Visiting Trim Castle: all you need to know + fun facts

All you need to know for visiting Trim Castle: practical tips and fun facts for adults, kids and movie lovers

Trim Castle is one of the most beautiful and famous castles in Ireland.

Located in Trim, less than an hour north of Dublin by car, is the biggest and best-preserved Norman Castle in Ireland and an absolute gem of a place.

The castle is open to the public and regular tours allow you to see the interior of this incredible medieval construction and even climb to the very top of its impressive tower.

We visited Trim Castle with the children and highly recommend it to all visitors, regardless of age!

Where is Trim Castle

Trim castle is in the small town of Trim, in County Meath. It is about 1 hour North of Dublin by car and it is very easy to reach and find once in the area.

The castle is right in the center of the town and there is plenty of parking available on the nearby streets.

A nice hotel with restaurants is right in front of the castle and there are several additional cafes and eateries in the vicinity too.

The best way to reach Trim castle is by private car, however, the castle is included n some day tours from Dublin to the Boyne Valley.

Some worth considering are:

Boyne Valley full day tour from Dublin – which brings you the castle as well as the nearby Hill of Tara and Hill Of Uishneach, one of Ireland’s mosy important ancient sites.

Boyne Valley, full day ‘Celts and castle tour’ – which also includes the incredible Unesco site of Newgrange

What special about Trim Castle

Trim Castle is a very special place: it is the largest Norman Castle in Ireland and its exceptionally well preserved.

So much so that it was chosen for the filming of the award-winning Breaveheart over other castles in Scotland, where the drama is supposed to take place (more about it later!).

Indeed, Trim Castle leaves a strong impression on its visitors.

As soon as you approach it, you notice the imposing walls, raising above large lawns.

Inside this first set of fortifications, you find a second large grassy area and, in the center, the castle itself, which towers above the surrounding countryside and the river Boyne below.

The castle itself dates back to 1172 and can still nowadays be visited inside, by guided tour.

I highly recommend you take the tour: the guides are informative and funny and they really make the castle come to life.

This is not a castle with lavish interiors or elegant rooms, however, it has a lot it wows visitors with: his tall tower, the incredible views from above, its fortifications and its appearance in Hollywood productions make for wonderful stories that are not accessible without a guide and a real shame if missed.

What there is to see in Trim Castle

There are three main parts of the castle I recommend visiting.

The outside walls: the outside walls are the first thing you see when approaching Trim castle and they are a sight to behold. They date back to the 1170s and are protected by strong towers, between which you find two gates, the Trim gate and the slightly later Dublin Gate.

I highly recommend you take some time to walk along these walls: they are surrounded by a lawn and the main road with pavement still follows their shape and allows you to appreciate how large this castle truly was and, to an extent, still is.

The keep – inside the first set of walls you find a large lawn and then the keep, or great tower.

It has a very peculiar shape that counts no less than 20 corners and used to be protected by a ditch, now covered in grass (our kids spent the afternoon rolling in and out of it!)

The keep is the part of the castle that is now accessible by private tour and the visit leads you to its most important parts as well as to the top of the tower.

The view from the top – The third reason to visit Trim castle is the incredible view that you get from the top of the main tower.

The castle was built as a military stronghold, originally to try to counterbalance the power of Strongbow, who has his base in Kilkenny, and it truly dominates the surrounded countryside.

Once you are up on the tower, you can appreciate the vantage point of this castle and how far you can actually see from here.

You will also notice how close the river Boyne truly is, two elements that were crucial in picking the location of such an important defense post.

Visiting Trim Castle with kids

We visited Trim castle with the kids and they had great fun.

The tour is not specifically for them and, unlike other castles in Ireland that have made a specific effort to become family attractions (Birr Castle comes to mind), this one hasn’t got much that is kids-oriented.

However, this can be a positive thing: there were very little crowds when we visited, perfect to actually learn about the place and it didn’t mean the kids didn’t find anything to do. Quite the opposite!

The large lawn outside the castle is great for kids to run around and our two spent ages rolling in and out of what was the original defense ditch of the castle (not covered in soft grass).

The tour also, while not for kids, was easy for them to enjoy.

The guide was funny and accommodating and the castle is well equipped for visitors.

Even at the very top of the tower, I noticed there were no dangerous gaps or precarious viewpoint so whole it is paramount to stay close to our kids, we all commented on how kid-friendly the place actually was.

I wouldn’t bring a stroller here however, if you can bring your child in a carrier of if they are can walk,

This is a very easy castle for them to visit.

Fun facts about Trim Castle

Trim Castle was built in the 12th century: its construction started in 1176 and took over 30 years!

The main part of the castle is a twenty-sided tower and was protected by a ditch, a moat and curtain walls, still standing nowadays.

The defense system of the castle was so effective, history tells us in 1223 it took Walter de Lacy seven weeks to regain control of it!

Trim is the largest Anglo Norman castle in Ireland and the best preserved.

Despite being located in Ireland, rather than in Scotland, Trim castle was chosen for the filming of Braveheart, the award-winning Mel Gibson movie.

If you think this is peculiar, wait for the next fun fact: in the movie, Trim doesn’t only appear as ‘a castle’ but rather as 4 of them!

Different parts of the castle were adapted to look at different locations but all the filming happened here!

I hope you enjoyed this quick overview and tips for visiting Trim castle. Safe travel planning!