July 30, 2016
It’s just after 9:00 am when our Game of Thrones tour bus pulls away from Town Hall, and already I’m having the best day.
After yesterday’s tight schedule and go, go, go feeling, it felt great to wake up, walk the 40 minutes into downtown Belfast, and place my schedule in the hands of our tour guide.
Our tour bus is packed with Game of Thrones fans as we set off on our Westeros location tour. Despite the fact that I’m not a fan of day tours nor a hardcore Game of Thrones fan, the excitement is infectious.
My interest in this day tour is less in the Game of Thrones bits and more on the fact that a day tour is the only way to get out to Carrick-a-rede and the Giant’s Causeway. Since I have to book a tour anyway, why not a Game of Thrones tour?
I enjoyed the first three books and the bits of the TV show I’ve seen so far (mostly seasons 2-4). I had no idea it was filmed in Northern Ireland, and the opportunity to tour some of the set locations is too good to miss. Especially with my recent pilgrimage to Ballykissangel fresh in my memory.
As our tour bus heads north, I get acquainted with my seatmate. Linda is an American, like me, on holiday with her grandson whose high school graduation present was a trip to Ireland. Linda is extremely personable and interesting, and we chat off and on for the first hour or more of our trip.
We drive past Carrickfergus Castle, which is on the short list of things I won’t have time to see on this trip. Then we’re past the lough and out along the Antrim coast, heading north towards Carnlough and our first stop of the day.
Both the tour website and our tour guide are very clear that HBO has not endorsed any of the Game of Thrones tours operating out of Belfast. That’s why it’s impossible to get inside Maghermorne Quarry, the set location for Castle Black and the Wall. While much of the close up shots and the wall itself were built on studio stages in Belfast, there’s quite a bit of external camerawork at the quarry.
Our bus driver slows as much as he can as we pass the quarry, but even so it’s far too fast to get a picture. It does look surprisingly like my memories of Castle Black, and apparently it’s important enough that HBO protects the site with privacy fencing and strictly enforced no-drone flyover policy.
Not long after we pass the quarry we reach the town of Carnlough. It’s a good chance for us to get out, stretch our legs, take a bathroom break, and see the exact location where Arya was pulled out of the water.
The sun is trying to peak out from behind the clouds as one of my tour mates poses for her picture.
Carnlough is also the resting place for Paddy, one of the carrier pigeons used during WWII to carry messages between the Allied forces. He played an integral part in the Normandy landings and was awarded the Dickin Medal in 1944. He remains the only Irish recipient of that medal.
Legs stretched and coffee acquired, we pile onto the bus for our next stop at nearby Cushendun Caves. Used only once in the show, this is the cave near Storm’s End where Melisandre is rowed ashore to give birth.
Like most caves, it gives off a strong aura of mystery and a feeling of isolation.
Our guides have brought along some props, and several of us happily pose for pictures just inside the cave entrance.
While our group explores the cave, Linda introduces me to Pauline and Leah. The four of them (Linda, Pauline, Leah, and Linda’s grandson) were on a different Game of Thrones tour yesterday. I like them immediately. Pauline has a wonderfully open, inviting face and Leah reminds me strongly of my friends from university.
After everyone has had their picture pose moment, our guide ushers us back to the bus. On our way out, several people climb into a very tempting crevice on a rocky spur just outside the cave entrance for one last photo opp.
Linda and I chat about this and that as we’re driven to the Fullerton Arms and offloaded for lunch at the local pub. I’m not hungry, despite the early start. But I am hugely flattered when Linda, Pauline, and Leah invite me to join them for lunch.
Pauline and Leah are from the south of Ireland, from a town where not much happens and not many tourists come to visit. Leah is getting ready for university in the next year or so and wants to go into cyber security.
Pauline strikes me as a nurse or caregiver, so I’m surprised to learn she’s actually a manager at a home improvement store. The more we hang out in the afternoon, though, the more her “practical advice” side comes out and the easier it is to see that she’s probably very good at her job.
Sometime during lunch the sun has finally broken through the clouds. It’s another gorgeous summer afternoon as we head into my favorite part of the tour: Carrick-a-rede and the Giant’s Causeway.
The parking lot is crammed with coaches when we finally pull into our spot. Bridge vouchers in hand, Pauline, Leah, Linda and I set out along the hiking path towards Carrickarede Island and its famous rope bridge.
Before the tourists arrived, Carrickarede Island was used by salmon fishermen for 350 years. They built their own bridges to the island and used the large caves at its base for building boats. When the salmon population declined, so too did the fishing trade. When the National Trust took over the ownership of the bridge, it became a tourist attraction and a great place to experience the raw beauty of the Antrim Coast.
As soon as we top the hill separating the parking lot from the coastal path, our first view of this stretch of the Antrim coast is stunning.
It’s just over 2 km from the parking lot to the bridge. We walk briskly, chatting and admiring the dramatic coastline. There’s a steady stream of people coming and going from the bridge, and everyone is enjoying the treat of a sunny summer’s afternoon.
Up until we join the queue for the bridge, I am not sure whether I will go across. I am not big on heights, and nearly 100 foot drop makes the pit of my stomach feel like lead.
Pauline and Leah aren’t big on heights either, Pauline more than Leah. Still, we decide that it would be silly to come all this way and not cross the bridge. There’s safety in numbers, and we wait nervously in the long line for our chance to cross over to the island of Carrickarede. Linda comes with us as far as the bridge, but decides not to cross.
“Look out, not down. Out, not down,” I tell myself as I follow Pauline and Leah onto the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.
98 feet below me is the center of an extinct volcano. Over the last 60 million years, the ocean has worn away the softer rock at the volcano’s core, creating a narrow channel between the island and the mainland.
The rope is rough under my fingers, but the planks feel reassuringly wide beneath my feet. Packed with people, the bridge sways in the breeze. I sway with it, my eyes trained on the bay to my left
And the stunning coastline to my right.
In no time at all we’re climbing a reassuringly solid set of cement steps and cresting the summit of Carrickarede Island.
We drift apart, each of us finding our own little patch of turf from which to admire the view.
It’s a perfect July afternoon. A stiff breeze off the ocean carries the tang of salt water and the cries of the gulls. Below us, waves crash against the rocky shore, while out to sea we have a perfectly clear view of Rathlin Island and Scotland.
To my delight, Pauline and Leah agree to pose for a picture to commemorate our success.
There’s not much to see on the island, and after fifteen minutes or so we’re ready to head back. I would love to spend more time here soaking up the scenery, and I think Pauline and Leah would too. But we still need to collect Linda and make our way back to the tour bus.
The queue to cross the bridge is much shorter on the island side. And this time, I’m not nervous at all! In fact, crossing the bridge a second time is almost fun.
We collect Linda and the four of us begin the hike back up the cliff top. It’s a lot steeper than we realized when we walked down an hour ago. Halfway up, I stop to catch my breath, and to capture the Antrim coast as it stretches north from the bridge.
When we reach the cliff top, Linda and I find we’ve lagged behind Pauline and Leah. Thankfully the path is fairly flat, and the breeze is strong enough to counteract the hot sun. It’s a good 20-30 minute walk back to the visitor center. We take our time, even though we’re running late. The bus won’t leave without us, and who would want to rush the view?
We’re only a bit late when we get back to the bus. Pauline and Leah give us a hard time for being the last ones back, but our guide is unphased. I suspect he’s used to this sort of tardiness and plans accordingly.
En route to the Giant’s Causeway we pass a roundabout with a modern sculpture of a crown in the center. Our guide explains that the statue was put up a few years ago to celebrate the queen’s diamond jubilee. In deference to the political situation in Northern Ireland, it was supposed to be taken down after the jubilee year. But it’s proving more expensive to take down than it was to put up, and there’s an ongoing debate about who should pay for its removal.
When we arrive at the Giant’s Causeway, it’s crawling with people. We park on the road leading up to the visitor’s center and are given an hour and a half to explore the site. Linda decides to take the shuttle bus down to the Causeway, and I’ve lost sight of Pauline and Leah.
That’s ok – the day is perfect for walking, and the path slopes gently downhill as we head towards the sea.
According to legend, the causeway was built by the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill so that he could challenge Benandonner, the Scottish giant across the way, to a fight. Some versions of the legend say that Fionn beat Benandonner in the fight. The version our guide tells us is that Fionn was afraid of losing, and so his wife suggested he dress up as a baby. When Benandonner came to the house, he was so impressed at how big the baby was that he figured its father must be even bigger, and so ran away back to Scotland.
For the first fifteen minutes, there’s not much to see. Then the path rounds the headland, and everything changes.
It takes fifteen more minutes to reach the far side of the bay. When I do, it’s immediately obvious why this is a World Heritage Site and one of Northern Ireland’s most popular tourist attractions.
There are thousands and thousands of these basalt columns, running in ridges down to the sea.
I get several up close shots of the columns themselves . . .
. . . before climbing out onto one of the smaller ridges.
I’m particularly pleased with the way this photo turned out, an oasis of stillness in a landscape crawling with tourists.
All too soon it’s time to head back to the bus. Linda, Pauline, and Leah all decide to take the shuttle up to the visitor’s center, but I want to savor every moment of sunshine and stunning landscape I can.
Halfway up, I’m regretting that decision. It looks like an easy walk, but it’s nearly all uphill, and I am out of shape.
Luckily, two gals from my tour bus stop to chat, and the rest of the walk is a lot easier with company. One of them is wearing a pedometer, and all told we’ve walked the equivalent of 52 flights of stairs so far today. I believe it!
As our bus pulls away from Giant’s Causeway, I’m feeling full to the brim of new experiences. Linda and I are pretty quiet as we drive towards our last stop, although she points out that the decorative stones on the corners of houses are called quoins. It’s a word that will come in quite useful in my future travels.
When we pile out of the bus at the Dark Hedges, we’re a much more subdued bunch than we were this morning. No one is interested in posing with cloaks or swords now. The breathtaking beauty of this 300 year old avenue of beech trees is stunning all on its own.
The avenue was used for a 30 second shot in the first season of Game of Thrones, when Arya and Gendry escape King’s Landing.
The film crew must have a good network here in Northern Ireland, because these beech trees are out in the middle of nowhere.
But even this late on a Saturday, the road is crawling with coaches and tourists. Since there’s no place to park, everyone just pulls over and then stands wherever they can to snap a picture. Driving through the avenue is no picnic.
In fact, our guide tells us that the road was never designed for the volume of traffic that’s been driving over it in recent years, and the tourist cars and coaches are damaging the root systems of these great old trees. In order to preserve them, they’ll have to close the road to traffic altogether.
It has been an absolutely full day as we all pile back onto the bus. I’m not the only one who takes a nap as the late afternoon sun pours in through the windows.
Back in Belfast, we thank our tour guide and driver for a wonderful day. Linda, Pauline, and Leah invite me to join them for dinner, but I decline. I have really enjoyed hanging out with them all day today, but my extrovert meter is empty and I’d like a nice quiet evening to let the day’s experiences settle in. I do connect with Pauline and Leah on Facebook before hugging all three of them goodbye.
It’s too early to head back to the hostel, so I stop at the movie theatre and treat myself to Ghostbusters. It’s been years since I last took myself to a movie, and I enjoy every minute of it.
Afterwards, I finally get a gorgeous shot of Queen’s University as I pass by on my way to the hostel.
A few minutes later, this sign outside a restaurant cracks me up.
It’s another short night at the hostel. I’ve been assigned to a new room, and the Australian family (parents and an adult daughter) seem nice enough. There’s a loud group of people in the kitchen, but I catch up on Facebook and do some light emailing before heading up to bed.
So far, this first Game of Thrones tour has been everything I wanted it to be: light on plot, heavy on breathtaking scenery.
Tomorrow I’m headed on another tour, this time south of Belfast to explore Winterfell. I have a good feeling that tomorrow will be another great day!
Up next: Winterfell, Direwolf Pups, and the Iron Throne
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