Dark Hedges Game Of Thrones
Our trip to Northern Ireland during half term definitely had a Game Of Thrones theme! After visiting the Game Of Thrones Exhibition in Belfast we knew we wanted to explore the filming locations while we were there. One of the most famous and iconic locations is the Dark Hedges.
The Dark Hedges is an avenue of beech trees along Bregagh Road between Armoy and Stranocum in County Antrim. They were originally planted over 240 years ago by the Stuart Family to create an impressive and atmospheric approach to their property. It worked!
The Dark Hedges became a tourist attraction after featuring as Kings Road in the Season 2 premiere. You might remember a young Arya and Gendry fleeing Kings Landing during The North Remembers through the tunnel of trees.
We travelled north from our hotel in Templepatrick following the sat-nav directions for postcode BT53 8PX. I like to plan our trips so I had already done my research! I knew that you’re no longer supposed to drive along the road. The roots can be damaged by the constant stream of cars and coaches wishing to see the famous trees. We therefore looked for alternative parking. You can park on The Hedges Hotel carpark which is literally a couple of minutes walk away.
I had also read that it can become crazily busy with tourists trying to grab the perfect snap. We therefore decided to go early. And I mean early – we were there for 7am! The kids were up at the crack of dawn so we thought, why not? And it was perfect. We were the only ones there so we could take our time.
You might think, how boring, they’re just trees! And I guess technically they are but there is something mystical about them. It’s no wonder there’s so many ghost stories surrounding the area. My seven year old was particularly taken with them and kept talking about the “spooky trees” days later despite not understanding the Game Of Thrones connection.
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I would love to visit Northern Ireland to see some of the locations where they filmed Game of Thrones! The Dark Hedges is on my list. Great tip about arriving early (or later) to avoid the crowds. I can imagine they're pretty popular!
Game of Thrones brings SO many tourists to N.I, so much more than before and it's amazing! SO many gorgeous locations to see.
Ooh they look so cool and creepy! I would love to visit Northern Ireland.
I did one of the game of thrones tours when I was in Belfast but this wasn't on it, next time I want to do the other tour which includes this x
i really want to visit Northern Ireland to see all the GoT locations. Love GoT, gutted its over
We are huge fans of Game of Thrones and have marked your page for when we head to The Dark Hedges with our family
It looks beautiful. I haven’t watched any episodes of game of thrones
There at 7am! That is dedication. Glad your little ones were as interested as the adults.
Wow! Being a GOT fan, I would really love to go there and see the Dark Hedges. Gets me really giddy right now seeing these pictures.