A Game Of Thrones Tour Of Northern Ireland

You have no idea how excited I was when I was invited on a Game Of Thrones tour of Northern Ireland! I’m a proper GOT fan and had actually been thinking about taking a trip to see some of the filming locations in NI anyway. Manifestation much?

Anyway, I was psyched to spend 4 days in this beautiful part of the UK.

I flew into Belfast and spent some time exploring the city as well as the incredibly photogenic Causeway Coast. And I should start by saying I was seriously impressed with these destinations as places to visit in their own right, regardless of whether you’re a Game Of Thrones fan or not. But being a total nerd, I was completely fangirling at the stuff from the show too!

I’ve already told you about the GOT Afternoon Tea I enjoyed at Ballygally Castle, as I thought that was pretty cool. But here’s everything else I got up to in real-life Westeros!

A Game Of Thrones Tour Of Northern Ireland

Game Of Thrones Tours: The Iron Islands

As part of this trip I got to try out two of Game Of Thrones Tours‘ day trips. And the first one was centred around the Iron Islands and the Causeway Coast!

Straight up, I want to say our tour guide Adrian, was AMAZING. He’s actually an extra on the show when they film in Northern Ireland as well as a double for Ser Davos! Apparently all the guides have GOT connections so that they really know their stuff! And seriously he did. Plus, he has all the goss.

Anyway let’s talk about this first tour.

We kicked off the day with our first filming location photo opp – Cairncastle. This pretty stretch is where Ned Stark beheads the deserter from the Night’s Watch in the pilot. In all of the photo stops, Adrian showed photos of the scenes so you can remember them and really picture them filming there.

Carnlough was next, for the spot where Arya comes out of the water after being stabbed by the waif in Braavos in season 6.

This one was super interesting because they filmed the scene in Spain, but couldn’t find the right kind of steps for Arya to emerge from. So it’s just 13 seconds filmed in Northern Ireland out of the whole scene! (Although apparently Maisie Williams had to spend a few hours in the freezing sea to get the shot!) It’s also just a really pretty harbour here so you can sit back and enjoy the view.

Next up is the filming location for when Melisandre gives birth to the shadow monster – Cushendun Caves. It’s cool because Adrian could show us the section of the cave in the scene and the place where all of the camera crew had to be to film it. It’s so interesting and shows how much goes into finding the right locations for TV and films!

The best part of Cushendun Caves though is the resident goat. I just love this guy, munching on grass in this picture-perfect location. He really has the life.

We also stopped in Murlough Bay for a stunning view of the valley. They filmed a few scenes here. It’s where Stannis and Renly meet to discuss going to battle the next day (before Renly is mysteriously killed by the shadow monster), as well as where Tyrion and Jorah get captured by slavers.

Oh and Fair Head overlooks this spot – a rock jutting out from the cliff above. And it’s here that they filmed Jon Snow meeting the dragon in season 7!

Ok so those scenes are a bit random but they’re all situated around the Causeway Coast. The next two stops are really focused on the Iron Islands as lots of those scenes are filmed in Northern Ireland.

Larrybane Quarry is where Game Of Thrones film the Iron Islands Kingsmoot. Adrian was actually an extra in this scene so he could tell us lots about filming and what the actors are like on-set! It’s also where Brianne of Tarth makes her first appearance, fighting Loras Tyrell in Renly’s camp.

Oh and right next to here is the rope bridge you can visit. We didn’t actually visit when we went (it’s not the one in the show as this was filmed in a studio), but good to know it’s nearby!

The next filming location on our tour was Ballintoy Harbour. It’s really gorgeous here. Like, it doesn’t matter if you’ve never seen Game Of Thrones because it’s just beautiful. It’s here that they film a lot of scenes for the Iron Island of Pyke, with Theon arriving by boat and later re-dedicating his faith to the Drowned God. It’s also where Gendry famously escapes Dragonstone by row-boat (not to be seen for a few years…).

But what is awesome about the Game Of Thrones Tours is that you get to play dress-up! So I got to channel my inner Yara Greyjoy in full Iron Islands costume, complete with a very heavy sword! It was so much fun and we got some pretty cool photos!

Now, we were on a fast-track version of the tour, so I didn’t actually get to visit, but the Iron Islands tour does include a stop at Giant’s Causeway. Then the last stop of the day before heading back to Belfast, is the Dark Hedges!

On my tour I did this on another day but it was one of my favourite sights across my whole Northern Ireland adventure! If you don’t know, this is where they film the King’s Road throughout the show, when people are arriving to or leaving King’s Landing. I always think of the scene in season 1 where Arya and Gendry leave with the Night’s Watch.

It’s such a cool destination and really atmospheric, even on glorious sunny days like when I visited. But I would say it gets very busy. There was even a wedding there when I went with the photographer taking photos of the bride and groom on this road! I managed to get some photos without anyone in them though by walking down quite a bit, and just waiting for my chance!

This was such a cool tour. It sounds a bit ‘bitty’, y’know with lots of stops, but there wasn’t a lot of driving time between stops and I really found all of the locations fascinating as a fan of a show, as well as just a beautiful slice of NI. I’d definitely recommend this one! (Check out the tour over here)

Game Of Thrones Tours: Winterfell

The next Game Of Thrones tour we tried out was centred around Winterfell!

This one was spread out over a couple of days so may be slightly different to the usual itinerary, but here’s all the sights we got to check out.

First, we saw the beautiful Dunluce Castle. The castle is pretty much ruins from the 16th century but just looks so epic, right on the cliff with gorgeous views of the Causeway Coast. It has been used to represent Harrenhal in Game Of Thrones and is just a beautiful place to explore.

I mean, just look at these photos…

Oh and we got a ferry across “the narrow sea”! This wasn’t in the show but is just a short ferry ride across to the Winterfell locations from Portaferry to Strangford. Still pretty cool!

Then we arrived at Castle Ward, where Winterfell is set for much of season 1. It’s actually based on a 16th century castle and stables, but the rest of Winterfell is CGI-d on top of it. It’s cool to see photos comparing what is there vs. how it looks on-screen – the magic of television, ay?!

From here we did a 3km trek around the estate, spotting a hefty 9 filming locations from Game Of Thrones. It’s a lovely park to wander and so many scenes to spot en route, but a few of my faves were the shore where Brianne and Jamie row up to on the way to King’s Landing, a tower used as one of the Frey’s Twins and Robb’s camp in the Riverlands.

It’s an easy trek and actually made a nice change of pace to be able to walk between filming locations rather than driving in the minibus!

We then headed to The Cuan Inn in Strangford where a lot of the cast used to stay when filming. It’s outside here that we got to meet two of the direwolves from the show – Thor and Odin who played Summer and Greywind when they were pups! THEY’RE SUCH CUTIES.

And it’s funny because they’re owned by a family who are all involved in the show, mainly as extras for white walkers, wildlings or dothraki! But it was cool to talk to them about their experiences with Game Of Thrones. And of course, just to give the direwolves a nice cuddle!

Ok, back to The Cuan for a Game Of Thrones-themed banquet!

They’ve really embraced GOT here! It was a nice lunch with nice touches, like the butter served in the shape of direwolves and a menu that has been directly influenced by the first book. Oh and they have their own ‘Hodoor’ pilsner beer you can buy!

I did think it was a bit pricey though for what it is, so I’d only recommend going if you’re a really die-hard fan and want to chat to the owner about helping Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner with their homework!

Our second trek of the day was in Tollymore Forest. We were actually meant to visit Quoile Pondage, the filming location for Riverrun first, as well as Ince Abbey where they do the ‘King in the North!’ scene, but we spent a little too much time at the banquet! It’s actually at Ince Abbey that you get to dress-up on this tour, so instead we got into the Winterfell cloaks at Tollymore before our trek! (Those cloaks were boiling!!)

The Tollymore trek was another 3km and I really enjoyed this one. It was packed full of filming locations but was also just a very cool and atmospheric forest to explore.

We saw spots like where Wills finds the dismembered bodies in the snow in the pilot opening scene, where Tyrion and Jon stop for a campfire on their journey north to the wall, and the bridge where the Starks discover a dead direwolf and her pups.

Cool fact, the stag they discover as being mauled by the direwolf in the latter scene was actually real! The forest had the stag on ice after it died of natural causes in the forest, so that scene seems extra gruesome to me now!!

This tour was also a lot of fun and I really loved that there was a lot of walking involved. We didn’t get to visit all locations but I would definitely recommend the tour based on what I saw! (Check out the tour over here)

The Game Of Thrones Live Concert!

When I was told we were going to the Game Of Thrones Live concert, I didn’t really know what to expect. I mean I figured they’d play the theme tune to the show but I couldn’t really remember any other music… Well I can’t even tell you how much I enjoyed it in the end. It was epic.

Basically, Game Of Throne’s amazing composer Ramin Djawadi has put together this show incorporating music from a live orchestra and choir, a screen showing scenes and montages that relate to the music, as well as cool stage effects to make it extra immersive!

Personal highlights were hearing Rains Of Castamere, all of the cool dragon pyrotechnics, seeing it snow when they did a piece about the whitewalkers, and a big green explosion for the King’s Landing wildfire scene at the end of season 6! SO FREAKING COOL.

I can’t explain how awesome it was. All I can say is that if they tour again, you should definitely get tickets!!

The GOT Tapestry In Belfast

After all of the Game Of Thrones tours, my last day of the trip was spent exploring Belfast (which I’ll cover in another post). But a little nugget of GOT-goodness was going to the Ulster Museum to see their Game Of Thrones tapestry.

I know, it sounds pretty nerdy, but bear with me here.

The tapestry is 77 metres long and incorporates all of the key scenes from all 7 seasons. So actually it was like a really cool recap of what’s happened so far! And it’s not often you see a tapestry of the gory Red Wedding or various sex scenes in the show! They clearly don’t take themselves too seriously either with signs that say “Please Do Not Touch, Littlefingers Can Cause Damage”. Lolz.

Anyway I thought it was worth mentioning as it’s pretty unique! Give it a go if you’re in Belfast.

Wow this is a long post.

But I think you can see, I had such an epic trip in Northern Ireland. I really let out my inner geek with all of the Game Of Thrones stuff but also thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful part of the UK. SO PRETTY.

Would you do a GOT tour like this?!

Let me know in the comments below! Or head over to my Instagram and Twitter channels for regular updates, kiddo.

Total Blogger Transparency: My visit to Northern Ireland was a press trip with complimentary travel, but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I wouldn’t play you like that, shorty.