Beaches and castles of Game of Thrones
Even though there are many of us who didn’t particularly like the ending of the Game of Thrones series, we can still retrace GoT actors’ steps and imagine the ending we wish it had. Most of Game of Thrones scenes filmed in the UK took place in Northern Ireland which might be a bit harder to visit now with the upcoming lockdown. However, looking forward to some better days, we’ll leave all the locations here so you can visit them as soon as allowed.
King’s road
The longest road in Westeros, running from Castle Black at the Wall all the way south to the capital city of the Six Kingdoms, King’s Landing, passing the Kingdom of the North along the way, most of King’s road filming locations took place at the Dark Hedges in Northern Ireland. The Dark Hedges is actually a long avenue of trees making a tunnel scenery which became very popular after being used in the series. Fans might recognise the scenery as a plce where Arya Stark escapes in a caravan dressed as a boy.
The Haunted Forest
Among others, Tollymore Forest was used as a scenery for the Haunted Forest north of the wall, The Wolfswood near Winterfell, The Kingsroad near Castle black and The Wildling camp. Located near Newcastle in Northern Ireland, Tollymore Forest is a great nature escape on sunny days.
The Stormlands
Remember when Melisandre gave birth to her ghost/shadow baby? We all do, unfortunately. The scene took place at Cushendun caves, Northern Ireland and was used as scenery where Sir Davos Seaworth and Lady Melisandre landed ashore in Season 2 and again in season 8 with the famous battle between Jaime Lannister and Euron Greyjoy. Only 50 miles from Belfast, located in a small fishing village in County Antrim and hidden under cliffs the caves are truly magnificent to see.
Winterfell
Even though the final look of Winterfell was achieved with the help of computer-generated images (CGI), it’s quite easy to see how the Tower House and the farmyard of Castle Ward became home to the northern family of Starks. Located on the Eastern side of Northern Ireland, Castle Ward offers Game of Thrones tours where you’ll be able to put on character costumes and try your hand on archery sessions. In the pilot episode, Scottish Castle Doune was featured as home of the Starks, which is also open to GoT fans.
Dragonstone
Some scenes of Dragonstone were actually filmed in Spain, but back in the day when Stannis Baratheon and Melisandre occupied the Targaryen home, few scenes were filmed in Northern Ireland. To be more precise, at the beach called Downhill Strand. The beach is easily accessible from the road, which explains why the filmmakers chose this 11 kilometre long sand path.
Pyke
Also altered by CGI, home of the Greyjoys is filmed at Dunluce Castle by the Antrim coast. In real life, it is a medieval ruin of what once was a castle and it is now only accessible via a bridge connecting it to the mainland. It is estimated that tens of thousands of fans of the popular HBO series visit Dunluce Castle every year while on tours around the show’s many key film locations in Northern Ireland.
At this point, there is probably no castle in the UK that wasn’t used in a fantasy movie/TV series. Therefore, open Google maps, type ‘castles near me’ and you may discover something famous on a walking distance from your home! If you do decide to go on a walking adventure, make sure you adhere to all the new lockdown rules and remember to keep your 2 metre distance from other people.
