Castle Ward Game of Thrones Filming Location, Northern Ireland

Castle Ward Game of Thrones Filming Location – Winterfell

Whenever we go on holiday within the UK we try to visit new National Trust locations to make the most of our membership. We know it’s always going to be a good day out; we’ve never visited a National Trust property we didn’t enjoy. Therefore our trip to Northern Ireland was no different. We spent a day at the Giant’s Causeway, we tackled the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, and lastly we headed south to check out Castle Ward.

We were already aware of the Game of Thrones connection. Castle Ward was where the Winterfell scenes were filmed, most noticeably the Starks welcoming the Baratheons way back in season one, and that infamous push by Jaime Lannister. We had already visited the Game of Thrones Touring Exhibition in Belfast and The Dark Hedges (another filming location) so were excited to add another to our list.

Castle Ward Location

Castle Ward is located in Strangford, in County Down. Like most National Trust properties it’s well signposted and we knew we were at the right place when we saw several coach trips arrive with passengers decked out in their GOT outfits! There’s a carpark on site that’s free to use.

Castle Ward Barn

Down in the farmyard you’ll find The Barn. During the weekends and summer holidays there’s plenty for the children to do. There’s mini tractors to ride on which our younger too loved. There’s also colouring and crafts to keep them entertained which also allows us as parents a chance to sit and relax!

Castle Ward Outdoor Activities

When we visited the main showrooms of Castle Ward were closed for conservation work but we didn’t mind since we wanted to be outside to enjoy the weather.

There’s so much to do outdoors at Castle Ward so we were grateful we had nice weather. The wooden xylophone kept our youngest entertained for ages!

There was a great picnic area which all the kids loved and there’s plenty of picnic benches for the grownups to sit and relax.

Down in the farmyard you can also see ducks, chickens and pygmy goats. The goat seemed to be playing up to his audience and our daughter loved being around the chickens.

Castle Ward Game of Thrones

As soon as you arrive you can’t miss the Game of Thrones connection. The welcome centre has photos on the wall of the famous scenes filmed at Castle Ward including the Starks welcoming the Baratheons at the start of season one.

We picked up a map of the filming locations and set on our way to find them. As I mentioned earlier there were plenty of tours visiting the home of Winterfell. Castle Ward definitely seem to fully embrace their Game of Thrones connection in a way that some of the other places we visited didn’t but it does make a better experience for us GOT fans.

The courtyard was our first destination where they filmed the Baratheons’ arrival. We also saw the building where Jaime Lannister pushed Bran out of the window. You’re able to go inside and up to the top (via narrow steps which weren’t great for my claustrophobia!).

We the set off onto the trail to see various other locations such as where they filmed Robb Stark’s Camp, the Baelor battle and where Brienne confronts the Stark men.

We took the scenic route (we got lost!) but it was completely worth it. The scenery was just stunning and you can easily see why it was chosen as a filming location.

We visited Castle Ward for the Game of Thrones connection and loved that they embraced it so thoroughly. It was a great experience. However Castle Ward is so much more than just Winterfell. The kids had a great time doing all the activities and it really is a stunning place to explore. We’d definitely recommend it to anyone, Game of Thrones fans or not.