All battlefields start the day the same way, as a field. Be it corn, wheat, potatoes, whatever the crop, they are simply fields. By the end of the day or the battle they are desecrated by the sin, blood and the horror of war. Culloden, Gettysburg, Boyne it makes no difference, they are all the same. And after, if they are historically significant they remain as they were, fields. Nothing to see, hear or feel except the memories of those who died and those who won and the reason or lack of reason for the encounter.
I wanted to walk to the Battlefield over the same land that the nearly 50,000 soldiers had in 1690. William of Orange and his wife Mary had, upon invitation from 7 noblemen who did not want James II, a Catholic, on the throne become King of England. The event is called the Glorious Revolution. James was disposes and fled to France, at the time an enemy of England and it’s European allies. Long/short James with 12,000 Catholic troops sailed from France to Kinsale Ireland to attempt to force William into battle and retake his throne. Not the best of plans. William won, James fled to France never to return and later his son “Bonnie” Prince Charlie would also attempt to retake the throne with even more disastrous results. More on that next year when I’m in Scotland and visit Colloden.
As I was approaching the field I saw the River Boyne Suspension Bridge in the distance. Pretty incongruous among all the woods and fields.
Old Oldbridge House near where the main battle was fought is now the visitor center. As I said there is not much to see in a former field of battle but one historic needed to be preserved and remembered. All you can really do is display paintings, murals and artifacts and tell the tale.
There is a nice walled garden that must be brilliant in the high season
With places for quiet contemplation
Then I decided to walk along the Boyne. Even dip my hands in it. The trail was marked by footprints and a recent bike tread. If a bike could pass so could I.
Peaceful
Mucky was an understatement. Still amazed I didn’t take a header.
Two days before I had crossed this same river many miles inland to go to Newgrange. Looks like good fishing but I have been informed it is a catch & release program.
The owner of this finely sculpted hedge was washing his car so I asked if I could wash all the mud from my boots so as to not make a mess of Dalys Inn. No need to tie housekeeping added work. I try to treat my place of stay as my home. He got a brush to make it so.
How different the history of Ireland, Britain and the world might have been if James II had not converted to Catholicism? There would have been no need for a Glorious Revolution, there might not even have been a revolution in Ireland. Or the later Troubles. And Bonnie Prince Charlie would never had had to fight in Scotland to reclaim his throne. And since George III would never sit on the throne, would there even have been an American Revolution? But he did convert, people fought and died in vast numbers over which way was the better to worship the same God. And we know the path from there.
7.62 miles
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