These seven are strung out between the Boyne and the Cavan border, and they do not make a single trail. Navan, the county town, stands where the Boyne meets the Blackwater, its three medieval streets now lined mostly with Victorian buildings. It is a working town rather than a sight in itself, but the Ramparts walk runs along the river and Tara, Trim Castle and Newgrange are each a short drive away.
Donore sits east, near Drogheda on the Louth border, and is where you go for the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, the only way in to Newgrange and Knowth; it also keeps a 15th-century tower house and the high ground the Jacobites held in 1690. Away in the north-west, Oldcastle is the base for the Loughcrew cairns 3 km east, with pubs and a SuperValu on the Square for stocking up before the climb, while Carnaross is a crossroads village on the R147 above Kells whose draws are scattered and low-key.
Ratoath, down in the commuter belt, turns busy around Fairyhouse and the Irish Grand National at Easter. Ráth Chairn is the planted Gaeltacht, one of only two in Leinster, with no visitor centre and no need for one. Stamullen, grown fast since the 1990s, holds a ruined 13th-century church and the Preston tombs in its old graveyard. You will want a car to link any two of them.
Sits where the Boyne meets the Blackwater, a working county town rather than a sight, and the most practical base for the Boyne Valley.
Holds the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, the only way in to Newgrange and Knowth, along with a tower house and 1690 battlefield ground.
A small market town 3 km west of the Loughcrew passage tombs, with pubs and a shop on the Square for stocking up first.
Sits beside Fairyhouse racecourse, home of the Irish Grand National over Easter, with a large show garden and a river walk through the town.
A crossroads village north-west of Kells with quietly scattered draws, among them a 7th-century Ogham stone in Keim churchyard and a mart of some renown.
7 of 7 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Navan, meath
Navan sits where the Boyne meets the Blackwater, its three medieval streets now lined mostly with Victorian buildings. It's more a working county town than a sight in itself, but a sensible base for the Boyne Valley, with Tara, Trim Castle and Newgrange all a short drive away, and the Ramparts river walk running along the Boyne. Navan is also a palindrome, and held Purple Flag status for its night-time economy.
Donore, meath
Donore is a small village on the Meath–Louth border near Drogheda, best known as the location of the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre – the only way in to Newgrange and Knowth. It also has a 15th-century tower house and sits on the high ground the Jacobites held at the 1690 Battle of the Boyne.
Oldcastle, meath
Oldcastle is a small market town in north-west Meath, best used as the base for the Loughcrew passage tombs 3 km east, where the equinox sunrise reaches into Cairn T. During the First World War the town held Ireland's only permanent civilian internment camp, in the old workhouse. The Square still has its pubs and a SuperValu for stocking up before the cairns.
Ratoath, meath
Ratoath is a fast-grown Meath commuter town whose one national draw is Fairyhouse racecourse next door, home of the Irish Grand National over Easter. Away from the racing, the Ratoath Garden Centre has one of the largest show gardens in Ireland, and the Broad Meadow River gives an easy walk through town.
Carnaross, meath
Ráth Chairn, meath
Stamullen, meath
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