Waterloo, Braine l'Alleud

Was lucky enough to visit the Waterloo battlefield in Belgium last week, it has been on my bucket list for a long time. I wasn’t disappointed, 200 years has changed the battlefield very little, thanks largely to perseverance of several groups and the Belgian government denying any real development on the site. It was particularly interesting to see how the land lies, something you cannot really grasp from books and reference material alone.

A visit to the huge Panorama painting was a must, and it is very impressive, here’s a snippet of just one of its thousands of little detailed moments in time. 

Of all the monuments on the battlefield, the Prussian memorial in Plancenoit stood out the most, looking brand spanking new as if it had been built yesterday.

Feverish work is going on at the Lion village and at Hougomont, no doubt to complete works in time for the 200th centenary this June. I couldn't take good pics of Hougomont due to the abundance of builders vans, but it is looking good after years of neglect with a brand new roof. I hope to visit it again when it is completed.