Route with 10 Game of Thrones Scenarios in Northern Ireland

If a television series which in recent times has become a great mass phenomenon throughout the world, that is, without a doubt, Game of Thrones.

And a large part of the success of this series has been its incredible landscapes and settings where this story of power games and movie dragons takes place.

The localization work of a series like Game of Thrones It is huge, in order to guarantee having unique corners that transport you to another universe, like the ones we show you in this video of our visit.

Therefore, going in search of settings from the series is actually going on the hunt for the best photos and landscapes of a corner of the world.

Whether you are a fan or not Game of Thrones, is a perfect excuse not only to visit a region, but to delve deeper into it in search of the most beautiful landscapes.

And following the path of cinema, in which the settings of the most famous films have become tourist places, around Game of Thrones Routes have been created to discover unique countries, cities and natural environments throughout the series.

Northern Ireland, Game of Thrones Territory

Beside Spain, North Ireland, is one of the countries with the greatest number of places where the television series has been filmed Game of Thrones.

And on a trip through Northern Ireland it is possible to visit places such as Stark family castle, Winterfell or Enchanted Forest where the family found the dire wolves.

This British region north of the island of Ireland is where filming for the first season of Game of Thrones, when it had not yet become the successful series it is today.

Therefore it should not surprise you that those scenarios of Jgame of thrones They are now places of worship for visitors from all over the world, especially from the United States and China, who come to see those places that have starred in the series.

And you just have to do one trip through northern ireland, like the one we just did, to understand why said enclave of the United Kingdom on the Irish island has been the main scene of Game of Thrones.

During a route through what is known as Game of Thrones territory You discover forests, cliffs and castles, where scenes have been filmed, and you will also find signs informing about the particular scene that was filmed in each setting.

When visiting it there are companies that carry out tours of the most famous scenes, in addition to knowing a lot of curiosities about the filming.

If you're fan of the series, our advice is that you sign up for a visit with a guide, since the experience is much better if they explain all the details to you.

On the other hand, if you visit it without a guide, you will not learn anything, nor will you be able to enjoy it well.

No matter how good the posters for the series are in the locations, they will never be able to match the experience of having a local person who has lived the experience of the recordings.

In fact, some people we met along the route explained to us that in the first season, since the series was not yet famous, they even invited them to come and watch it being filmed.

That's why the experience changes completely if you go with a Game of Thrones specialist guide., like the one we did with the company Winterfell Tours.

Games of Thrones settings in Northern Ireland

After our experience getting to know the north of the island of Ireland, we are going to highlight some of the places that you can visit in your search for the most famous scenes from Game of Thrones.

The route had as its starting point the city of Dublin, where we arrived on a flight from Spain.

After renting a car, we went up the road towards North Ireland in direction to Belfast, and then travel through the coastal area, finally arriving at Derry-Londonderry.

To a large extent this tour of the Game of Thrones scenarios corresponds to the interesting Causeway Coastal Route, in which you get to know other beautiful places in Northern Ireland.

Castle Ward (Winterfell) in Northern Ireland

If there is an emblematic place in the series, it is Winterfell.

This enclave should be one of the essential visits on your trip through the Game of Thrones territory, and you find it near the town of Strandford, south belfast.

In reality it is about Castle Ward, one of the heritage corners of North Ireland managed by the British institution National trust.

The traditional tourist visit focuses on a large 18th century stately mansion located near a lake, which mixes classical and Gothic architectural styles.

In a corner of its large garden area is where the group of buildings that make up the stage of the event is located. Winterfell, among which stands out the Clock Tower.

On the visit with Winterfell Tours They will explain the history of said stage, and what was the transformation that took place over three weeks to turn it into the winterfell castle.

But you can also dress with Game of Thrones clothing, they will teach you how to shoot arrows with a bow, and you can take a bicycle tour of the surrounding area to see some other corners used in scenes from the series.

As a curiosity, Castle Ward In the pilot episode it was only a tower inside the castle, since the main appearance was that of the doune castle in Scotland.

After reviewing it, they decided to change it and gave greater prominence to the castle in Northern Ireland, which would become the permanent recording location for the series.

Tollymore Forest Park (Enchanted Forest) in Northern Ireland

A little further south is the Tollymore Forest Park, one of the most visited nature places during the year in this area of North Ireland.

In the series it is the enclave known as the Enchanted Forest, which appears in many chapters and especially in chapter 1 of the first season where the stark family find the direwolves.

It is a large forest that extends at the foot of the hill of the Morne Mountains, through which a river runs, which became the first Northern Ireland Forest Park.

In that very beautiful enclave of nature, many other emblematic scenes of Game of Thrones, like the talk they had Tyrion Lanister y John Snow at the beginning of the series.

Game of Thrones doors in Northern Ireland

Your tour through the territory of the famous series in North Ireland must be punctuated by the search for the Game of Thrones doors.

These wooden doors have as their origin the great storm that hit in January 2016. North Ireland, which felled some of the trees in Dark hedge, a place that forms the most emblematic and well-known image of the series in that country.

Using the wood from these fallen trees, a wood artist was commissioned to create ten doors that have been located in different establishments (hotels, restaurants, bars) that were places frequently visited by actors and staff who participated in the filming.

All of them located near locations of the series, the artist carved the doors so that each of them shows episodes that occurred during the sixth season.

La Game of Thrones Door 1 you find it in hotel-restaurant The Cuan, in the pretty coastal town of Strandford,

In this establishment, and in the others where the doors have been installed, they give you a passport with the indication of where they are in Northern Ireland, so that as you see them, they will stamp it for you.

As a preview of your trip, here you can download the pdf with the Game of Thrones Gates Passport.

Game of Thrones Banquet in Strangford in Northern Ireland

In the aforementioned The Cuan, in the aforementioned Strandford, you can live the experience of a true banquet set with objects and decoration of Game of Thrones.

In said restaurant, the friendly couple formed by Peter and Caroline They organize these banquets for groups.

Although if on any given day, for example, a couple is going to The Cuan, you can also enjoy your own Game of Thrones Banquet in a corner of the restaurant enabled and decorated for this purpose.

Don't miss the video we published at the beginning of this article where you can see what the feast inspired by the famous series.

Ulster Museum in Belfast in Northern Ireland

One of the places to visit in the Belfast visit durante a trip to northern ireland is ulster museum, whose collection displays objects and works of art linked to the history of this territory in the north of the island of Ireland.

But also in your search for corners linked to the famous television series, the ulster museum It must be one of your stages because there you can see the Game of Thrones Tapestry.

It is a mural tapestry almost 80 meters long created at the initiative of Ireland Tourism, which reflects the highlights that have happened in each season and in each episode.

This tapestry will remain in the aforementioned belfast museum until August 2019, when it will be transferred to be exhibited in the French city of Bayou from September to December.

Here is a preview of What is the Game of Thrones Tapestry like?.

Ballygally Castle in Northern Ireland

In the route along the coast of northern ireland, another corner linked to the television series is the Ballygolly Castle, in the County Antrim.

In this hotel-restaurant located in an old castle you find the 9 gate in which you can see carved the symbols of the Stark House and Bolton House, as a reflection of the known as Battle of the Bastards.

Carnlough (Braavos Canal) in Northern Ireland

About Ballygolly there is another of the scenarios of Game of Thrones.

The small town of Carnlough has a picturesque harbor which in the series represented the Braavos Canal.

There is the image of a ladder used in episode 1 of the fifth season, when Aira emerges from the surface of the water after being attacked by the Abandoned Girl.

Cushendun Caves (Grott in the Land of Storms) in Northern Ireland

Another corner that you can see in the route through the Territory of Game of Thrones of Northern Ireland is the Cushendun Caves, which were formed more than 400 million years ago.

Located next to the town of Cushendun, that place became the Grotto of the Land of Storms.

Dark Hedges (Camino Real) in Northern Ireland

If a iconic landscape in northern ireland linked to the series Game of Thrones, that is, without a doubt, Dark hedge.

In the series it is about Camino Real, a scenario that appeared in chapter 2 of the second season, and the image shows a dark snowy road covered in the darkness of trees with enormous trunks and winding branches.

Located 9 miles inland from the coastal town of ballycastle, when you get to Dark hedge Don't be surprised if you find many cars, even buses, with dozens of tourists going to that place just to see that dark landscape Game of Thrones.

This is what happened to us, and we arrived on a weekday Tuesday in March, around 10 am... and it was full of people!!

We don't want to imagine what it will be like on a weekend or during the holiday season...but it is an essential visit in the route through the Territory of Game of Thrones.

We warn you that you should not park or stop on the straight line that forms the row of trees. Dark hedge.

You can leave your car in the parking lot Gracehill House Golf Club located where the Camino Real, which you can visit on foot.

Ballintoy Harbor (Iron Islands) in Northern Ireland

One of the most interesting corners in a trip along the coast of northern ireland It is the port of the small town of ballintoy.

With commercial activity for the transport of stones since the 18th century, this small port can be reached from the aforementioned ballintoy along a winding and narrow road that descends a cliff.

En Game of Thrones appeared in the second season as Puerto Noble in the mythical Iron Islands, the family home Greyjoy.

This is the place where Theon Greyjoy disembarks, and where later Robert Baratheon and his fleet landed during the Greyjoy Rebellion.

Downhill & Mussenden (Dragonstone) in Northern Ireland

Ya near Derry-Londonderry You find another site that has been the scene of the famous series, and that alone for its scenic interest is worth a visit.

Is Downhill DemesneNear castlerock, an enclave also managed by National trust.

Surrounded by extensive meadows are the remains of a mansion from the early 19th century that was built by the then Bishop of Derry.

Its emblematic corner is Mussenden, a neoclassical style temple located on the edge of cliffs that was once the bishop's library.

The large and beautiful beach that extends at the foot of said cliff was used as the setting for the place known as Rock Dragon, famous in our country for having also featured the islet of Saint John of Gaztelugatxe near Bermeo, on the coast of Vizcaya.