Dark Hedges, the royal road through which Arya escapes
Once we were told that the night was dark and that it harbored horrors, that winter was drawing near and that what was dead could not die. And we didn't believe it, but now we do.
Although here we are celebrating spring, there, in the lands of Westeros and Essos winter has only just begun and on the big night, the final battle that will decide George R.R.'s universe is about to take place. Martin.
We had been waiting almost two years, and from April 15 we will finally know who will sit on the iron throne or if there will be any throne left to sit on.
To charge us with epic before such a long-awaited event we travel beyond the Wall and Winterfell, to the Iron Islands or the Stormlands to discover the most emblematic filming locations of Game of Thrones in the place where it all began, Northern Ireland.
Winterfell is in Northern Ireland
GAME OF THRONES TERRITORY
In its forests we have seen White Walkers and direwolves, dragons flying over islands and coastal cliffs, Dothraki horsemen dominating the hills and bloody battles on its plains alongside medieval castles and monastic ruins.
And so up to 15 scenarios that the producers have chosen to recreate their seven kingdoms in Northern Ireland. National tourism receives in return every year about 34 million euros thanks to this media tide.
Everyone here pays their debts, and we will pay ours by revealing the most iconic settings of the HBO series in Northern Ireland. Song of Ice and Fire experts and neophytes, prepare the map and head north.
Tollymore, traveled by savages and White Walkers
BEYOND THE WALL
Imagine. Dressed in the cloak of the Night's Watch and armed with a shield and sword you enter the immensity of the forests beyond the Wall.
There two authentic direwolves await you, Summer and Gray Wind; or at least that's what they were in fiction, when they appeared as adorable puppies and today as imposing dogs with a Nordic appearance and name (Thor and Odin).
We have reached the Tollymore Forest Park (6 km2) , a forest of pines and redwoods that hide centuries-old stone sculptures and misty roads traveled by savages and White Walkers and Northern Irish walkers and cyclists.
Our Game of Thrones Tours guide, Robbie Atkinson, leads us through the different corners of the park, located southeast of the country in County Down, one hour from Belfast.
Speaker and tablet in hand, it shows the places and scenes that were filmed there as the great initial massacre of the Walkers, the talks between Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow on the banks of the Shimna River or Altavaddy Bridge, where Ned Stark and his entourage found the newborn direwolves.
There are also anecdotes from the filming of this proud extra who in the series died more times than Beric Dondarrion.
Tollymore Forest Park
WINTERFALL OR THE CASTLE WARD
Between its walls and battlements Robert Baratheon appointed Ned Stark as Hand of the King and between the Lannisters and the Starks the first lines of the plot began to flourish.
We continue in the first season, in fact, it is the only one in which the Ward castle serves to recreate the great northern fortress: Winterfell.
Arriving at the walled enclosure, built by Strangford Loch in the 18th century Mixing classic and gothic, some fans of the series may not quite believe that this was once the stronghold of the Starks. But it is so, and the visual effects would take care of it.
Winterfell Tours company offers different activities in the castle , owned by the organization for the conservation of British heritage, the National Trust. Your host, William Van Der Kells, will guide you through the rooms of the mansion, where medieval banquets, accommodation in the alcoves and even weddings are also organized.
We, once again dressed as northerners, will opt for archery in the parade ground like Bran and Aria Stark would do in the first episode.
The Castle Ward, or what is the same, Winterfell
AS KING IN THE NORTH
A mile from Fort Ward and with the best views of Strangford Inlet, it stands on the hill Audley keep.
Many of the scenes of the rob stark camp on their war march south and some from Walder Frey's fiefdom, The Twins.
Audley Keep, overlooking Strangford Cove
And also here, like Tyrion and Bronn or Brienne and Jaime Lannister, we will take the circular path between the meadow, the forest and the fjord to continue discovering filming locations in the Downpatrick county.
To get our strength back, we'll go to ** The Cuan **, a hotel where actors like Sean Bean (Ned) or Sophie Turner (Sansa) stayed and in whose restaurant we'll enjoy a Winterfell themed lunch. Price: 40 euros.
The stunning landscape of Downpatrick County
THE STORM LANDS
Our itinerary becomes increasingly wilder as we advance through the coast of County Antrim.
This time, we will leave the Giant's Causeway, the most visited natural monument in the area and on the entire island, to go around a coastline sculpted by impossible volcanic formations, cliffs, broken islets and beaches at the mercy of the North Atlantic.
We continue to explore Game of Thrones territory. In the carnlough harbor we will discover that not all of Braavos was shot in Girona and in cushendun , that a single cave can attract hundreds of visitors every day.
Not all Braavos was shot in Girona, also in Carnlough
The reason? It was in this gloomy coastal location that Melissandre gave birth to the specter that (warning spoiler) ends the life of Renly Baratheon in the Stormlands.
Sir Davos accompanies the priestess to the place and also us, at least one of his doubles in the series, Adrian Hanna , Game of Thrones Tours guide on the Iron Islands tours.
In Cushendun, a single cave attracts hundreds of visitors every day
FROM THE IRON ISLANDS TO THE ROYAL ROAD
Following in the footsteps of Theon Greyjoy we drive along the road that ends at the sea, right in Ballintoy, that many will recognize as the anchorage of the Iron Fleet: Pyke.
This time we went to the side of the Greyjoy to wear the kraken's clothing, conquer the bay shouting “what is dead cannot die” and relive moments like Theon's return, his father's funeral or Euron's coronation as king of the Iron Islands.
To those who know all this little, they can always contemplate the filming locations from a bird's eye view, or rather from a dragon.
The Cutting Edge company offers fans of the series the opportunity to helicopter ride over the Dothraki Sea or Binevenagh Mountain , the beaches of Dorne or Portstewart Strand or the Camino Real or Dark Hedges, among many other locations on the coast and inland. Price: 262 euros.
Ballintoy, the anchorage of the Iron Flora
But if there is a way to appreciate the splendor of the Dark Hedges, it is getting up earlier than the rest to go through it alone.
This avenue of bicentennial beech trees with twisted shapes forms a wild dome that accompanies the traveler in the same halo of mystery that accompanied Arya Stark in her escape from the Lannisters in the second season. Valar Morghulis.
To end our trip to the heart of Westeros and Back in Belfast, we visited the Ulster Museum to review each of the chapters of_Game of Thrones_ embroidered by hand on the impressive 77-meter-long loom.
Now we can say that we are ready for the tremendous finale and to return and continue discovering Northern Ireland and its Game of Thrones territory.
Valar Dohaeris.
Stroll among the beeches of Dark Hedges remembering Arya Stark fleeing from the Lannisters