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I Became a Game of Thrones Character in Northern Ireland

07/24/2015 by Kristin Addis 20 Comments

Are you a Game of Thrones lover? If you are, keep reading.

Or are you more like, “why does everyone love this darn show so much?! It’s basically soft core porn, but with more death and incest”? If you are, keep reading because you don’t have to love the show to appreciate the beauty of Northern Ireland.

In June, my friend Steve needed some help shooting a documentary about the various Game of Thrones filming locations, and I offered my assistance because I am a kind and giving person like that.*

(*Because Guinness tastes better in Ireland and I have been dying to go back ever since I left)

game of thrones tour ireland
Because I could be 6 or 65 I will never get over my love of dress-up time

I honestly don’t really watch TV or movies, a source of much frustration for my friends on a lazy evening in, and thus am not usually a TV or movies tour type. I did, however, catch the first season of Game of Thrones on a flight between Europe and the US last summer, and therefore wasn’t completely in the dark.

Yet even if I had never seen an episode, it was the pleasure of exploring Northern Ireland that I was after, and which is quickly becoming the place of traveler’s dreams as its dark history fades into the past.

game of thrones tour ireland
The Giant’s Causeway, so named after feuding giants. A metaphor, methinks

I’m referencing the three decade-long period of conflict in Northern Ireland that began in the late 1960s and lasted until the Belfast “Good Friday” Agreement of 1998. The struggle was mainly a political one rooted in religious and ethnic differences between parts of Northern Ireland’s nationalist community (principally Roman Catholic) and unionist community (principally Protestant).

On paper the disagreements and conflicts stemmed from Northern Ireland’s status as part of the United Kingdom and anti-Catholic discrimination in housing, employment, policing, and voting. The fighting resulted in over 3,600 casualties, many of which were civilian. The Good Friday Agreement “ended the violent conflict in Northern Ireland by creating a power-sharing government and serves as a positive example worldwide for handling ethnic conflic” (via NPR).

I mention this because for many people, the fear of visiting Northern Ireland remains due to its history but is largely unfounded. The Northern Ireland I saw was the well-built industrial city of Belfast, lovely beaches, and gorgeous countryside.

game of thrones tour ireland
Natural beauty knows no conflict

What additionally stood out to me was the friendliness and sense of humor of the locals. This is something I’ve encountered in countries with similar recent histories such as Cambodia and Sri Lanka as well.

game of thrones tour ireland
The Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge, connecting the island to the mainland over the sea (see it there?)

So if these photos tempt you to visit, go knowing that you’ll be safe.

After all, the Northern Ireland of today is where dragons, khaleesis, and kings roam. Take a look:

Tollymore Forest AKA The Haunted Forest

A photo posted by Kristin Addis (@bemytravelmuse) on Jun 16, 2015 at 7:20am PDT

The first day started here with a bike ride through the forest and, most importantly for me, dressing up in a cape and running around with a foam sword. As Steve explains in the documentary, several scenes from the beginning of the series were shot here.

Plus, all this really cool stuff:

game of thrones tour ireland
Steve looking like he’s ready to slay some dragons, or find dire wolves, or something
game of thrones tour ireland
This forest is full of awesome old bridges
game of thrones tour ireland
This little stone hut is called the ‘hermitage’

Castle Ward AKA Winterfell

game of thrones tour ireland
In case you’re wondering, I won

I had no problem remembering Castle Ward as the filming location for Winterfell as it appeared quite a bit in the first season, and is where Bran was memorably (except for him) pushed out of a window.

I, however, will always remember it as the place where I learned how to shoot with a bow and arrow:

game of thrones tour ireland
Learning the techniques
game of thrones tour ireland
Post bull’s-eye (okay, not quite)

And where I ran around in a cape (again) because I can’t get enough of dress-up time.

game of thrones tour ireland
Sansa Stark’s cape

The guide for Tollymore Forest and Castle Ward was Winterfell Tours – highly recommended if you want to do something similar. The owner, James, was a great guide and host!

Prices for the Archery Movie Set Experience start at £32.50 per person, including costumes.

Cushendun

game of thrones tour ireland
I got upgraded to green and golden dress (inner 6-year-old, rejoice!)

Cushendun is a massive cave where, in the show, the shadow assassin was born. I liked it even more after learning that because how badass does “shadow assassin” sound?!

At around 3:00 in the video you’ll see our next guide, Phil with McComb’s Coach Travel , who took us around to all of the filming locations over the next couple of days (tours start at £35/person/day). He was, without a doubt, the best guide I’ve ever had. For anything. Ever.

Given he normally drives the cast and crew during filming, he was the perfect person to show us the remaining locations. He’s also just nice to be around, and we spent the whole time joking, poking harmless fun at each other, and enjoying the beauty of the Northern Irish coast.

I don’t often talk up tours, but this one is well worth it, mainly because of Phil and how knowledgable he is about the history of the area and the lore from the show.

Murlough Bay AKA Storm’s End

game of thrones tour ireland
Standing on Ireland, photographing Scotland (photo cred: Steve)

This was my favorite stop of the second day and maybe of the whole trip. It was such a clear day standing atop the cliffs of Murlough Bay that it was possible to see Scotland clearly across the North Channel.

It was so blue and so green – I actually had to take the saturation down when I edited the photos that evening.

game of thrones tour ireland
Phil!
game of thrones tour ireland
Gorgeous rolling green hills
game of thrones tour ireland
Wow, what a view

It was truly the Ireland of dreams and movies (and TV shows, as it were).

Giant’s Causeway

game of thrones tour ireland
Quite an impressive natural wonder

Though not a filming location, no trip to Northern Ireland is complete without visiting the Giant’s Causeway. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was formed by volcanoes, or, depending on what you believe, feuding giants.

game of thrones tour ireland
Wowwww
game of thrones tour ireland
Can you believe these rock formations?

A tip from Phil: Most people think that it’s necessary to pay an entrance fee to visit the rocks, but the fee only grants access to a visitor’s center and isn’t required to see the rest of the area. If you ask me, that’s a needless expense.

game of thrones tour ireland
They stretch on for quite a while
game of thrones tour ireland
At another formation nearby called the “Giant’s Organ” (I wonder why) (photo cred: Steve)
game of thrones tour ireland
They’re taller than they appear! (photo cred: Steve)
game of thrones tour ireland
Bright green moss

They’re also open any time, so get there before the busses start running at 9am. Steve and I arrived at around 8:30, walked the whole 12 minutes down (easy peasy), and had them nearly to ourselves until 9 o’clock.

Ballintoy Harbour AKA Pyke

game of thrones tour ireland
So quaint and tranquil

Ballintoy Harbour was another highlight for me. I love a cloudy, rugged beach, and it was just gorgeous with the various colors of moss, seaweed, and wild flowers.

game of thrones tour ireland
More rocks. I love rocks (no really, I do!)

It was once a small fishing harbor and processing area for rocks coming from a nearby quarry, back in the day. Up until recently, it wasn’t on the tourist radar. Thanks to the show, now more than just the locals know about it.

game of thrones tour ireland
And then yellow rocks and purple flowers. They are complementary colors after all
game of thrones tour ireland
Seems so calm

As they should, because it’s so impressively beautiful.

The Causeway Coast was also a destination in itself, and the drive along it is gorgeous:

game of thrones tour ireland
Wow
game of thrones tour ireland
Dunluce Castle

Dark Hedges of Armoy AKA The King’s Road

game of thrones tour ireland
My Arya Stark moment (photo cred: Steve)

Yet another place that was rather unknown prior to becoming a GoT filming location (for only a few seconds when Arya Stark escapes King’s Landing), the Dark Hedges is now a favorite amongst photographers.

game of thrones tour ireland
Sunset at The Hedges

The Hedges are one street lined with intertwined beech trees that were planted in the 18th-century. The perfect time to catch them looking their finest is at sunset.

Despite not being a huge fan of the show, mainly because I was talking about myself earlier when I mentioned that I’m most likely watching YouTube videos about slow motion while binge-eating Cheeze-Its when I’m feeling lazy (because have you tasted them? Holy crunchy, salty goodness), this remains one of the most unique and entertaining trips I’ve taken. Plus, the guides truly were wonderful and enthusiastic about the subject matter.

If you find yourself in the area, pop up to Northern Ireland and take a look around. You’ll never forget it.

Are you a Game of Thrones fan? Read how you can turn yourself into a GoT character in Northern Ireland! Game of Thrones filming locations | GoT Ireland | Game of Thrones travel guide | #GoT #GameofThrones
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*Since I was there working and providing assistance to Steve, this visit was not paid for by me, however, I wrote this only because I wanted to, not because I was expected to, asked to, or compensated to do so. I shared the experience with you because I enjoyed it and thought you guys would, too. 

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About Kristin Addis

Kristin Addis is the founder and CEO of Be My Travel Muse, a resource for female travelers all around the world since 2012. She's traveled solo to over 65 countries and has brought over 150 women on her all-female adventure tours from Botswana to the Alaskan tundra.

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Comments

  1. Jenny @ Till the Money Runs Out says

    07/24/2015 at 9:51 pm

    Oh wow, stunning photos! I do love the GOT books, I binge-read them for 5 full days when I was the sickest I have ever been in Arequipa Peru. But those rock formations – that it a bigger draw to me than the filming locations, I cannot believe that is natural, so amazing!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      07/25/2015 at 7:10 am

      I do love binge-reading a book series when I have a lot of forced down time like that! The rock formations were amazing and I was really looking forward to seeing them. Murlough Bay was pretty stunning too, though!

      Reply
  2. Jeremiah says

    07/24/2015 at 11:59 pm

    Nicest people I’ve ever met were the Irish.
    Great country. Could easily do a month there.
    Definitely have to go to Northern Ireland after reading this post.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      07/25/2015 at 6:11 am

      I could easily do a month there too. I would love to travel the entire coastline.

      Reply
  3. caroline says

    07/25/2015 at 4:53 am

    Oh my gosh! I just got back from Ireland/NI! We hit up a few of those spots but were on time constraints and I knew my parents couldn’t handle me doing an hour photo session [which I would’ve totally have done]. So basically I now have to go back and hit up all of the same places with a few new ones I knew about but didnt get to. Such a gorgeous gorgeous place that looks like its from a movie! guess it wouldnt hurt either to watch Game of Thrones 😮

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      07/25/2015 at 6:12 am

      We did quite a few hour+ filming and photo stops. I don’t think we spent under that amount of time in any of these spots so I can see how you’d need to go back in order to be able to do that 🙂 Sometimes it’s nice traveling with people who are also photo and video-obsessed so I don’t feel as annoying taking so long to get photos!

      Reply
  4. Kristin says

    07/25/2015 at 7:16 am

    Dress up is a pretty big selling point for me when traveling or going to festivals. I love it and always have! Agreed you couldn’t ask for more amazingly beautiful places to don a cape and sword than these.

    Reply
  5. Elisa says

    07/27/2015 at 4:36 am

    Hi!! So happy to find your blog 🙂
    I went to Northen Ireland in october and this one of my favourite place in the world!!
    Giant’s Causeway and Dark Hedges were stunning (also if i didn’t see Games of Thrones yet – ooops!)

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      07/27/2015 at 2:17 pm

      I’m glad you found it too! I really loved NI too. So beautiful.

      Reply
  6. Izy Berry says

    07/27/2015 at 3:03 pm

    i am not a fan of the show!!! but the places that they film are gorgeous and now they are on my list of best places to go

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      07/28/2015 at 6:52 am

      Even given my lack of show knowledge and general interest I still LOVED checking out the locations and especially dressing up in character. Dress up = awesomeness.

      Reply
  7. Amanda says

    07/27/2015 at 9:16 pm

    I’m a HUGE Game of Thrones fans, so this looks amazing! I’ve been to Northern Ireland before, but only very briefly to visit Belfast and Giants Causeway. I SO want to see the Dark Hedges some day. That road is too pretty.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      07/28/2015 at 6:52 am

      I think I saw your Giant’s Causeway photo before and it’s a big reason why when that was on the itinerary I was like, “Yes yes yes! That’s one spot I know and have long wanted to see!”

      Reply
  8. Christina says

    07/28/2015 at 6:23 pm

    This is so cool ! Which episode ?I love rocks too ~ like a lot =)
    Could share some budget guide in Ireland or europe cheaper place to travel ?

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      07/29/2015 at 8:05 am

      Haha I didn’t actually get into the show, I just got to go to the same places and dress in the costumes 🙂
      Ireland isn’t a budget destination but Eastern Europe (which I haven’t been to yet) gets rave reviews from other travelers and it’s pretty cheap as well.

      Reply
  9. Katie says

    08/24/2015 at 9:53 pm

    Northern Ireland is far more beautiful than I could have ever imagined … thanks for the tour via Game of Thrones shooting sites!

    Reply
  10. Danielle says

    01/17/2018 at 5:41 pm

    Do you possible have a map in order or these locations? Planning a trip late summer! Photographs are simply amazing!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      01/18/2018 at 6:16 am

      I don’t but you can plot them on Google maps. I posted them in the order that we drove to them 🙂

      Reply
  11. Lindsey says

    02/11/2019 at 5:46 pm

    I’ve never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones… But I am very likely headed to Ireland this fall so I’m digging through your Ireland posts for a little inspiration! I think for Valentines Day I’m going to fix my guy a big feast since I’m off and he’ll be at work all day, and I was thinking of purchasing an Ireland map so that we can spend the evening fantasizing about our trip. What are some of your favorite spots that we should maybe look into? He’s going to spend the first week and half walking across Ireland (I forget the name of his route…) and I’ll meet him there after spending some time somewhere else in Europe with my best friend. So he’ll have already done a good bit of walking but I still think we’d like to do some hiking and extensive exploring. I’d really love to see the Giant’s Causeway you mentioned here! But anything else you think should top the list to look into?

    Reply
  12. Chris says

    04/02/2019 at 8:06 am

    Great Article & Images

    We did the tour from Belfast with the same Company that transport the Cast & Crew of the show while filming here in Ireland, The tour was amazing they had all the props for getting into theme on the Coach, The tour guide was also a extra on the show and the driver drove the Cast around, We also got to see the Giants Causeway & Carrick-a-rede.

    Reply

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