Day 54 - Belfast: Game of Thrones Locations

When we were on the Iceland/Greenland cruise, we participated in trivia contests almost daily. One day, they hosted Game of Thrones trivia. I thought I knew the series, but I was sorely mistaken. Basically I knew about Jon Stark (because he is gorgeous!) but the rest of the series must have gone right over my head.

One funny line from cruise trivia: the young lady hosting the trivia admitted that she had only seen the first season. One of the questions was, “What event was Joffrey attending when he died?” She turns to the audience with a shocked look on her face and says, “Joffrey dies!” SPOILER ALERT. BTW the answer is the Purple Wedding.

We found out today that much of the HBO series Game of Thrones was filmed around Belfast and in the outer regions. We had the opportunity to visit four locations on our awesome tour (thank you Lorraine!). Here is a recap:

Ballintoy Harbour: S02E02: The Night Lands

This picturesque coastal nook is where Theon Greyjoy arrives back in the Iron Islands and where he later admires his ship, the Sea Bitch. This is also where he first meets his sister Yara. The filming at the harbour took place on 18, 19, and 22 August 2011. The local shops and fishermen, who had to temporarily berth their boats in Ballycastle, were compensated by the production. There are two locations on this harbour.

For the folks from our cruise: if you know Theon’s fate (S03E07) in the series you know it follows the theme of our cruise. (Inside joke - sorry😉)

Arya crawls out of river at Carnlough - S06E07: The Broken Man

The drama series is famously filled with cruel storylines, and Arya Stark was faced with the reality of going blind at the end of season five. Arya was rendered blind as a punishment after killing Ser Meryn Trant, and also for taking a face from the House of Black and White, although in the books her blindness is more a training tool than a sentence. She emerges from the sea with blood from her stab wounds from the faceless men, dripping onto the pavement. Although, cynical folks comment that she shouldn’t even be able to move after her vicious attack. Who knows, it just tv, folks!

The Dark Hedges - S02E01: The North Remembers

The Stunning Bregagh Road, otherwise known as the Dark Hedges or King's Road is two rows of beechtrees that were planted in the 18th century by James Stuart, roughly 150+ beech trees where planted to line the entrance to his home - Gracehill House. Although there are sadly approximately 90 trees remaining due to the influx of visitors, they have started to replant new trees where the old ones once stood.

This is where Arya Stark escaped from King’s Landing, disguised as a boy. She was with Yoren, Hot Pie, Gendry, and others who are to join the Night’s Watch.

Note: the traffic was crazy! And, people parked where they were not supposed to. So, we didn’t get out of the van and did not get a good pic. But the second picture is from the internet and is more similar to what the road normally looks like.

Just to remember past trips

Maggie and I visited Croatia in 2019 and I took the opportunity to sit on the Iron Throne in Dubrovnik. So cool!