Boyne Valley

One of the classes I'm taking over here is a geography class about Irish landscapes. The class is specifically for the international students as an introduction to different areas of Ireland. Two weekends ago we went on our first field trip to the Boyne Valley and made a few awesome stops.

Monasterboice

Battle of the Boyne Heritage Center

The Battle of he Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scotish, and Irish thrones- the Catholic: King James and the Protestant: King William. The battle was fought across the river Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland. Won by William, the battle was a turning point in James' unsuccessful attempt to regain the crown and ultimately helped ensure the continuation of Protestant supremacy in Ireland. 

The whole field trip group. There are students from 10 different countries represented in this one picture.

Newgrange 

Newgrange is the largest of three passage graves in the Boyne Valley. It was created by the Neolithic people of the area in 3000 B.C. 

The entrance stone. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos inside the tomb.

Bective Abbey

Before coming to Ireland this is basically what I imagined it would look like. Seeing it all in person was better than I imagined:)

Trim Castle

Trim castle is the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland and the largest remaining Norman castle in Europe. This is also the castle where many scenes from Braveheart were filmed!  

We missed our time slot to tour inside the castle, which was a little disappointing, but walking around the outside was pretty incredible. 

Overall, I'd say it was a pretty successful way to spend a Saturday!