In the name of research for my Do Something Sunday I headed off to Newgrange this week. Although I went to the visitor centre and monument, I headed to the farm first. It is important to note that the farm isn’t actually included in the tour or price but it is well worth a visit.
I absolutely love animals and I couldn’t wait to visit Newgrange Pet Farm. I have been numerous times but I always enjoy it. I got to play with kittens, snuggle puppies and pet little piggies, sheep and a horse named Bradley. There is plenty of farm to stroll around and feed goats, cows, chickens etc. There is an opportunity to bottle feed lambs as well which is amazing. There’s also a coffee shop to relax in afterwards. Entry to the farm is €8.
The visitor centre is about a 15 minute drive from the farm and hosts plenty of displays, short videos and facts about the megalithic and neolithic eras. It is nice to have a little walk around before boarding the bus to the Newgrange monument. There is also an option to visit Knowth and Dowth but we didn’t avail (the last time I was in Dowth a spider crawled on my leg!). The bus journey is 5-10 minutes.
Upon reaching the monument we were greeted by our tour guide and given a history of the 5000 year old burial tomb. I had visited Newgrange on a school tour when I was about 6 but I had never actually gone inside the tomb.
The inside is not for the claustrophobic. There is a little bit of crouching down whilst going in the entrance and another little bit on the way to the chamber. The chamber itself is roomy enough and there are plenty of examples of megalithic and neolithic art carved in the stone. Our tour guide then showed us how the light shines through the tomb on the summer and winter solstice. The full tour lasted about an hour. Entry to the visitor centre and the tour is €6.
It wasn’t a bad day out at all and it is a nice way to spend a Sunday.
