While visiting Dublin, we relied primarily on public transport and walking to get to the main attractions. Although we loved our visit to Dublin, we also wanted to explore special places outside the city, such as the Boyne Valley in Ireland.
There are many multi-day tours in Ireland, but we had limited time. Luxury Ireland Tours has brought us a new offering for families: day trips from multiple cities across the country.
Spending time in Dublin? Check out our guide to the best things to do in Dublin with kids.
Mysterious Fire and Water Tour to the Boyne Valley, Ireland
What is Ireland’s Boyne Valley known for?
Just northwest of Dublin, The Boyne Valley is home to some of Ireland’s oldest history, dating back over 5000 years. The rolling green hills were once home to Ireland’s early kings, where the high kings met together to fight epic battles, bury their dead and celebrate the summer solstice together. .
In Boyne Valley Brue-na-Boinne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site Europe’s largest collection of megalithic art. It takes a full day to explore and discover.the hill of cod This was the original home of the High King of Ireland.
It is also where Halloween was first celebrated. Ireland’s largest Anglo-Norman castle. Ireland’s ancient past comes alive in the Boyne Valley, the setting for our Mythical Water and Fire Tour.
Mystical fire and water tour
Our tour promised to explore Ireland’s ancient east and the River Boyne, a place rich in myth and folklore. Itinerary in hand, we excitedly waited in the rain for our tour guide and driver to pick us up at our hotel.
Jerry picked us up in a luxury black Mercedes van. My daughters, ages 13 to 18, still talk about Jerry. Not only was he chock-full of funny stories, legends and history about Ireland, but he also made us laugh out loud as we weaved our way through the small cobbled streets of suburban Dublin into the Boyne Valley.
trim castle
Our first stop on our day trip was Trim Castle, Ireland’s oldest Anglo-Norman castle. Built in 1174 shortly after the Norman Conquest, the castle took 30 years to build and was home to King John, Richard II and Henry V at various times in history.
While we toured the grounds, Jerry shared some facts about the castle, especially that it was used in the filming of Braveheart, my husband’s favorite movie.
Bective Monastery
Just a few minutes from Trim is the Bective Abbey, built even earlier in 1147. This was his second Cistercian abbey in Ireland. Unlike Trim Castle, which must be visited in groups and is kept in almost pristine condition, Bective Abbey requires climbing stairs and meandering through narrow passageways. Exploring here felt ancient and grand.
Ann Goba
After a brief glimpse into Ireland’s Anglo-Norman past, we traveled further back into Ireland’s history with a hands-on lesson in ancient iron making from Ann Gobba, a blacksmith from the Boyne.
In A Private House in the Boyne Valley, Tom King plays Anne Gobba, a medieval blacksmith versed in the ancient stories, myths and folklore of Ireland.
Part interactive theater performance with wit, jokes and wisdom, and part blacksmith tutorial from an award-winning artist, My Family will watch Anne Gobba shape and forge metal into precious ancient Irish designs I watched with absolute awe. His passion and enthusiasm for his work and the Irish story was palpable.
The absolute highlight of the blacksmith visit was when the blacksmith took my daughters to forge and shape their own custom pendants. Thanks to his heartfelt laughter, encouragement, and unique skills, each of my children was able to become a blacksmith apprentice. He even called my middle daughter a “natural.” We love taking souvenir pendants home and proudly displaying them in our home.
After marveling at Anne Goba’s private collection of art and craftsmanship, including a giant sword her husband never wanted to part with, we said our heartfelt goodbyes and headed to lunch with Jerry. I’m back on the road.
Dowth Passage Tomb
The Bleu na Boinne World Heritage Site consists of Newgrange and Knowth Burial Mounds and can only be accessed on a full-day tour of the sites.
But just down the road, our driver Jerry took us to Daus, a similarly sized passage tomb, did not require a day ticket and associated advance reservations to enter the UNESCO site. Dauth is unique in that it offers the same types of passage tombs from the same period, the same megalithic art, but is free to access without tours and takes less time to explore.
Once you pass through the small livestock gate, the grounds are open to the public and you can climb up. Megalithic art is dotted around the huge rocks surrounding the tomb, but it takes insight to notice them.
The tunnel is not open to the public, but our guide, Gerry, told us that it was similar to New Glance and Knowth in Brue na Boinne.on the day of the winter solstice, the sun illuminates the tunnel passage precisely. The history and understanding of these burial mounds and their relationship to the angle of the sun on the shortest day of the year is not fully understood.
boing boat
For our final adventure of the day, we headed a little further down the road past the slow flowing River Boyne to the Boyne Boat on the Boyne Canal.
There we met Ross Kenny, founder of Boing Boats and creator of hand-built boats in the ancient style that were meant to sail down the river. Traditional Irish curry.
We hopped into a lightweight, ancient-style boat and began rowing slowly down the Boyne Canal. All the while we learned about the history of these boats and how they believe the existence of large stones in Newgrange, County Knowth is due to this type of boat. , and the Dows were brought to the Boyne Valley by their ancient Stone Age Irish ancestors.
The journey down the canal and into the River Boyne was truly amazing and breathtaking at every point. Ross Kenny knew the best times to encourage our family to paddle or take a break, but the current was very calm and it wasn’t too difficult.
game of thrones Fans will also be interested in this boat ride, as the show used his car rack boats and other types of boats he created for the show throughout the season.. Depending on your family’s interests and age group, Ross will tell you everything from small fairy doors in the trees along the canal, to ancient ancestors who used the river for transportation, or to the modern world in the filming of international blockbusters. Move the conversation towards everything from challenges. – Hit TV show.
Everyone loved it.
After completing our adventure in Irish mythology and history, we returned to our hotel in Dublin. We said goodbye to our guide, Gerry, and enjoyed dinner at a pub in Dublin, sharing laughs, memories, and favorites from our day exploring.
We can’t find, plan, and beautifully curate these experiences alone. Having Luxury Irish Tours organize this magical adventure was an incredible relief for our family, especially for this mother who was exhausted from researching and planning a two-week trip to Europe. He gave it to me. If you’re planning a tour of Ireland, whether it’s a day trip from Dublin like we were, or her 10-day tour across the island, consider Luxury Ireland Tours.
Disclosure: My family received a complimentary day tour from Luxury Irish Tours for the purpose of this review. I didn’t have to express any particular opinion. All opinions are my own.