Trim Castle and Bective Abbey were not on our radar at all until the host at our B&B in Athlone mentioned them as an alternative to taking the N6 straight back to Dublin Airport.
Pro tip.
Trim is a small market town in County Meath, about 45 minutes northwest of Dublin, sitting in the middle of some of the most historically dense ground in Ireland.
The whole area around the River Boyne has been fought over, built upon, and rebuilt upon for the better part of two thousand years, and the result is that you can’t throw a rock without hitting something that’s been standing since the Middle Ages.
The centerpiece is Trim Castle, the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland, on the banks of the river.
Construction started around 1173, and what’s still standing today is genuinely impressive.
A massive stone keep, curtain walls, towers, arch after arch after arch – you find yourself wondering what each one was actually built for, and the stones aren’t offering any answers.
If the castle looks familiar, it should.
Trim was one of the primary filming locations for Braveheart, standing in for various English fortresses while Mel Gibson ran around in a kilt.
The fact that a castle built by Anglo-Norman invaders of Ireland ended up playing the English villain in a Scottish independence movie is a layer of irony that everyone seems fine just leaving there.
Sheep Gate is the last surviving town gate from Trim’s medieval walls, this is where farmers bringing their livestock to town for sale would be taxed.
Across the River Boyne, St Mary’s Abbey – locally called the Yellow Steeple – stands in photogenic partial ruin on the far bank.
Arch After Arch After Arch
It would be interesting to know what all of these arches were for.
Trim Castle
Trim Castle is the castle from the movie Braveheart
Over The River
Looking at Trim Castle over the River Boyne
Sheep Gate
Pretty sure this is not a sheep passing through Sheep Gate
Ivy Everywhere
It’s amazing that the stonework on these buildings stays intact with this amount of ivy branching out everywhere.
St Mary’s Abbey
Also known as the Yellow Steeple, the better half of St Mary’s Abbey in Trim appears to have vanished
Enter The Fox
Pretty sure that this ornate door knocker is a fox – what says you?
Up Up Up
River Boyne, fields, building, St Mary’s Abbey
A Pair Of Jackasses
I count 1, 2 jackasses here
From Trim we headed northeast to Bective Abbey, which is a different experience entirely – quieter, more tucked away, and on the grey rainy day we visited, about as atmospheric as a ruined abbey gets.
Bective was founded in 1147 by the King of Meath as a Cistercian monastery, one of the oldest in Ireland.
Most of what you walk around today dates from a 15th century rebuild, meaning the stonework is only about 600 years old – practically new by local standards.
A surprising amount of it is still standing, which says something about how they built things back then.
Bective also turns out to be another Braveheart filming location.
Trim is missed by the large tour buses, and Bective is overlooked by pretty much everyone.
If you’re heading back east to Dublin, or if someone at your B&B tells you to skip the highway and see some old stonework – these are good stops.
Barred and Locked
All of the rooms at the Bective Abbey have been barred and locked to stop people from hanging out and littering. Sad state of affairs.
Let Me In
Now I see why they’re gated off…
Old Stonework
Founded in 1147, but this stonework is likely from the 15th century.
A Rainy Day
The doom and gloom of a rainy day inside the Bective Abbey makes for great photos with the right umbrella.
Bective Abbey
Pretty cool to have this much stonework still standing six centuries later.
