Castles

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On this Page: Malahide Castle Swords Castle Trim Castle Hill of Slaine

Malahide Castle

Out of the four castles we visited, this is the most modern castle. If you like castles with the furnishings i.e. antiques and paintings of past tenants, you might enjoy Malahide Castle. The walk to get to the castle form town is a long one, but a very beautiful one on a nice day. Some people do take a cab there and take the walk back as well. We always opt for walking.

The walk to the castle was through playing fields and woodland. The path was well enjoyed on the weekend with many people taking their families and pets on walks.

The castle itself has a small admission. The tour is automated, partly, in that recordings are used in many of the rooms to tell your group information about the room and the history. Photography is not allowed in the castle during the tour, but you can take photos outside. The garden (only open during warmer months) outside the castle and a cemetery do make for some nice photographs.

castle from the front cemetery behind castle peacock at the gift shop fern in the woods while walking in

Swords Castle (Sords Castle)

We visited this castle on the off season, so the construction/renovation work was not surprising. We were able to talk to an archaeologist on site and a temporary trailer visitor's center for the castle housed interesting diagrams of the different stages of construction over the last few hundred years. The drawings helped us to visualize what parts of the fortification used to look like compared to the remains before us.

A tower has been reconstructed to feature wooden ceilings, reconstructed doors, and an impressive wooden chandelier. A walkway along two of the walls was also open to the public. We really enjoyed our visit to this castle.

wooden chandelier reconstructed door Old section of castle castle attaches to a pub

Trim Castle

Trim castle is not open every day on the off season, so you might want to confirm it will be open before you show up. We were not very lucky. Despite its closure, we were able to climb a local hill to view the castle. It is huge. Really Huge.

castle sunset at the castle sunset over the town

Hill of Slaine

carving carving of a flower carving of a dragon or griffon cemetery cemetery and church tree in window window

Hill of Slaine was a lovely walk. While visiting the Boyne Valley, we stopped to visit the Hill of Slaine. We drove up to a parking lot on a steep hill, and strolled around the site. The Hill of Slaine has both ruins and a cemetery.

Late in the day, the light on the site is dramatic.

In the woods, fenced off from the site, is the burial mound which one can kind of see from the edge of the fence. The view of the valley from there is stunning.

countryside