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The sweeping, green pastures of County Meath illustrate that this is one of Ireland's richest areas of farmland. Bisected by the River Boyne , the county consists to the south of a fertile plain bordered by the Royal Canal and the Bog of Allen, and to the north, the drumlins and lakes of Cavan and Monaghan. The large, prosperous farms and solid houses which pepper the countryside are from the era when Meath was, from the twelfth century, one of the most settled areas of Ireland. The most important legacy of this period are its castles, most especially the imposing Anglo-Norman edifice, Trim Castle , whose impenetrable walls were used in the film Braveheart . Most of Meath's other major sites are found in the Boyne Valley , and, while the river's name is synonomous with the eponymous battle fought on its northern banks in the seventeenth century, it's the architectural heritage of a period four and a half thousand years earlier that first occupies your attention. Found in the bend in the river between the towns of Drogheda and Slane, is the area known as the Bru na Boinne complex, where some of Europe's finest prehistoric remains can be found. The whole Boyne Valley, in fact, has been populated from earliest times, evidence of which can be found in the megalithic monuments of Sliabh na Caillighe in the north to the Hill of Tara in the centre, the traditional seat of the Celtic High Kings. Before exploring the sites along the northern shore of the Boyne - and especially as there is no river crossing between Drogheda and Slane - you might want to take in Donore and Duleek south of the river, easily reached from Drogheda (or if you're heading up the N2 from Dublin).
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