Newgrange in Co Meath is somewhere
I’ve wanted to bring my kids for a long time, as I remember really liking it
when I went on a school trip many moons ago. We tried to visit a few years ago
but only got as far as the visitor centre to be turned away as all the tickets
were sold out. They limit the amount of tickets sold per day for conservation
reasons.
Tickets are not available to purchase online so it’s first come first
served, we needed to be there early if we wanted to secure a place on a tour.
That meant booking an overnight stay in the area and in the hopes that there
wouldn’t be too many people visiting Ireland’s Ancient East we went off season.
What is Newgrange?
Newgrange is a 5,200 year old
passage tomb in the Brú na Bóinne complex, it predates Stonehenge in England
and the Pyramids in Egypt. The structure is made using rocks and earth with
grass growing in a mound on the roof. Newgrange was constructed using stones
from a few different counties some as far away as 50km.
These stones and rocks
were transported to the site over land and water, an amazing feat considering
the size of some of the boulders. Archaeologists are still at odds as to the
exact reason for Newgrange being built but they do agree that it has some
religious significance.
One of the most intriguing features of Newgrange is
that the inner chamber is lit by the sun entering through the roof box on the
shortest day of the year, winter solstice and for a couple of days before and
after. There are two similar passage tombs in the same area Knowth & Dowth.
I’ve always loved the Neolithic curvilinear artwork that’s carved into the
entrance rock and kerbstones; so much so that I had my husband’s wedding ring
handmade using these designs.
Where is Newgrange and how can I get
there?
Newgrange visitor centre is located
in County Meath on the south side of the River Boyne overlooking the UNESCO
World Heritage Site. Driving is by far the easiest way to visit using
directions from HERE or you can get a
private bus.
Collins Coaches that leave Irish Life Mall in Dublin every hour
costing about €7pp each way alighting at The Brink Stores and getting a taxi
for the last 7km or you could join one of the many tour companies that run
tours to Newgrange and other heritage sites along the way.
Where to stay near
Newgrange?
As we’re a family of 7 it’s
difficult to get a place to stay that doesn’t involve booking at least two
rooms and spending a fortune so we usually rely on Airbnb to source
accommodation. I couldn’t believe my luck when I came across Rathgillen Farm in
Nobber Co Meath; it’s a private 3 bed house on a 125 acre working sheep farm.
Peter our host was fantastic, so welcoming and friendly he makes sure to
welcome all of his guests with hot tea & warm scones, such a lovely touch.
The house suited us perfectly and was well equipped with everything we needed
for our overnight stay including free WiFi. My husband went to the local
chipper for our dinner while I got the kids into their pj’s.
Peter was thrilled
to hear that our 5 year old Cillian is mad about Sheep so he called over to us
bright and early the next morning before we set off for Newgrange to bring us
on a tour of his farm and for Cillian to go meet his sheep, Cillian was over
the moon and hasn’t stopped talking about it since! We paid just €45 instead of
the full price of €80 for our 1 night stay as we had €35 credit from referring
someone to Airbnb. BOOK HERE.
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Visiting Newgrange:
As I mentioned tickets are only sold
at Newgrange so get there early. There’s plenty of free parking available on
site. The interpretive centre is fantastic; it’s a state of the art facility
with exhibitions showing what it would be like to live in the Neolithic period
complete with a full scale replica of the inner chamber of Newgrange.
Unfortunately during our visit Knowth was closed for the season but we did get
to go visit Newgrange, we had to use the foot bridge to cross the Boyne before
we got on a shuttle bus to drive us the 3km to the ancient site.
We all had a
magnificent time, the kids they particularly loved seeing the winter solstice
sunrise being replicated by high power lights in the inner chamber. Photography
is permitted everywhere bar inside the passage tomb likewise with buggies,
everywhere is accessible just not the passage into Newgrange itself.
Once we
were back at the visitor centre we stopped for tea and hot chocolates in the
restaurant to warm up and bought some souvenirs in the gift shop including an
ornament for our Christmas travel tree. As we were just visiting the exhibition
and Newgrange a family ticket would have cost us €16 but we have an annual OPW
Heritage Card which covered the cost of our visit. For more information visit
their website HERE.
Have you been to Newgrange? What did
you think?
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