Game of Thrones® in Northern Ireland – Itinerary Part 1
Last year the worldwide known series Game of Thrones® ended, disappointing some fan and surprising others. The series has been known for its many locations and visual effects. Game of Thrones® took place in around 25 locations around Northern Ireland and other filming locations, such as Canada, Iceland, Malta and Spain. In this article let’s see the filming locations to learn more about the Riverlands, Iron Islands, Havazhofi Hranni and Winterfell and beware of the direwolves!
Let’s take a trip to Northern Ireland and discover where your favorite scenes were taken!
The worldwide famous fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, in other words the adaptation of the series of novels written by George R. R. Martin Game of Thrones® ended last year. Enter the world of Westeros, pass through enchanted forests and wretched encampments of the Seven Kingdoms, discover Winterfell in the North and the blue waters of House Stokeworth.
Pollnagollum Cave
Between the woods in County Fermanagh. Behind a gushing waterfall there’s Pollnagollum Cave, part of the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark. You can explore the cave that the Brotherhood Without Banners used as a refuge to hide from Lannister’ soldiers. In season 3 episode 6 Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie were captured by the Brotherhood without Banners, led by a resurrected Beric Dondarrion, while wandering around the Riverlands looking for the direction of Riverrun. In the darkness of this cave, Sandor Clegane faced the undaunted and immortal Beric Dondarrion in trial by combat.
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Tollymore Forest Park
Let’s go to the extreme border: Tollymore Forest Park covers an area of 1600 acres and lies at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. The Tollymore forest park features many decorative structures like gates, bridges and other buildings, but there are also the fearsome White Walkers. We meet for the first time, the cold-blooded creature in the Haunted Forest. In the first episode of the first season the Starks, on the way back from the execution, found a dead direwolf with its living pups. Stop at Leitrim Lodge, nestled on the slopes of Mourne Mountain, where Bran met Meera and Jojen Reed.
Inch Abbey
In Ireland Inch Abbey is a milestone: a beautiful Cistercian abbey from 1180, also in Game of Thrones® the place where the War of the Five Kings began. In season 1 episode 10, Robb Stark was proclaimed “King in the North” by the lords of the Northern Houses, after knowing of Ned Stark’s death, and they spurred Robb to go to war because they were tired of being ruled by southern lords. On a clear day, chilling on the Quoile you can see Down Cathedral, where Saint Patrick’s remains are buried. Take a moment to visit St. Patrick Centre in Downpatrick to learn more about the fascinating history of this Saint.
Castle Ward
Castle Ward has been the home of the Ward family since the XVI century. In the Seven Kingdoms this property is known by another name: Winterfell, the ancestral home of House Stark. You can practice archery in the same spot as Jon Snow, wear authentic Westeros clothes and attend a rich medieval feast just like in Game of Thrones®.
Have a lunch at The Cuan Guesthouse and admire the doors inspired by season six of The Game of Thrones®. These intricate masterpieces, carved from the wood of Dark Hedges, are scattered throughout Northern Ireland.
Storm Lands via the Glue! Follow Tyrion and Jorah to meet the slavers of Essos, visit Pyke, the home of the Greyjoy kingdom and venture along the endless King’s Road.
Toome Canal
The shores of Lough Neagh and Toome Canal are a wonderful mix of woodland, bogs and fascinating wildlife. Tyrion Lannister was captured by Jorah Mormont during the third episode of the fifth season. Moreover, Toome Canal is known to be the Old Valyria’s canal but also the place in which Tyrion and Jorah were attacked by the Stone men.
The Seamus Heaney Homeplace is a must-see place: art and literature meet celebrating life and works by the Nobel Prize winner. The exhibition is filled with stories, images and audio that put the spotlight on the people and places that inspired Heaney, one of the world’s most acclaimed poets.
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Shillanavogy Valley
These peaceful lands are home to the troubled Essos people; in the TV show this is the Dothraki Sea. Khal Drogo rode this valley in the direction of Vaes Dothrak with Daenerys Targaryen, his newlywed, and his evil brother Viserys.
After that, head to Carnlough and rent a boat to test your fishing skills. Arya escaped from the Waif by leaping over the handrail and into this River in the seventh episode of sixth season.
Cairncastle
The only word to describe the Anrtim plateau is incredible, with windswept plains and basaltic overhangs creating a thorny ridge that cuts through the sky. No wonder it was chosen as the location for the Neck. This angular landscape is the backdrop for one of the most intense scenes in the series in which Sansa Stark discovers from Littlefinger that she will have to marry the awful Ramsay Bolton.
Moreover, climb up to Knock Dhu, a Bronze Age hilltop fort overlooking the landscape from above. Or, discover Sallagh Braes, the place where Ned Stark punishes a deserter from The Night’s Watch and Game of Thrones® begins.
Wait… there’s more! There’s a second part: don’t miss it!
Have you ever visited these places? Did you know they were filming locations of Game of Thrones®? Comment below and let us know!
