develop the area for the anniversary celebrations, they give it the work it deserves.
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