Counties Louth and Meath

We’re now back in the Republic of Ireland, heading south from Belfast, to take in some more forests -

This was Rostrevor Forest, and it was so cool to walk along a path where all you could see around you were trees, ranking up and down the hills -

We exited the forest to climb up to the top of a nearby hill for the views…

… and to ogle the large erratic left behind by a glacier. It’s appropriately named the Cloughmore Big Stone.

Moving on to Ravensdale Forest…

… we wandered along moss covered walls…

… reveled in more bluebells…

… and crossed old bridges.

The nearby town of Carlingford was quaint -

Over the next two days, we explored the Boyne Valley, which is rich in archaeologic sites. We started with Trim Castle -

This was built in 1172, and still has an impressive wall in place -

We had a tour of the tall castle keep, which gave us great views of the River Boyne and surrounding town -

We then crossed the Boyne River on foot…

… as we visited Knowth.

This is a Neolithic passage tomb, with one large mound and 18 smaller satellite tombs. Artifacts found in the area date this to 4000 BC. The large mound is ringed by 127 kerbstones…

… with many of them having art carved into them.

One third of all-known megalithic art in Western Europe is at this site.

I really liked the apparent sundial motif -

Newgrange was our next stop -

As you can see, restoration has recreated what was believed to be in place, given the stones found around the tomb.

This is from the Newgrange website:

“Newgrange is a Stone Age (Neolithic) monument in the Boyne Valley, County Meath; it is the jewel in the crown of Ireland's Ancient East. Newgrange was constructed about 5,200 years ago (3,200 B.C.) which makes it older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza. Newgrange is a large circular mound 85m (279ft) in diameter and 13m (43ft) high with a 19m (63ft) stone passageway and chambers inside. The mound is ringed by 97 large kerbstones, some of which are engraved with symbols…”

The opening above the entrance is a roof-box that allows sunlight to illuminate the interior of the chamber on the winter solstice. We were given a tour inside, but photography wasn’t allowed. If you’re interested in reading more or seeing photos from inside, you can check this out - https://www.newgrange.com/winter_solstice.htm

This stone was particularly decorated…

… as was this one -

On the grounds here was a recreation of a structure resembling the beehive huts…

… like those we became enamored with along Ireland’s West Coast. We were able to wander around inside -

Enough with old buildings for this post. I’ll close with my artsy pic of the day -