Ireland.com

County Meath

Trim Castle and Newgrange - a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Meath, the Middle Kingdom, was one of the five ancient provinces of Ireland and the cradle of Irish civilisation.

It is here that you'll find Ireland’s most famous Neolithic monuments Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth – one of the island's three World Heritage Sites which Unesco describes as “Europe’s largest and most important concentration of prehistoric megalithic art”.

The rolling hills and fertile soil attracted the country's first settlers to the Boyne Valley, an ancient and mysterious place where their enduring landmarks remain today.

Brú na Bóinne (the Boyne Palace) is a Neolithic necropolis comprising the largest and best preserved passage graves in Europe. Built around 3200BC (six centuries before the Egyptian pyramids and 1,000 years before Stonehenge) the tumuli at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth are masterpieces of engineering and home to some of the world’s finest megalithic art.

A modern visitor centre which caters for up to a 200,000 a year regulates the footfall ensuring visitors only visit by official tours.

Nearby is the mystical Hill of Tara, seat of the high kings of Ireland until the 6th century and the spiritual, historical and political centre of ancient Ireland.

The Boyne Valley again played a crucial part in Irish history when the infamous Battle of the Boyne saw catholic James II defeated by protestant William of Orange.

The remnants of times past litter the county with substantial abbey ruins at Bective and Donaghmore and impressive castles at Dunsany and Athlumney. An old convent, Bellinter, has been turned into a boutique hotel.

However, the mighty castle in the immaculately-kept heritage town of Trim rightly takes the limelight. It is the country's largest Norman castle and was a location for the blockbuster Braveheart. Nearby is Talbot's Castle, an imposing fortified manor house which later became a school where the Duke of Wellington was educated.