The River Walk, Trim, County Meath

Trim, Ireland Wishes You Were Here

When I reach the last few days of a trip, I tend to look at these remaining destinations with finality. On my way to the Dublin Airport, I decided to spend that finality in Trim, a place where many spent their own end. The small town just west of Ireland's capital used to be a major player in the middle ages. Elizabeth I even considered placing Trinity College here. Home to the county jail, ironically Trim was where you could say the herds were also trimmed and thinned. I check into my hotel just across from the Trim Castle, obviously the showpiece to this now snoozing town. The Castle brags of its Braveheart fame just merely by appearance. You can see why filmmakers thought it the perfect spot to imagine the past. However, the Trim Castle seems far more proud of its size, restoration and importance.

Serving as Ireland's largest Anglo Norman fortification, the castle is standing, crumbling proof Trim was not so sleepy in medieval times. Founded in 1173, what I wander around today is mostly from 1200. A green space surrounds this area of Trim, where locals come to walk their dogs. I observe they don't notice the castle, probably a site they have wandered past their whole lives. It's funny how with time we forget just how extraordinary our backyard can be.

Across from the castle and the River Boyne is St. Mary's Abbey, or what is left of it. Cromwell wasn't kind to this 12th century Augustinian abbey. However a lone bell tower still stands, albeit in a haphazard fashion, proving you can knock Trim down, but the town can still rise.

I head back in for the evening, but I can't avoid Trim's medieval glory. I spot a glow of midnight blue out my window, lights making certain the Trim Castle is still visible through the darkness. And while this was the end of my Ireland adventure, I recognize Trim is the perfect spot from ending and beginning. Quiet, crumbling and stoic, Trim isn't a big player now, but its remains from the glory days prove that doesn't matter. It might have been the end of my Ireland excursion, the end of the solo travel glory, but it was also the beginning of a new adventure. The traces of my Ireland trip will still remain, just as Trim Castle seems to say.