Real-life Winterfell: Castle Ward

In the popular TV show Game of Thrones, Winterfell is the ancestral home of the ruler of the North, which has long been a held by a family member of House Stark. It is where all of the Stark children grew up, and is now finally back under Stark rule after Jon Snow took back the North. Jon is currently King in the North, but while he is away forging an alliance with Dany, Sansa has control of Winterfell and the rest of the North.

In reality, Winterfell is filmed on the 1,000 acre grounds surrounding Castle Ward in Northern Ireland. The property dates back from the 18th century featuring both classical and gothic styles. Castle Ward is one of the many locations in Ireland that host Game of Thrones sets. Belfast is home to Titanic Studios where some of the indoor shots are filmed. Other filming locations in Ireland include Tollymore Forest Park, The Dark Hedges and Mussenden Temple.

 

Author: K.Casselton

Spotlight: Giant’s Causeway

History:

Three hours north of Dublin, Giant’s Causeway is the often featured in popular movies and TV shows, such as Game of Thrones. The result of an ancient volcanic eruption, it consists of around 40,000 basalt columns. According to legends, the causeway is the remains of a giant’s effort to protect Ireland from a rival giant in Scotland.

General information:

This past weekend, I went to visit the causeway. Giant’s causeway is definitely a touristy place, but definitely worth a visit. It’s about a 20 minute walk from the drop-off point down to the causeway. The walk down isn’t bad, but the walk back is a bit harder as it is uphill. If you don’t feel like walking, you can pay around 2 euro to take a shuttle down and back up.

Tips:

As with most of the sites in Ireland, bring good walking shoes because you have the option to climb all over the stones. I highly recommend climbing the largest hill, as the view from the top is breathtaking. The most magnificent thing about the causeway is that the stones are all perfectly smooth and stacked. It truly appears as though it was built by a giant.

Check out our Mystical Ireland tour if you are interested in visiting Giant’s Causeway!

Author: K.Casselton