County Antrim: The Dark Hedges

Well we are now in our second location of this Ireland trip. Our first day takes us just a few short miles inland to this iconic location. I have always been a lover of such trees and had some luck once before with some similar in England but this wonderful avenue had a very special feeling to it. I did expect there to be some tourist but was astounded by the amount that we encountered just minutes after taking this, many coming by bus from as far away as Dublin on Cruise Ship tours. Fortunately an early start made us miss most of the hordes and another trip later in the early evening gave me another view.

This beautiful avenue of beech trees was planted by the Stuart family in the eighteenth century. It was intended as a compelling landscape feature to impress visitors as they approached the entrance to their Georgian mansion, Gracehill House. Two centuries later, the trees remain a magnificent sight and have become one of the most photographed natural phenomena in Northern Ireland. In fact, the iconic trees have been used as a filming location in HBO's epic series Game of Thrones, representing the Kingsroad. Featured Scenes: Season 2, Episode 1: The North Remembers - On the King's Road, Arya Stark has escaped from King’s Landing, disguised as a boy. She is with Yoren, Gendry, Hot Pie and others who are to join the Night’s Watch, in a cart, travelling north on the Kingsroad. discovernorthernireland.com

Essential full screen. See PiP for another view without people. The second pip shows my 2014 Cathedral of Trees in Devon.

Enjoy the weekend.