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!

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Like I said before, I had NO IDEA that the Titanic was built in Belfast. And naturally Belfast has dedicated a huge chunk of the city to the ship, in an area called the Titanic Quarter. The building itself is awesome, particularly from afar where it looks like the front of four ships jotting out of the horizon. I balked at the £17.50 entrance fee and even questioned whether or not to pay it and go inside. That's a lot of money for something I'm not super interested in. But we paid and honestly it was worth every single cent. Or pence? Whatever UK. The museum is incredible! There are 4 floors taking you through each stage of the building process, through to interior decorating, the sinking, memorials for those who lost their lives, and then the discovery of the wreck on the ocean floor. They even had a ride that took you through the different jobs of those building the ships. The one that stood out most for me was the rivets that were bolted into the ship by hand. There were three teams for the rivets, one to heat each one up til they were red hot, the second who would catch the red hot rivet (while trying not to get it in his eye - which apparently happened a lot) and drive the rivet in the hole, and the third team who would bang the rivet in place from the other side.

An awesome virtual tour of each layer of the ship took place than not only looked cool but gave me a serious case of vertigo. I had to hold onto the bar while we were panning from one floor to the next!

Part of the ticket price included entrance to the SS Nomadic, a smaller ship that was used to ferry passengers from the mainland onto the Titanic. This is the only surviving ship of the White Star Line fleet. All the interiors had been restored to it's original designs, with a clear distinction of first and second class. And most importantly, they had clothes available for dress ups. Which we took advantage of at every opportunity. Who doesn't want to dress up as a fancy lady on board the mini Titanic?

Just call me Lady Waddington

Hello Northern Ireland! We came to Northern Ireland pretty much exclusively for Game of Thrones, however we did base ourselves in Belfast so we did get to see the capital as well. I'll be honest, I didn't know anything about Belfast other from its rather unpleasant history. I didn't even know the Titanic was built here. So naive, so much to learn!

We ventured out to the Peace Line which is covered in murals promoting peace, remembering historical events and loved ones, but also others making political points and glorifying terrorist groups. I thought the wall was up as a symbol of the troubles of the past, but it actually still remains to keep the two rival neighbourhoods separated. Throughout this area of the city there are spiked gates, barbed wire fencing and security guards roaming the streets. Definitely not a place you want to be walking around at night. We spent some time after at the Ulster Museum learning more about what took place on these streets during the Troubles.

Belfast is such a strange place, there are some of the most beautiful buildings in and around the city, and they are surrounded by so many run down shops that have closed up for business. We walked through streets and streets of out of business shops, many of them now covered in graffiti and smelling of urine. Then we'd walk down old industrial streets, covered with incredible murals and art, filled with quirky shops and hidden beautiful pubs. Belfast is quite small so all of this is crammed together in a relatively small area.