Last week, I had the great chance to go to Northern Ireland to visit the filming locations of Game Of Thrones, HBO's world-famous series.
The trip was organized by the Irish Tourist Board (you can find all the places I will tell you about on their website) and we were a group of about twenty journalists from all over the world (India, USA, Europe). I proudly represented the JustFocus team and, as a big fan of the series, I was very eager to discover the places that the Starks, the Lannisters, the Greyjoys, the Tyrells had walked … and even the Boltons.
It was two days of visit where I was able to discover the beautiful landscapes of this country which hosts 80% of the filming of Game Of Thrones.
Our guide, Deidre (or Dee) looked very much like Catelyn Stark (blue eyes, brunette with the same cheekbones) and immediately put us in the mood by putting on a cape worthy of that of Jon Snow and putting us the music of the credits of the series.
Thursday morning, 8.30am, departure from Belfast. Let's go.
Warning: SPOILERS if you haven't seen all the seasons so far.
After driving about twenty minutes we arrived at our first place of visit, Ballygally Castle.
Ballygally Castle is a hotel created in a seventeenth century building that is also reputed to be one of the most haunted places in the country. Even though no episode of Game Of Thrones was filmed within its walls, it is geographically placed next to many of the filming locations of the series.
That's why there is a door engraved with the effigy of the Stark and Bolton houses.
There are 10 gates like this one in Northern Ireland (with, of course, different engravings), each placed in a strategic location where Game Of Thrones was filmed.
This door refers to the Battle of the Bastards from season 6.
The Steesons family of jewelers have made the various jewels seen in Game Of Thrones, their biggest success being Daenerys Targaryen's dragon necklace. Some replicas can be found in the hotel, such as brooches bearing the effigy of the Stark coat of arms.
We then walked along the coast (when the weather is nice, you can see Scotland on the horizon) Ballygally Bay, and we stopped for a cup of tea (with milk).
An obligatory stop before entering Braavos. or rather Carnlough (pronounced "Carnlock").
It is here that Arya is stabbed by the Faceless in episode 7 of season 6 (The Broken Man) and falls into the water:
It was really cool to stand in the same place where it was filmed.
Depending on the locals we met, there can be three seasons in one day in Northern Ireland.
The grey and rainy weather was perfect for our next detour, Cushendall Caves.
So I walked in the footsteps of Melisandre who, in season 2 (episode 4, Garden of Bones), goes to this place with Sir Davos to give birth to… This stuff:
…Who will come to kill Renly Baratheon, under the horrified eyes of Brienne of Tarth (♥) and Catelyn Stark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knq_7MfHO0o
Surrounded by dark and huge rocks, the place seems perfect for sheltering evil things. Poor Davos.
We then left the beach to go to the Mary McBrides pub in Cushendun to admire one of the doors I mentioned earlier.
What to say aside.. VALAR MORGHULIS!
..Valar Dohaeris.
The landscapes , every time we hit the road, were really beautiful. I wanted to leave the bus and go on foot to take as many pictures as possible. I had never seen landscapes like this, really green (so forgive the rain), filled with sheep and ancient remains. The cliffs on the coast were serious too.
I was telling you about poor Renly a few minutes ago; here is where his camp was filmed in season 2 (episode 3, What is Dead May Never Die).
In this episode, Brienne of Tarth becomes the King's Guard of Renly.
The place, Larrybane's Bay, is impressive. We were also very lucky to have sunshine at that time:
Episode 5 of season 6 (The Door) was also filmed here.
Yara Greyjoy declares, with the support of her brother Theon, that she wants to take the throne of the Iron Islands. She is robbed of the title by her uncle Euron, murderer of Balon Greyjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9ARbvY2Bfw
Our next destination was Ballintoy Harbour, where the Iron Islands were filmed for the first time and more specifically Pyke, home of the Greyjoys.
We meet Yara in episode 2 of season 2 (The Night Lands), in the awkward moment when Theon does not recognize his sister and makes her… more than advances. The funeral of Balon Greyjoy (Episode 2 of season 6, Home) will also be filmed at this location.
We leave the coast to go to The Dark Hedges, a beech trail in County Antrim.
Planted by the Stuart family in the eighteenth century, they were meant to impress visitors who visited their mansion, Gracehill House.
We see this road in The North Remembers, the first episode of season 2. Arya has just escaped from King's Landing after the death of her father, Ned Stark, and takes the King's Road with Yoren, Gendry, and Hot Pie.
The gnarled trees form a natural tunnel that has become a must-see in Northern Ireland.
The engraved wooden doors I mentioned earlier were made with three of the trees on this road. They had been uprooted following the passage of storm Gertrude in January 2016 and it was decided to give them a second life.
The folklore of the country is very rich and we understand why when we see these landscapes. We would not be surprised to see two fairies or a leprechaun appear in the middle of all these trees and greenery.
The last stop of this day was to discover the beaches of Dorne. or rather those of Portstewart Strand.
This is where we see Jaime Lannister and Sir Bronn in season 5 (episode 4, Sons of the Harpy) arrive in Dorne to retrieve Myrcella, the daughter of Cersei (and therefore Jaime).
We were also able to admire this beach at sunset.
The next day we went to Winterfell… And I'll take you there in the next article.
