Trim Castle

We departed Belfast and headed south into Ireland.  En route to Kilkenny, we stopped at Trim Castle, the largest castle in Ireland from the Norman era. This castle was rehabilitated in the 1990s to accommodate visitors, and it was the filming site for many scenes in the epic movie Braveheart.

We had an excellent guide, who gave a very engaging tour.  She told us all the interesting and gory bits from the castle's history.  The keep had many defensive characteristics, including a maze-like interior to make it difficult for intruders to locate the lord of the castle.  The keep has 20 sides - an experimental defensive tactic that ultimately was not ideal (it took too many look-out guards).  We were also told that the moat was used to discard bits lepers that had rotted off... thus infecting the moat waters and making it less desirable to cross.  Yikes!

In the stocks!

A. got the job of key-keeper.  This giant key

actually opened and closed the gate doors.

Inside the keep.  The original floors

separating levels are gone.

At the top!