Northern Ireland (Part 8 of UK/Ireland Trip)

Today we drove to Northern Ireland, back to the UK where everything is in English again. On the way we stopped at Trim Castle which has a very interesting history, not the least of which is that it was the location of the Braveheart movie filming. So yeah, this guy (Mel Gibson) came from America to Ireland to make a movie about Scotland.

The real history of the castle is very strange. A man by the name of Hugh de Lacy built this castle. He was a very wealthy French aristocrat who had a lot of property in France but who lived in England and owned several castles there. But that wasn't enough. As a favor to King Henry II, he decided to go to Ireland and build a castle there to prevent the people of Ireland from claiming any more land. 

When he came and built this fortress, the people all around hated him and family so much that their lives were constantly threatened. They ended up staying inside this fortress for years, fearing for their lives. So they were virtual prisoners in a dark, dank, cold place when they could have just gone back to England or France and lived like kings and queens. Sheesh! 

You may wonder why all these castles have what appear to be square holes all over. Initially, while building the castles, they used beams to hold up the scaffolding. When one level was complete, they just sawed off the beam flush with the castle wall. Over time the wood all rotted leaving holes where the beams had been. Now these holes provide homes for lots of birds. 

Pictured below is the dungeon. When enemies were caught, they were thrown down into a dungeon where they would inevitably break their arms or legs or necks. Then they were left to die. They received no food or water or any kind of attention.

This is one of the defensive towers where armed guards would be on the lookout for enemies.

Pictured below is part of the wall that surrounded the castle.

You can see below one of the places a guard would shoot arrows from. It was easy to shoot arrows out of these slivers, but no arrows could come in. 

We got a good view of the church from the top of the castle.

Below is another castle-top view of the surrounding area. 

After touring the castle we drove up to see the Newgrange Burial Site. Newgrange is a neolithic monument purported to be constructed in 3200 B.C. which makes it older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids of Giza. It is classified as an ancient tomb but it is much more than that. It is more like an ancient temple with spiritual, astrological, religious and ceremonial importance. This particular tomb is most noted for the illumination of its inner passage at the winter solstice. It is filled with art and many symbols, but no one really knows the significance of any of it. 

On the picture below, look for the artwork and symbols on the rock.

Nobody knows the significance of this circle of stones, but my guess is maybe some kind of medicine walk. 

Not sure what the little building below is, but check out that lush green countryside!

Below is a pic of Newgrange from a distance. I think it looks like a camouflaged UFO. 

This is our only full day in Northern Ireland before heading off to Scotland, and we drove a scenic causeway that had many stops along the way, including about 15 stops that were locations for the filming of Game of Thrones. The next several pics are things we saw along the way. 

At one place we hiked up to cross a rope bridge which was kind of fun if you did not look down while crossing, which I did and immediately repented. 

Check out these two love birds below!

The next two pics were taken on the hike to the rope bridge. 

Our final stop for the day was at Giant's Causeway which is famous for its rocks that have pentagonal and hexagonal shapes. It is a great place if you have kids who like to climb rocks. Vern was one such kid. Me not so much--it had been raining and the rocks were really slippery. 

Wet Stones