• Walking route: Göreme – Rock Valley – Uçhisar – Pigeon Valley – Love Valley – Çavuşin - Paşabağı – Rose Valley – Red Valley - Kilçlar Valley – Göreme
• Distance: 25km (28km actual due to detours)

It’s about an hour before dawn. My host lets me know that but I’ve already been awake a few minutes. I slip out into the chilly morning air. As I turn on my GPS device, I find it’s still dark enough to require the backlight.

Having climbed to the top of the village, I’m soon heading downhill into the imaginatively named Rock Valley (Içeri Dere) and the moon isn’t fat enough to light my way. I wanted to save weight so I never packed a torch and now I’m faced with a couple of pitch black rock tunnels.

After a while I start to hear birdsong and a bit of rustling in the bone dry grasses, getting ever so steadily louder as if the whole landscape is controlled by a volume knob. Along with these sounds, colour now seeps into the valley, tinting the rockfaces above a pale straw yellow.

I’m climbing through a narrow section between rippled rocks that look like the meringue topping of a pavlova. And then I stop dead.

In this silence the howling and barking of a dog seems unsettlingly close. I can’t see it but it can see me. I scan the whole valley, my eyes racing over detailed surfaces. Then I see it. In fact, I see them. There are two. Wild or feral. They are on the opposite valley side and a sheer drop prevents them from doing any more than protecting their own domain. I make it to the top over on my side and check my map to make sure it won’t be taking me over that side.

For the next few moments, inside every shadow and behind every rock hides a ferocious wild dog. I’m sweating but I’m not sure if it’s fear or exertion. Round the next bluff and the fear slips away when I spy the crumbling keep of Uçhisar, lofty and untouchable like the Assassins’ Castle of Alamut. Uçhisar consists of a throng of ancient houses ringing the keep much like those found in Göreme, though apart from a thin belt of glassed-in verandas along the road, it’s obvious that less money has been made and spent here.

Larger map of this route

Uçhisar glows a splendid orange as the sun’s first glow bathes it and now  all the balloons are going up behind me. Still wary of dogs, I begin the steep climb to the village on a path that looks more like a landslip. I pass on a horse of indeterminate age, gilded by the sunlight. Finally I reach the village, at once half-ruined and half-built.

Up at the road, the outrageous gesture of luxury accommodations clashes uncomfortably with what lies just a couple of metres below. Up here there are proud lawns, manicured and freakishly green, with dusty looking men hosing them down at this hour. Up late are a few tourists already in sunglasses, watching the balloons glide over the glass, the concrete, the lawns and all of our heads.

Clouds of dust follow the minibuses as they drive too fast down narrow, white tracks toward the balloon landing sites. I pass nearby where ‘x’ marks the spot and I hear excited echoes but nobody sees me. I descend the erratic and winding trail into Pigeon Valley (Güvercinlik Vadisi). The rock here is beyond white and still in deep shadow, so I begin to feel cold again and decide to pick up the pace.

I might be halfway down when I hear voices. Clear enough to grasp that German is being spoken and that I have been spotted. Yet there’s nobody else around for as far as the distance I can see. Yet the voices are so clear they’re almost on top of me. And it turns out they are. With effortless silence, an enormous balloon has crossed the precipice and slid right over my head. I could almost touch the basket. People wave and I wave back.

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Hoodoos and balloons

Photographs from my 28km epic solo hike through all the valleys of the Göreme Tarihî Millî Parkı!

Down in the valley bottom the first hoodoos, or “fairy chimneys” as they are rather picturesquely known here, make their appearance. Hoodoos are formed because the upper layers of a section of rock are harder than those below, so that weathering occurs quicker and to a greater extent on the lower part of the rock, eventually separating and isolating a column which remains partly protected by the upper layers. The hoodoos here come to resemble knitting needles, asparagus spears and of course penes.

This latter description may account for the next valley’s epithet: Love Valley. This valley contains many of the most complete hoodoos in the region and is preceded by a small garden of gourds and apricot trees which somebody presumably comes out here to maintain and harvest.

Beyond Love Valley, which I am unable to fully enjoy thanks to another canine encounter, I reach the road that connects Göreme with Nevşehir and Çavuşin. The latter being nearby, that’s where I am headed next. Çavuşin is a modern village in comparison with Göreme and Uçhisar: it has a grid system of streets and people live in ordinary houses. I pass through the village and out along a narrow path beginning at a rock church dedicated to St John the Baptist.

Pretty soon I am lost but uncaring. I was supposed to head direct for the Paşabağı and Zelve. Now I find myself overlooking them instead and the view from up here is fantastic.

Eventually I retrace my steps to Rose Valley (Güllü Dere) and pass beautiful, isolated rock cuttings before descending through the old, now ruined village that once answered to the name of Çavuşin. This ghost village, complete with a graveyard full of eroding headstones, is a bit of a tourist spot and I leave the road to head for the Red Valley (Kizil Çukur).

Locally published hikers’ map (Full size)

The path here is not straightforward. I get the distinct impression that it is not often followed from this side of Çavuşin and on more than one occasion, a fallen tree forces me to make a detour into open scrubland. Soon there are just too many paths bifurcating from mine and I become unsure as to which one I need to take. When the GPS tells me I need to make a turn, there appears to be no path there to take.

I continue on hoping to retrace back onto the route a little further on and I come within about fifty metres of doing so. The problem is that those fifty metres are vertical. The waypoint is high above me! I add about 2km of rough scrambling to my day’s total at this point, finally getting back to my original path after a lot of uncertainty and recalculation. When I eventually pass that point when I’m about fifty metres above where I was, I smile ruefully about the time and energy I’ve lost.

High above the valley floor, I can now see all the main rock valleys bar Zelve (which is behind the butte on which I currently find myself), from Çavuşin to my extreme right to as far as Uçhisar, now on the distant horizon.

The path runs steadily across the steep valley side and apart from the occasional shade from a rock formation, it’s incredibly hot. My water is now starting to run low and I look out for Aktepe, a tall hill on the left. When I draw level with Aktepe, I turn and descend back to the valley floor via the Kilçlar Valley Church where locals are drying huge bunches of greyish purple grapes.

After such a long, high and dry trail, I am rather unprepared for the humidity of the valley bottom. I pass through damp, insect-filled caves, scramble up steep little rises and push through thick undergrowth. I am just a little irritable by the time I have climbed steeply again, this time reaching the road between Göreme and Ürgüp.

Stocking up on cool water at the Göreme Open Air Museum, I find myself in much better spirits and decide to walk hard the last stretch beside the road that runs back to Göreme. It’s been a big day of adventure and I have seen some incredible scenery. When I reach my accommodation, I figure I deserve my short nap, followed by a Turkish hamam and reflexology session!

Back at the office on Monday, there was some hesitation among colleagues – as there often is when I recount a trip into the recesses of Wallonie – over how to pronounce “Ninglinspo”.

Down in these strange, shadowy little dales south of Liège, someone once claimed that gold had fetched up in a few rivers, provoking a small but fruitless gold rush. One could well believe that Ninglinspo saw more visitors neither before nor since.

The pools and waterfalls have epithets originating from folklore or ancient mythology. Nobody knows who dreamt them up and this ethereal valley certainly isn’t telling.

• Walking route: Sedoz – Ninglinspo – Sedoz (loop)
• Distance: 13km

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Ninglinspo

Following an unpronounceable little river as it flows through a narrow, rocky valley down into the Amblève.

Map

Larger map of this route

Toledo: Puerta del Reloj

The city retains much of its ancient character, thanks in no small part to its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In common with the other great cities of old al-Andalus Toledo has a long history of coexistence marked by distinct ruling periods.

Muslims were here. Jews were here. Catholics were here. Catholics are still here. Toledo is modern Spain’s capital of Catholicism, a jumble of ancient houses clinging together like prayer boxes on top of a hill carved by a tight meander of the Tajo river.

Crenellated battlements surround the city, a fading, golden girdle that still protects against the breaches of invasion and overdevelopment.

Inside the walls, all is quiet. Starchy food smells escape from ornate, wooden shutters. Unfamiliar liquids escape the heat, running between the paving stones and into odourous drains. A closed knife shop. A closed marzipan shop. Another close knife shop, exactly like the one before.

Inside the cathedral, leaving behind the crass crowds. No cameras, no filming, no smoking, no dogs, no mobile telephones. No common objects in this magnificent edifice built by the sacrifices of common people. The vestments and mitres of generations of bishops, hermetically sealed in chapelled cabinets. Their portraits – some more successful than others – are panel painted in another chapel.

Breathe easier outside. Play hide and seek with the bright sun. Breathe in and slip into the close, narrow alleys. Breathe out in the broad plazas. Coming, ready or not.

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Toledo

A former capital of Spain and now capital of Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo is the city of swords, religion and marzipan.

Walking in Toledo

Larger map of this route

Using the train station as a start and finish point, the map covers most of Toledo’s points of interest, some of which are marked for reference.

Julos Beaucarne’s Pagodes, Ferme de Wahenge

Hoegaarden is home to the world’s most famous white beer. When megabrewery InBev tried to move production to another facility in 2006, the quality of the beer suffered, so Hoegaarden’s tradition continues.

Surrounding the town are the vast wheat fields required to produce all that hazy liquid gold. This walk crosses a few of them, before heading into Wallonie and passing the strange Pagodes field at the Ferme de Wahenge before wending its way alongside the Grande Gette river until it becomes the Flemish Grote Gete back at Hoegaarden.

The renowned singer-songwriter Julos Beaucarne built the aforementioned Pagodes, thirty six in number and constructed primarily from industrial cable drums. A household name in Wallonie, he will be best known to many foreigners as the author of the texts on the E411 roadsigns, which include Cris et chuchotements (Walibi Wavre), Trois crayons dessinent le ciel (Vêves) and perhaps most memorably for La Molignée, Mélange étrange d’églises et de granges. The full list can be found in a Le Soir archive article.

• Walking route: Hoegaarden – Mélin – Saint-Rémy-Geest – Zétrud-Lumay – Hoegaarden (loop)
• Distance: 20km

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Hoegaarden

Home of the world's most famous white beer, the town of Hoegaarden is surrounded by the wheat fields required for brewing.

Map

Larger map of this route

In addition to my earlier article on Getting started with a Garmin eTrex H GPS for walking, here’s a brief explanation of how I create routes and transfer them to the eTrex H.

Before we get started, there are a few points to mention:

• We’ll be using proprietary software and map products on Windows XP or above
• When creating a very basic route, we have no real need for waypoints, just via points – so I won’t be discussing waypoints here
• Sometimes the workflow might seem a bit convoluted, but as a routine I’ve gotten used to it and it will probably apply to almost any basic Garmin handheld device, not just the eTrex H!

Using Mapsource

As I explained in my Getting started… article, I use Garmin’s Mapsource software to plan and create routes, which doesn’t ship with the eTrex.

Mapsource (v6.15.11 illustrated here but v6.16.x works the same) is surprisingly clunky for a desktop software client. As the main interface between the eTrex H device and the computer, however, it’s pretty much essential and I can live with its limitations.

So with that in mind, let’s start up Mapsource now.

Drawing a route

First we’ll need to select our map product. Assuming it’s properly installed and unlocked, select it.

Select the map product you want to use

We need to find the starting location for our route. I often use Google Earth or Google Maps to do this: a satellite view offers a more human picture of car parking facilities and other features.

Use the Find menu and the Hand tool in Mapsource to drag to the location. The “+” and “-” keys will zoom in and out respectively.

Now select the Route tool and click on the map at the desired starting point.

Click on the map at the desired starting point

Point by point, draw a route out on the map. If you’re walking, you’ll obviously want to stick to paths and trails rather than proper roads. Mapsource isn’t too intuitive when you make mistakes, so try to minimise them wherever possible, making use of Edit > Undo / Ctrl Z. If you do need to go back and edit your points, then you should learn how to do that with the Route tool. Since I need to keep this article simple, I won’t cover it here.

Tip!

When drawing out a route, I again tend to use Google Maps or Google Earth with the pictures layer(s) turned on. This helps me ensure I don’t miss any beauty spots or places of interest (because people tend to take photos of them).

Showing the picture layer in Google Maps

Tip!

Always think of the real world when planning a route:

• Shorter is not necessarily easier or safer
• Map data (especially Garmin’s own topo maps) can be infuriatingly inaccurate, so check for updates and also your paper map
• Little details on the PC can help a lot on the trail – for example, if I’m going straight over a crossroads, I eliminate doubt by placing my next via point after the crossroads

Placing a via point after the crossroads

Caution!

It’s important to remember when drawing that the eTrex H only accepts a maximum of 125 points per route. This limit increases as we go up the food chain of Garmin GPS models. So what can we do with a long and/or complicated walk? The options are limited but I don’t mind. More on that below in the Preflight section.

Once you’ve finished drawing out the route, you might want to save it. The default file format is GDB, a Garmin proprietary format specific to Mapsource and as such not necessarily transferable to other software. Personally, I stick to GPX, which is an XML standard (albeit proprietary itself) and supported by all software and devices I’ve so far encountered.

Preflight

Years ago, I used to do graphic design. After the creative work was finished and in order to send the artwork off to the printer, a final – and sometimes highly technical – workflow would usually be necessary: Preflight.

In the same way, if because of length or complexity the route contains more than 125 via points, we will need to do another workflow before we can transfer our route to the eTrex H. If the route contains 125 or less via points, you can continue to Transferring GPS routes to the eTrex H.

With longer routes, we need to consider one of the following options:

1. Cutting out superfluous via points to get the total down to 125 points – this is easier than it sounds, because a clearly-defined trail rarely needs every kink to be marked with a point
2. Dividing a big route into multiple smaller routes – this in turn triggers another eTrex H-specific constraint, the grand total of points across all routes cannot exceed 500!

If you can’t work around the point limitations of the eTrex H by option 1, then option 2 will work for all but the most complicated routes. You just need to be comfortable with the idea of switching routes on the fly during your walk.

So speaking personally, the only practical inconvenience for me is having to keep an eye on the device when I know we’re nearing the end of one route, because then I’ll need to switch to the next one on the list.

Tip!

Cutting out the flabby via points or splitting a big route into a series of smaller routes could be a big headache. Mapsource certainly won’t help us.

Enter the resourceful Dutchman Edward Sackman and his brilliant WinGDB utility. Alongside Mapsource, I use WinGDB almost as much.

WinGDB is a multitool of functions that the folks at Garmin neglected to include in Mapsource, including facilities for route simplification (based on some excellent mathematics) and splitting. You can output the results to a file or to another instance of Mapsource.

Edward Sackman’s WinGDB (v3.44 shown)

If you’re planning more complex routes and you’re willing to accept the eTrex H’s limitations, then spend some time getting to know WinGDB.

Transferring GPS routes to the eTrex H

Without Mapsource or an alternative [1], you cannot transfer routes or tracks to or from the eTrex H because the serial interface cannot be read like a disk in the way that we might do with, say, a digital camera. So you’d otherwise be reduced to entering the points on the device manually, which is no fun at all.

So far we’ve prepared our route using Mapsource, so let’s go back to it now.

If you’ve installed the correct drivers for your eTrex H (see the Getting started… article for more information), transferring routes to it is simple using the Transfer > Send to device... menu:

Be sure not to pull out the cable or stop the operation before it’s finished. Also check the device to confirm that the transfer has completed. If your route contains too many points, the device (not the computer) will truncate it and display a message to that effect.

And finally, as this is serial and not USB, be patient because the transfer process can take a while!

Footnotes

1. “… or an alternative”: alternatives to Mapsource as an interface between a computer and the eTrex H are rare. GPSBabel and EasyGPS are two examples of which I have no personal experience. Most of Garmin’s other, higher specification devices are more simply managed since they feature removable memory cards ↑

It might not be especially high, but the summit of the Bec Pointu (1,342m) is pretty tough to reach from the southwest side. The trail is rather poorly marked and there are often multiple possibilities, so making for a general target is the best way to get around.

We also decided to follow this in reverse to our plan and that does seem to have had an effect on the facility of following the route. Nevertheless, we’re glad we did reverse it, since we both agreed that climbing to the Col des Teulières (1,170m) would have been really difficult on such a hot day.

• Distance: 15km
• Overview: steep climbs and descents, very narrow trails; beautiful views, flowers
• Merci à Marcel @ Microdrome pour les infos

Larger map of this route

The last section of this walk (or the first, depending on the direction) follows a long section of road through the stunning Gorges d’Omblèze, which requires caution due to the number of blind bends.

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Bec Pointu

The peak of this small mountain (1,342m) may not be so high but it's pretty tough to get to!

I’m writing this on a quiet, restful day during which the most we’ve done has been a visit to the supermarket down in Die. The old town is short of breath in this decidedly unalpine heat.

No need to feel lazy: such rest was truly earned. Yesterday we climbed the 2,391m Grand Veymont, one of the Vercors’ highest peaks.

Having driven the neverending switchbacks of the Col de Rousset and up a hair-raising, seven-kilometre singletrack road, we donned our boots and set off on a less-travelled and probably more arduous walking route to most of those with whom we shared the summit.

• Distance: 22km
• Overview: scrambling over rocks, steep climbs and descents, narrow trails; beautiful views, plenty of nature
• Caution: risk of rockfalls, lack of water in this region

Larger map of this route

On the approach, we were following an older local couple. Whenever we caught up and paused for breath, the authoritative madame would point out far-off wildlife that we might otherwise have missed.

Later they dropped us and we lost sight of them until the summit, where I had to admit to their sincere amusement that this wasn’t Flanders.

As I donned my warm layer, le plat pays was indeed many moons away, though from up here I rather thought that I could see it.

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Grand Veymont

Climbing the highest mountain (2,346m) in the Vercors chain.

At every step of the mountainside, whether on brittle white rock or thin brown soil, there existed a self-contained little world inhibited by wildflowers, tufty grasses and insects. Over the rockier sections, I imagined the course of an invisible stream with the near-vertical pathway as its bed, but apart from the brief residue of already forgotten snows, this is dry country.

Apart from the helpful couple, there must have been fifty others at this densely populated summit, faces flushed with heat and varying degrees of pride at their latest achievement. A cold wind blew as each walker sought out a spot to eat their casse-croute. Fortunately, there were plenty of panoramic vistas to go round.

To the north, the spine of the Vercors could be seen stretching into the haze as far as Grenoble. To the south, the Glandasse and the prominent Dent de Die.

The descent was steep and rocky and coming down can be just as tiring as going up on trails like this. As on the way up, it was essential to guard against rockfalls.

Below the Pas des Chattons, through Bonnevau and the Cabane Bergerie beyond that, the extraordinary number of flies was sometimes unpleasant.

We ended the day by descending on another Route Forestière, this time the Rachier, passing one of the very few water sources in the area before reaching the trees and the Maison de la Coche.

Château de Walzin, Lesse valley

The Lesse river flows from the Province de Luxembourg up to the Meuse at Anseremme. Unusually, it flows underground near Rochefort and the flow of water emerges only twenty four hours later further along the route at the Trou d’Han. The caves cut by the Lesse are of the same limestone as the cliffs along the river in this lower section.

The Château de Walzin stands majestically atop one such cliff near Furfooz. There have been several incarnations, due to the fault of successive owners being politically on the losing side. The sturdy building presently on this precarious perch is largely the result of restorations done in the last century.

• Walking route: Furfooz – Walzin – Hulsonniaux – Gare de Gendron-Celles – Furfooz (loop) detailed commentary
• Distance: 20km

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Lesse valley

Before it reaches the Meuse, the Lesse river flows through a long, deep and green valley bordered by limestone cliffs.

Detailed commentary

Larger map of this route

At the top of the roundabout in Furfooz, turn right onto the Rue des Aiguilles de Chaleux. The street becomes a track and eventually forks. Take the left fork running downhill through the trees, gently at first then steeper until the path bottoms out at the river Lesse. Go under the railway bridge and look carefully for the narrow path on the left that climbs back up to railway. Cross the railway bridge on a path running beside the line and descend again to the river bank. Follow the trail under the bridge and then by the river with occasional glimpses of the Château de Walzin. At the next junction, a tree-lined trail to the right leads down to the river with a great view of the château but walkers opting for this will need to retrace back to this point, then go straight. Those who choose not to do this should now turn left.

The track crosses a railway bridge and heads uphill, eventually out of the woods. At a crossroads with a concrete road and a picnic spot opposite, turn left. Take the next left at a t-junction and go straight as far a noticeable broadening of the road marked by a solitary tree, at which turn sharp right onto a field track. Go straight, gently uphill, and continue after joining a more solid track as far as a crossroads with a chapel. Turn right here on a wide track running between fields, going gently uphill before descending into woodland. When the track splits, take the left fork that runs along the edge of the woods at left and fields at right. Take the next left onto the Chemin de Falmagne, with the fields now on the left side.

The track becomes a quiet, minor road, going straight over a crossroads and then downhill and right at the next fork before reaching the main road with another chapel on the corner. Cross over and continue straight down the Rue du Centre. Turn left onto the Rue de Marteau and, when the road splits, take the left fork back to the main road. Turn right onto the verge of the main road for a moment then carefully cross over and follow the Route du Ry de Vesse on the left. This minor road runs steeply downhill into woodlands. Follow it downhill as far as a little bridge but rather than crossing the bridge, take the track to the right as it runs downhill into a deep wooded valley. Take the first left which runs down to a stream with a small wooden bridge crossing it, before becoming a narrow path running along the left edge of the valley as far as a road, onto which turn left.

Follow the road alongside the Lesse as far as a widening of the valley floor where, next to a railway bridge over the road, a narrow path runs through a field on the right with the railway line above left. Find a narrow path on the left that climbs the embankment under tree cover to the railway line. Cross the Lesse on the path running alongside the railway line with a tunnel ahead. Just after the bridge, a path on the right goes steeply back down the embankment to another narrow path next to the bank of the river. The path may appear to split several times, but always follow the line closest to the river until eventually it reaches a t-junction with a wide track (Rue du Camp Romain) slightly inland from the river. Turn right onto it.

The road ends at a pavilion overlooking to the river. Continue straight on a narrow path which, as earlier, splits frequently. There are some interesting rock features up on the left, while the rightmost trail continues beside the river. It doesn’t matter too much which path is taken, provided that the general direction is ahead with the river always in sight. At the end of the woodland, there is a field. Follow its right edge and at the far side, a wider track opens out. Continue straight and arrive at the wide yard/car park of a kayak hire business which gets very busy in summer. Follow the edge of the yard with the railway line at left as far as the road and railway bridge. Go under the bridge and carefully cross over into the railway station car park below the Auberge de la Lesse. With the main road at left, walk to the far end of the car park and a slip road onto the main road. Carefully cross over and follow the edge of the main road right as far a small clearing on the left with a footbridge. Cross the footbridge and turn left thereafter onto a long, rocky and quite steep track.

Follow the track as it eventually flattens out and then, emerging from the woodland, goes uphill again. At the level top, go straight at a junction of paths and descend again quite steeply into woodlands before reaching a road (Rue du Camp Romain again). Turn right here and follow it uphill and back into the village.

• Walking route: Ransbeck – Mont St Jean – Plancenoit – Lasne – Ransbeck
• Distance: 21km

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 between the Belle Alliance coalition and France.

Napoleon’s sudden return had been a rude shock for the other European powers, leading to the conclusion two months earlier that the resurgent Corsican should be immediately defeated.

Taking sides

Napoleon I’s impressive military capabilities had brought him enormous success and by 1804 he ruled France and its dominions. However, a deleterious campaign in Russia and a succession of pyrrhic victories undermined his position forced him into exile in 1814. By February 1815 and ever popular with the military, Napoleon had reinstalled himself and would have to fight to consolidate his position.

At Waterloo, Napoleon would be facing off against an old adversary, Arthur Wellesley, newly created Duke of Wellington at the beginning of the year and at the height of his military powers.

Later in the day Wellington would be joined by Gebhard von Blücher, the aged but still energetic commander of the Prussian forces and another veteran of earlier Napoleonic conflicts.

For all three generals, this would be their last major battle.

So it was at dawn in the soggy fields south of Brussels, ahead of a day that would shape Europe’s future for almost a century to come.

Battle of Waterloo showing the walking route

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Battlefield overview

The battlefield on which Napoleon and Wellington squared off featured a ridge held by the latter that was later levelled to provide materials for the Butte du Lion. Napoleon’s forces in opposition held the Genappe road running south and the cover of woodlands to their rear.

In the centre and at each flank were three fermes en carré (large enclosed farms), all still standing today and key positions the retention of which could be decisive.

Opposite the French left, the British held the château farm of Hougoumont and Napoleon considered this an appropriate target for his opening attack. His intention was to divert British resources away from the centre, the most difficult section of the battlefield. Here, La Haye Sainte farm stands at what was once the foot of the ridge. This ridge would need to be climbed amid crossfire from the British flanks with no natural cover beyond. On the French right, Papelotte farm lay ahead, well-defended and – crucially – guarding the road on which the Prussians would make their approach.

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Battle of Waterloo

Walking the battlefield of June 1815 in June 2010 where the course of a century of history was set in one day.

Walking the battlefield

The Waterloo battlefield seems always to have been popular with visitors. A Baedeker’s 1891 guide admits that, though an omnibus ride to the Butte du Lion “escapes the importunity of beggars”, a walk that includes all the sights is “far more interesting”. Indeed, one of the uglier aspects of tourism was already well-documented in nineteenth century: “[o]ld bullets, weapons, buttons, and other relics are still occasionally turned up by the plough, but most of those which the traveller is importuned to purchase are spurious.”

Larger map of this route

This route covers most of the key points of interest, but it does not always offer ideal conditions for walking. The N5 major road must be crossed twice and in the centre of the battlefield, the noise of traffic from the N5 and the R0 Brussels Ring is omnipresent. The northwestern section of the route that covers the Anglo-Dutch line is also much frequented by tourism. The second half of the walk that begins at La Belle Alliance and runs along the French right to the Prussian approaches is, by contrast, considerably more peaceful.

From the rear of the church at Ransbeck and with the church ahead, turn right and walk back down beside to the Oratoire to the main road. Turn right, go uphill and carefully cross over at the pedestrian crossing. Take the first left onto the pretty village square and go downhill on the cobbles of the Chemin du Mont. Then take the first right onto the Rue du Mont Lassy then a left fork (Rue de la Sablière) passing from the houses of the village to a track running between fields. At the first fork, go right and gently uphill into trees. When the track forks again under the trees, continue straight. The track gently descends out into the fields, going through a right angle and then running straight again. Eventually, at a t-junction of paths, turn left and the track runs gently uphill before reaching a crossroads. Turn right here.

Marker 1: ahead is the Monastère de Fichermont (appearing as ‘Frichemont’ or ‘Frichermont’ in some texts), now occupied by the Catholic Community “Verbe de Vie”. Below left is the impressive château-farm of Papelotte, the Anglo-Dutch left flank during the battle and today a stables complex. This section of the route traces the Anglo-Dutch starting line, with Wellington keeping the depth of his forces largely unseen behind the line of this ridge as was his wont. During the course of Napoleon’s main attack, which started at about 13:30 and was concentrated on the centre and centre right, the Anglo-Dutch were driven out of both Fichermont and Papelotte and would not regain them until the evening, when the Prussians had weakened or diverted the French right.

After Fichermont, continue straight on the gravelly edge of the cobbled road (Rue de la Croix) towards the main road and the mound of the Butte du Lion ahead. There is a path to the left just before the crossroads with the main road, that runs under the trees and gives access to some of the memorials, but the main road itself will have to be crossed at the top right of the crossroads.

Marker 2: at the centre of the battlefield, these trees now cover what was in 1815 a sandpit and the scene of heavy fighting. Napoleon’s opening strategy was to divert Wellington’s forces to the latter’s left by way of an attack on Hougoumont Farm (see Marker 6) so that he could direct an overwhelming attack by the Comte d’Erlon’s corps here at the centre. The plan seems to have backfired, as we shall see in due course. In this sandpit, Wellington had installed a battalion of British Rifles to support the garrison of La Haye Sainte farm on the opposite side of the main road.

Marker 3: D’Erlon’s attack succeeded in isolating La Haye Sainte farm and clearing the sandpit opposite but though the farm was overrun, the veteran of the Peninsular War was unable to capitalise on his initial successes and the farm was later reoccupied by Wellington’s army. There are several conspicuous memorials in this area, to the Hanoverians, to Sir Thomas Picton and to Sir Alexander Gordon, Wellington’s aide-de-camp.

Cross over the N5 on the north side of the crossroads and then head down the opposite side of the Rue de la Croix in the direction of the Butte du Lion. Pass the Butte du Lion (Marker 4) and at the Panorama building, take the left fork and follow the Chemin des Vertes Bornes.

Marker 5: following the early afternoon attack aimed at the centre around La Haye Sainte, Maréchal Ney appeared to misread Anglo-Dutch movements as a retreat and, with much of his infantry was already engaged at Hougoumont and on his right, he ordered his cavalry forward. Wellington’s forces holding the Mont St Jean above La Haye Sainte responded by forming a series of squares which, though vulnerable to artillery and infantry, were all but impervious to cavalry. Every one of Ney’s sallies ended in failure at the hands of the unshakeable squares and Napoleon himself, seeing that his right finally holding up against the Prussians, decided to commit his Imperial Guard to the centre at 19:30. The Guard’s unbeaten record was broken as the infantry advance crumbled and collapsed under an Anglo-Dutch campaign of concerted defence and counterattack. Napoleon’s trump card became the joker in the pack.

Continue straight until a track appears on the left, at the point that the road ahead is about to run downhill and be swallowed by trees. Between the track on the left and the road ahead, follow a narrow path that runs along the edge of the trees, entering the woods itself before emerging again at Hougoumont.

Marker 6: moreso than La Haye Sainte, Hougoumont farm was “the battle within the battle”. At the beginning of the battle – at about 11:30 – Napoleon’s opening, diversionary attack focused on drawing Wellington into a costly infantry defence of Hougoumont, on Wellington’s right flank. Ironically, Hougoumont cost Napoleon far more than it ever cost Wellington. When the initial sally failed, wave after French wave was engaged in the torrid task of taking the farm, long after the original value of the exercise had been spent. Unlike La Haye Sainte, Hougoumont never fell and some historians now believe that both sides actually took Hougoumont more seriously than was previously thought.

At Hougoumont, continue straight and gently uphill as far as the road (Chemin de la Maison du Roi), onto which turn left and continue as far as the first farm on the left, at which turn left onto a track and follow this to its end.

Markers 7 and 8: the French left was heavily committed throughout the day to the Hougoumont objective. About 14,000 troops in all were sent to take the farm complex, as much as a fifth of Napoleon’s entire strength. The recent history of the Aigle Blessé (Injured Eagle) at the junction with the main road gives some indication of the general situation at the Waterloo battlefield. The local authorities recently declared themselves unwilling to restore it, highlighting the particularly high cost in an area containing an enormous number of such monuments. With the 19:30 attack of the Imperial Guard turning into a full retreat, the Eagle commemorates the last stand of Napoleon’s élite, which was defeated by the Anglo-Dutch as the Prussians pressed in from the east.

When the track reaches the main road next to the Aigle Blessé, cross it very carefully and follow the narrow path as it continues straight beside a building and then into the fields before joining a road. Turn left at the road and follow the pavement, passing Napoleon’s vantage point (Marker 9), before turning right onto a track at La Belle Alliance.

Marker 10: La Belle Alliance is an inn, just as it was in 1815. Napoleon had made it his headquarters during the battle and it was the meeting point at around 21:00 for Wellington and Blücher that signalled the end of the battle.

The track roughly follows the French right and affords an excellent view of the Mont St Jean ridge opposite, from the Butte du Lion in the centre to Fichermont and Papelotte in the east.

Markers 11 and 12: the French right played less of a role against the Anglo-Dutch than had probably been expected. While Ney’s cavalry was rolling up from La Haye Sainte against the Anglo-Dutch left on the Mont St Jean ridge (see Marker 5), Napoleon was dismayed to learn that the Prussians were emerging from the Bois de Paris (Marker 14) off his right flank. The Prussians wasted no time in engaging the French, allowing Wellington to move some of his left against Ney at the hard-pressed centre. Prussian forces had retaken Papelotte farm by the time that Napoleon committed his Imperial Guard.

The track descends to a crossroads under tree cover. Turn right and go uphill as far as the next crossroads and turn right again here. Follow the track to the end as it arrives at the edge of Plancenoit and turn left on a road (Chemin de Camuselle), going straight at a fork at the edge of some trees beyond a large kennels complex.

Marker 13: the Prussian army and artillery had to march to the Waterloo battlefield from Wavre on small, muddy tracks only arriving in the late afternoon from the east. Engaging the French immediately with the intention of surrounding them, Blücher executed the plan he had earlier agreed with Wellington. After forcing the French back as far as Plancenoit, a frantic battle for the village ensued and it changed hands between the Comte de Lobau and the incoming Bülow until the latter was joined by his fellow commander Zieten, approaching from the northeast above Papelotte farm. The success of this Prussian flank attack proved decisive to the Battle of Waterloo. As the Baedeker’s guide reports: “… shortly after 8 o’clock the gallant efforts of the Prussians were crowned with success. Planchenois [sic] was captured, Lobau and the Young Guard defeated after a most obstinate and sanguinary struggle, the French retreat became general, and the victory was at length completely won.”

The track starts to rise gently and at a fork, take the trail to the left. The trail narrows and passes beside two sets of woodland, the latter being the Bois de Fichermont. At a t-junction of tracks, go right and uphill and at the road cross over, taking a narrow path straight through the field and beside the farm opposite. This part of the route now follows a very similar path to another walk starting and ending in Ohain. At the farm, turn left and go downhill under tree cover.

On reaching the road (Rue de Genleau), cross over and head uphill on the pavement, taking the first left (Chemin du Cheval de Bois). At the end of the road, go over the crossroads and continue as the road bends to the right. As the road straightens out, take the narrow path on the left that runs beside a field. The path eventually emerges at a road (Rue Pechère), turn left onto it as it bends to the right and at its end, take a narrow path running to the right of a driveway and then beside a large duckpond before reaching another road (Rue d’Aquinot). Turn left onto it and at the end, cross over and go straight between a golf course at left and a stables on the right. The track runs straight uphill between woodlands and a field, doing a right angle to the left through the field and heading into woodland on a fenced path.

Go straight (breaking with the Ohain route) and eventually the path leaves the wood, reaching a cobbled road (Chemin du Pêque) onto which turn left and continue as far as a crossroads with an old chapel. Cross straight over onto the Chemin des Messes, which also has a signpost for the Royal Brussels Cricket Club. Pass this cricket club as the road becomes a rougher, cobbled track and climbs gently before descending again through trees, emerging on the outskirts of Ransbeck. Continue straight and take the first right (Rue du Mont Lassy) until it reaches the main road. Turn right for a moment then cross the main road carefully. The first left climbs gently to the church at Ransbeck.

Resources

• Holmes, Richard (2008) Fatal Avenue: A Traveller’s History of the Battlefields of Northern France and Flanders 1346-1945, second edition, Vintage Books
• Baedekers’ Guide Books (1891), Belgium and Holland: Handbook for Travellers, 2nd Ed, from archive.org

Ter Cammenthoeve, Hamme-Mille

On a hot day such as this, travellers will be grateful for the intermittent tree cover while the tracks and roads of Flemish and Walloon Brabant stretch out to the horizon and beyond.

Grassy paths and cobbled roads snake through deep gullies between the vast fields. Centuries-old farms crumble imperceptibly in the afternoon heat. Horses seek shelter under stout and leafy lime trees.

Trails are well-trodden but the walker might never see another soul. In the little roadside chapels, votive candles are burning but who came here to light them? On these plains, there are only birdsong and the endless crops swaying in the breeze.

• Walking route: Hamme-Mille – Mollendaalbos – Bierbeek – Opvelp – Hamme-Mille (loop) detailed commentary
• Distance: 22km

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Plains of Brabant

A hot early summer day in Brabant, walking on cobbled roads that stretch to the horizon and beyond.

Detailed commentary

Larger map of this route

Head north from the church on the aptly-named Rue des Messes. Take the first left onto the Vieux Chemin de Louvain, passing a restaurant and go straight uphill beyond the houses. At the top of the hill, turn sharp right onto a cobbled road (Rue de Bierbeek). Go straight on this road between fields, ignoring all junctions, passing through a large farm and then running alongside the Mollendaalbos before taking a left at the fork, onto a track that runs into the woodland.

When the track reaches a crossroads with a house on the right and a car park ahead, turn left and go gently uphill, turning right soon after at a gate. This narrower track runs out of and then alongside the wood. At the next crossroads of trails, turn right and go downhill on a track that bends to the left in the direction of houses. A fork follows soon after with a little chapel at its apex, so take the right fork and continue gently downhill. At the next crossroads in a gully, go straight until arriving at the road with an large farm courtyard opposite. Turn left onto the road and just after the farm, turn right onto a narrow, marked path running alongside a house and garden. This path runs into trees and crosses a small brick bridge. Go right after the bridge and eventually join the road (Krabbesheidestraat), continuing on it alongside vineyards.

When the road reaches a t-junction with the Opvelpsetraat, turn left and follow the pavement beside it for a short time, before carefully crossing and following a path on the opposite side of the road (Kleineheidestraat) that runs alongside to a small field. This path heads gently uphill into broader fields before reaching a t-junction of tracks. Turn left here and go uphill: a distinctive water tower should by now be visible on the right. When the track starts to flatten out, go right onto a grassy path that runs toward houses and on reaching a paved drive, turn left and go downhill. At the main road, turn right and follow the pavement that runs uphill alongside it.

After the water tower, a thin line of trees shades a narrow, grassy path that branches off to the right. Take this path and follow it straight without deviations, beyond a signposted crossroads and two successive tracks, to the right and left respectively. Reaching the road, cross over and continue straight as far as a t-junction. Turn left here and follow the track as it bends into, then out of, a wood. At the next crossroads, turn right onto a broad track running southwest between fields.

Soon after crumbling (but officially listed) brick farm buildings, arrive at the road that runs through the village of Opvelp (Hoegaardsesteenweg). Cross over and go right on the pavement running alongside it. Pass the village church on the opposite side and at the next crossroads on which there is a beautifully restored house, turn left into Velpestraat and pass the Jezuitenhof on the right. At the next crossroads, turn left onto a cobbled road running gently uphill (Weg Tussen Weiden) and pass another crumbling but listed farm complex – the Berkenhof – on the right. Go straight at the fork and the road becomes a track, bending off to the right. Always keeping the Berkenhof to the right side, go right at the next crossroads onto Perrestraat. Go straight, past a junction on the right, then beyond a crossroads and the road becomes a broad track. Take the first left into a slightly narrower track running between fields.

Continuing gently uphill, head straight through a wood and then descend to a farm and the road (Rue de Mollendael). Turn right here and go uphill on cobbles, taking the first right at another farm onto the Ruelle de Tirlemont. The track gets rougher as it heads gently downhill then begins to bend to the left and uphill as far as a line of trees. At the crossroads here, go sharp right and downhill on a cobbled track in a deep, tree-lined gully. On reaching a t-junction at a farm, turn right and pass the Chapelle Rond-Chêne, going straight on the Rue du Stoquoy. Take the first left onto another track running between fields and go straight as far as a crossroads in a gully. Turn left here and go straight over a crossroads and gently uphill to a large stables complex and a line of trees. Descend through the trees and turn left at the next junction, arriving very soon after at another crossroads with a large chapel dedicated to Saint Cornélis. Turn right here onto the Rue des Boeufs and follow the road until it bends to the left: here instead continue straight on a track and soon after turn left going downhill into the trees.

The road becomes a residential street and arrives at a t-junction with the Rue de la Justice. Turn right onto this, keeping to the verges which allow enough room for pedestrians. Go downhill as the road bends left, then when it forms a triangle with other roads, turn right onto a path running alongside a small river with meadows at left. Follow this path straight as it crosses another small river and eventually emerges at a road (Rue de Tourinnes). Cross over carefully and follow the road right, going straight until the church of Hamme-Mille reappears at a pedestrian crossing.