Trim is a small County Meath town at a crossing of the River Boyne, and few places in Ireland pack in more medieval buildings. Towering over it all is Trim Castle, the largest Anglo-Norman castle in the country, begun by Hugh de Lacy in the 1170s. Its great keep is unlike any other Norman tower: a three-storey cross shape with twenty corners. If it looks familiar, that may be because it stood in for York in Mel Gibson's Braveheart.
Across the river, the Yellow Steeple is the last tall fragment of St Mary's Abbey, which was burned and rebuilt over and over until the Dissolution finished it off. A pleasant riverside path runs downstream past the old Sheep Gate to Newtown Abbey, a roofless Augustinian cathedral, and the ruined priory of the Crutched Friars facing it across the water. The bridge in the centre of town has stood since the 14th century and may be the oldest intact bridge in Ireland.
Since the town was bypassed in the 1980s the centre has become a quiet, pleasant place to wander, and Trim is now the national headquarters of the Office of Public Works, which looks after many of Ireland's monuments. It makes a good base for the Boyne Valley: the Hill of Tara, seat of the ancient high kings, is a short drive east, the Cistercian ruins of Bective Abbey sit by the river on the way, and Brú na Bóinne and Kells are both within reach.
Check before you plan around the castle: the Office of Public Works has announced that Trim Castle will close for works from 1 November 2026 to 1 April 2027. The grounds of the town's other abbeys are free and open at all hours.