Travel |

Weekend break Ancient East Stepping back in time

Joe Dermody takes his family on a trip through Meath, Kildare and Louth, taking in some of the historic highs along the Ancient East trail

ATTY was not wrong anyone who wants to revisit the when he mused “there’s sites of Ireland’s historic battles. nothing half so much If the Wild Atlantic Way offers worth doing as simply untouched beauty, the east offers Rmessing about it boats”. living evidence of the footprint The Wind In The Willows of Saxon and Viking visits, with rodent would certainly enjoy the fortresses and battlements Eco Tourism Medieval Trim River aplenty. Tour, a gentle rubber raft float However, perhaps the most around the historic walled town of moving place to visit is the site Trim, Co Meath. What could be near Drogheda, Co Louth, of the calmer than floating along the , where 60,000 Boyne passing by ancient pre- troops fought in 1690 in one of monastic stone buildings, two the most defining battles in Irish ancient cathedrals and soaking history. Looking across the fields up the views and the history of and following the detailed guide ? in the excellent visitor centre, you By the castle walls, James really get a sense of the immense Murray of Boyne Valley Activities scale of the battle, the largest ever parks the dinghy to offer brief conflict on Irish soil. tales of ye olde Trim. The town In short, the Boyne River was once home to tanneries, hosted a royal family feud where the leather was ‘cleaned’ between between England’s with animal and human urine. To deposed Catholic King James II, this we owe the phrase ‘piss poor’, and the Dutch Prince William of denoting people so short of cash Orange, a Protestant who, with that they’d stoop to selling their his wife, Mary II (his cousin The Japanese Gardens, top, Trim’s river tour and . own urine to the tanneries. and James’s daughter), had Moving swiftly along, the overthrown James in England inside of Trim Castle is stunning. in 1688. William won the battle, While it looks every inch a ensuring Ireland remained under tales of how Lord and Lady bargain basement but they are actually get to touch retired fortress in Mel Gibson’s 1995 Protestant control. Conyngham and their kin paid bargains, given the quality. National Hunt super stars now movie Braveheart, the scholarly The visitor centre is a chrome- legendary architects James We could have stayed relaxing resident in the stud. The most actor-director may have been clad, lavishly developed thing Wyatt, Capability Brown, James in Barberstown’s gardens for famous was probably Hurricane instinctively drawn to the of beauty in its own right. The Gandon and Francis Johnson to days. We’re glad that we didn’t. En Fly, who was born in the stud in 800-year-old castle’s former on-site historians and the keep the epic house evolving and route back south we stopped into 2004 and who won 22 grade one use as a library, notably as a wall-to-wall smart screens and becoming more beautiful with the unmissable Irish National hurdles and nearly €2.5m. home to the weighty tomes of mini-cinema walk you through each passing generation. Stud and Japanese Gardens in Hurricane Fly was literally gad- pre-Christian scholars. every step of the military smarts The day we passed through, Tully, Co Kildare. This really has ding about in a field with fellow You could see why Mel Gibson which saw William win the battle. the house was being readied for something for everyone. champion hurdle winner Hardy would shoot parts of his Oscar- The day we visited, there were a wedding. Chairs were laid out The gardens are a joy to walk Eustace, Kicking King, Moscow winning film here. Trim has more visitors from all over Europe and for a string quartet in one of the through, the food and the atmos- Flyer, Beef or Salmon and Rite of historic stone crammed into its the USA, but we’re also reliably main rooms in which recorded phere are pleasant. The real Passage. compact town centre than any- informed that the site is of the Unforgettable Fire album. magic here, however, is the stud. If the rest of the Ancient East where I’ve ever seen. The town growing interest to people from The castle is due for an overhaul Around 120,000 visitors visit the really delivers on its promise to really is a cornerstone in which Northern Ireland, for whom the next year, when a new whiskey farm each year. The majority bring Ireland’s ancient past to life, the history of the Ancient East battle marked a significant distillery is also scheduled to be of the stud’s profits come from be sure to also pop into the springs back to life. historic moment. launched on the grounds. being a fully commercial farm. National Stud where our more We stayed in Trim Castle Hotel, Meanwhile, music fans might And as we drove into the opu- The star of the stable is recent equine history is still very a four-star gem right next to the enjoy taking the short spin over lent grounds of Barberstown Invincible Spirt, for which the much alive and kicking. epic castle. For dinner, we to nearby Castle, and Castle, Straffan, Co Kildare, prep- stud charges €120,000 to each Also worth noting are the excel- heartily recommend walking perhaps stop for a snack arations were again in full flight visiting mare. He has produced lent road links all along the east across the road to the Stockhouse surrounded by images of U2, the in advance of another wedding multiple top league (or ‘black coast. Well worth the trip. Restaurant where host Michael Rolling Stones, party. This is yet another stun- type’) winners and has also pro- n www.irelandsancienteast.com Hughes offers a welcome as warm and all the others who have ning four-star hotel, a magical duced 12 stallions of his own. His n www.meath.ie/tourism/heritage/ as his chef’s menu is delicious. wowed audiences on the epic lawn blend of old world charm and yearlings average €250,000 at the heritagesites/trimcastle/ Trim was definitely a highlight of Lord Henry . every modern convenience. sales. The stud is home to eight n www.trimcastlehotel.com of our trip, the food was fantastic On our visit, we enjoyed a Everything from manicured resident stallions, all on varying n www.barberstowncastle.ie and the company even better. hugely informative tour of the gardens to the four-poster, spoke fees. The stud is also a leading n boynevalleyactivities.ie Have a look online at Trim Castle house guided by Diana Allen, one of quality. The dinner and break- educator for horsebreeding, and n stockhouserestaurant.ie and the Stockhouse; for such high of the Ballymaloe clan so familiar fast menus were magnificent, people from all over the globe jet n www.irelandsancienteast.com/ quality, the prices are surpris- to Corkonians. She offers colour- including the wheat- and gluten- in for its various courses. irish-national-stud ingly reasonable. ful insights not only into the free options required for one our Big money aside, it was a n irishnationalstud.ie/Visitors/ The Ancient East is a must for visiting rock stars, but also party. Again, prices are not remarkable experience to Japanese_Gardens

32 IRISH EXAMINER Weekend | 24.09.2016