Battle of Waterloo Belgium

Travelled:131km
Visited/Stay: Battle of Waterloo. Free parking at museum complex (wild), no service point. N50*40.7382' E4*24.3840'

After stopping off at Lidl we spent the morning driving through villages and country side with apple, pear and cherry orchards. We bought some cherries on the side of the road and continued on our way.

We stopped in St.Truiden to visit a charming barrel-vaulted church with its remarkable set of murals dating back from the 1200- 1600's. We also liked the unique planting around the church. 

Being too hot to walk around a town we decided to continue on to visit the Battle of Waterloo memorial. It took place on 18 June 1815 and marked the end of Napoleon's rule.
We arrived just after 1:30pm and were assured we had plenty of time to visit until the 6:30pm closure. We bought the Pass (€19ea) which includes entry to Napoleon's and Wellington's Headquarters (tomorrow). We walked the 226 steps up to the top of the Lion's Mound which offered a great view of the battlefield. The bronze statue of the Lion with its foot on a canon ball represents peace and looks towards France. The mound was actually built in 1826 as a battle memorial. 

Can you see Bluey?

We then looked at the Panorama fresco created in 1912.

The next couple of hours was spent in the Memorial Museum with audioguides learning great amounts of information with interesting displays including a 3D experience of the battlefield.

To end our visit we took the shuttle bus across the battlefield to Hougoumont Farm where another battle took place on the same day. A multimedia show explained how the French soldiers lost their fight to take over this English stronghold.

As there were no stellplatz/aires in the area and we still had 2 other places to visit tomorrow, we decided to find some shade in a parking spot and stay overnight, hoping no one asks us to leave.. fingers crossed.