14th - 17th June 2024
(4 Days)
Expert Historian : Major General Ashley Truluck CB CBE BA
Tour price: £1,595
Sold out - use the button below to be put on the waiting list
Your Holiday Essentials
14th - 17th June 2024
(4 Days)
4-star hotels, meals as indicated,
drinks with dinner, all entrance fees,
tour manager and expert historian
throughout, all internal travel,
optional travel from UK.
Expert Historian: Major General Ashley Truluck CB CBE BA
Prices:
Standard price: : £1,325
Incl. travel from UK: £1,595
Room sole occupancy supplement: £150
Non-refundable deposit: £275
Sold out
Use the button below to be put on the waiting list
Interested in this tour but not ready to book? Register your interest using the link below and we will keep you updated on the progress of the tour.
Tour Introduction
Our ever popular Classic Waterloo Anniversary tour covers the battles of Ligny, Quatre Bras and especially Waterloo itself – and takes place over the annual anniversary weekend when there will likely be re-enactors dressed in period uniform on the battlefields. We will be staying in historic Waterloo town, home to Wellington’s Headquarters.
Your tour guide will be General Ashley Truluck, who has made a particular study of Wellington and lived near Waterloo for several years.
Background
The Waterloo Campaign in June 1815 ensured relative peace in Western Europe for the next fifty years. It was the first time that the two greatest commanders of the era, Napoleon and Wellington, met each other in battle and it was to be the last campaign for both of them. It was also the last campaign for grand old Marshal Blucher whose Prussian Army, having been trounced at Ligny, nevertheless arrived in the nick of time to tip the scales in the Allies’ favour as Wellington’s ‘infamous army’, already tested at Quatre Bras, hung on grimly to the ridge at Waterloo.
Highlights
- With leading historian Maj Gen Ashley Truluck
- Visit the spectacular Grand Place in Brussels
- See the building where Wellington planned the battle and wrote his famous Waterloo despatch
- Walk through the hotly-contested village of Ligny
- View Napoleon’s windmill at Fleurus
- Stand on the crossroads at Quatre Bras
- Spend a whole day on the battlefield of Waterloo
- The fortified farmhouse of La Haye Sainte
- Walk the route of the advance of the Imperial Guard and its defeat by Wellington’s elite Guards and Light Troops
- Visit the Waterloo Visitor Centre which includes the Lion Mound viewing platform, the Waterloo Panorama
What's Included
- Return Standard Premier Eurostar from London (optional)
- 4 Star Hotel
- Buffet breakfast each morning
- Dinner parties hosted by your expert historian and tour manager
- Two drinks i,e wine or beer at each dinner and a welcome drink on first evening
- Dedicated Tour Manager
- Entrance fees for sites included in itinerary
- Modern, comfortable, air-conditioned coach
- Tour information booklet
- Access to the Cultural Experience app
- Helpful and friendly travel advice
- The company of like-minded travelers
"Ashley's friendly approach, passion and light-hearted but in-depth commentaries made the tour special and the battles come alive."
Itinerary
Day 1 – Brussels
We travel by Eurostar arriving in Brussels in time to visit the spectacular Grand Place, with its awesome gold-painted Guildhalls and Town Hall, and drive via the Rue Royal to see where Wellington was based and the Royal Park where his troops assembled. Then on to Waterloo town to visit the building where he planned the battle and wrote his famous Waterloo despatch. Check-in to our comfortable Waterloo hotel, our base for the tour. (D)
Day 2 - Ligny & Quatre Bras
At Ligny we see where Napoleon’s right wing clashed with the Prussians on 16 June 1815. We view Napoleon’s windmill at Fleurus, walk through the hotly contested village of Ligny and travel up to Blucher’s command post on the Prussian ridge to get a wonderful panorama of the battlefield and discuss how he managed to slip Napoleon’s trap and retreat to Wavre. After a light lunch we stand on the crossroads at Quatre Bras where Wellington halted the advance of the left wing of Napoleon’s army and then follow his skilful withdrawal to the defensive position at Waterloo. (B,D)
Day 3 – Waterloo
Today we spend the whole day on the battlefield of Waterloo, starting at Hougoumont – key to Wellington’s critical right flank. Then to the centre of the Allied ridge to see where Napoleon’s infantry columns were seen off by the British cavalry counterattack and walk down to the fortified farmhouse of La Haye Sainte to hear the story of its heroic, but doomed, defence. After lunch we see where French cavalry attacks were brought to a halt by Wellington’s resolute infantry squares. In picturesque Plancenoit village we see where the Prussians fell on Napoleon’s right flank. Finally, we walk the route of the advance of the Imperial Guard and its defeat by Wellington’s elite Guards and Light Troops. An epic day! (B,D)
Day 4 – The Museums
We complete our anniversary weekend with a visit to the new Waterloo Visitor Centre which includes the Lion Mound viewing platform, the Waterloo Panorama, and the excellent Museum and Audio Visual display. Return to Brussels for our return Eurostar journey to London. (B)
Recommended Reading List
- A Week at Waterloo - Diary of Lady Magdalene de Lancey
- The Campaign of Waterloo: a Military History
- The Waterloo Companion: The Complete Guide to History's Most Famous Land Battle
- Waterloo Battlefield Guide
- Waterloo: A New History of the Battle and its Armies
- Waterloo: Four Days that Changed Europe’s Destiny
- Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles
Major General Ashley Truluck CB CBE BA
Ashley Truluck is a History graduate with a life-long fascination for Military History. As a soldier, he served worldwide with the Gurkhas, in Communications and Intelligence, with Army Aviation and on the General Staff, retiring as a Major General. Throughout that time he led battlefield studies – a passion he has carried over into his second career. He is now Chairman of the Army Society for Historical Research and leads a number of popular tours to Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain and Malta.
Photo Gallery
Your Holiday Essentials
14th - 17th June 2024
(4 Days)
4-star hotels, meals as indicated,
drinks with dinner, all entrance fees,
tour manager and expert historian
throughout, all internal travel,
optional travel from UK.
Expert Historian: Major General Ashley Truluck CB CBE BA
Prices:
Standard price: : £1,325
Incl. travel from UK: £1,595
Room sole occupancy supplement: £150
Non-refundable deposit: £275
Sold out
Use the button below to be put on the waiting list
Interested in this tour but not ready to book? Register your interest using the link below and we will keep you updated on the progress of the tour.
Tour Review
Take a look at some independent reviews of this tour by previous participants here