DAY 93: Bective Abbey and Trim Castle

Bective Abbey

This morning was a Sunday, and although it was our first full day at Oliver's because it was the weekend he allowed us to spend the day exploring!

The first thing we decided to do was to explore Bective Abbey which was directly across the street. Jake, Oliver's yellow lab, accompanied us!

FUN FACT #63: The scenes shot here at Bective Abbey for Braveheart are those of the Princess of Wales walking through the hallway with her French maid as well as the Princess visiting Wallace in prison.

After we ran around the ruins of the Abbey, we returned to the B&B for lunch. Oliver then drove the two of us into the town of Trim to see Trim Castle.

FUN FACT #: Trim Castle was built in the 1100's and was the center of administration for the County of Meath. It changed families a few times and most significantly was occupied by Oliver Cromwell for a brief period in 1649. The Castle has since fallen into disrepair, along with its moat and towers.

FUN FACT #64: Trim Castle was another location used in the shooting of Braveheart! The scenes of William Wallace being tortured are shot in front of the castle. Lizzy and I also saw the window that Longshanks throws his son's lover out of. LOL

View of a Tower inside Trim Castle

So we explored the old castle and the ruins of a monastery and cemetery as well. When we finished, we got hot chocolate and walked around a craft fair at a hotel across the street. Once we had warmed up a bit, we set out to walk home.

It was beginning to get dark when we realized we were a bit far from The Mill, so we decided to try our hand at hitch hiking!

Trim Castle

I know, I know, you shouldn't hitch hike, its dangerous, blah blah blah, but it was getting cold out! So we stuck out our thumbs and wouldn't you know it- A taxi pulled up! We told him we didn't have any money, but we just needed a lift to about 3 miles up the road. So this very nice Irishman let us take his taxi for free! He didn't take us all the way to The Mill because that was a bit out of his way, but he took us as far as he could which was incredibly kind of him. Lizzy accidentally left her Ray Bans in his car, so I suppose he did end up being compensated greatly....

Tomorrow is our first day of WWOOFing!

View from Trim Caslte

Trim Caslte at Sunset