Day one of our Game of Thrones tour! This is the reason we came to Northern Ireland in the first place, to visit the filming locations of the greatest tv show of all time! Our tour guide worked as an extra on the show, he was a member of the Baratheon army and died seven separate times in the Battle of Blackwater. It was so good to have a behind the scenes look at the show, and visit where scenes were filmed and how they created the castles.
Let's start with Inch Abbey, a 12th century monastic ruin where Robb Stark was proclaimed the King of the North. We had costumes, swords (we had Needle, Longclaw, Ice, Oathkeeper), shields, the Hounds helmet and awesome cloaks. Yeah we had a ball taking dress up selfies around the Abbey.
Next up was the tree Brienne and Jamie see the men the Stark Army had hung. Also one of the first times that we see how much of a badass Brienne as she beats the crap out of the deflecting Stark men. Badass bitch. Our guide (I forgot his name, let's call him Robert) went through the day holding up production stills and film stills to show us what was filmed in the location we were in.
What's next? This tower was used twice, the first time as the setting of Robb's Camp, and also used as the Twins in Riverlands. You know, where the Red Wedding was held. A bit of CGI magic added a few extra details to make the castles look different. Also, do you notice the tree on the hill across the river? That's what they call a "sexy tree", prominent trees that feature in the show.
OMG DIREWOLVES. I had no idea I could be star struck by dogs, but these are the actual dogs that played Grey Wind and Summer. RIP you wonderful direwolves, you deserved better. These beautiful Northern Inuit dogs are actually called Thor and Odin, and are owned by a family who have all been extras in both Game of Thrones and Vikings.
And of course, WINTERFELL. So I didn't know what to expect when we entered Winterfell, but I did not realise just how much CGI went into creating the castle. They used the single tower of the real castle, copy and pasted it to make a double tower entrance and voila we have Winterfell!
Our last stop was at Tollymore Forest Park, which is where a number of scenes were filmed. The first place we were taken to was a pit that was used in the very first scene of the show, where the members from the Night's Watch were slaughtered by the White Walkers.
Most importantly, this is where they filmed the scene of the discovery of the direwolves!
This one castle is one of my favorites as this is another piece of beautiful historical castle. Thank you so much Rachel for sharing such incredible castle pictures. Luton airport cheap parking
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