Dark Hedges, Carrick Fergus, Next up Belfast

The Dark Hedges (Irish: Na Fálta Dorcha) is an avenue of beech trees along Bregagh Road between Armoy and Stranocum in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The trees form an atmospheric tunnel that has been used as a location in HBO‘s popular television series Game of Thrones, which has resulted in the avenue becoming a popular tourist attraction.

Origin

In about 1775, James Stuart built a new house, named Gracehill House after his wife Grace Lynd. Over 150 beech trees were planted along the entrance road to the estate, to create an imposing approach.

Legend

According to legend, the hedges are visited by a ghost called the Grey Lady, who travels the road and flits across it from tree to tree. She is claimed to be either the spirit of James Stuart’s daughter (named “Cross Peggy”) or one of the house’s maids who died mysteriously, or a spirit from an abandoned graveyard beneath the fields, who on Halloween is joined on her visitation by other spirits from the graveyard.

Filming location

The Dark Hedges was used as a filming location for the “King’s Road” in the television series Game of Thrones. The trees were also used in the 2017 Transformers film The Last Knight.

Carrickfergus (from Irish: Carraig Fhearghais[ˌkaːɾˠəɟ ˈaɾˠɣəʃ], meaning “Fergus‘ rock”)^[3] is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, 11 miles (18 km) from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 Census.^[4] It is County Antrim’s oldest town and one of the oldest towns in Ireland as a whole.^[5]Carrickfergus Castle, built in the late 12th century at the behest of Anglo-Norman knight John de Courcy, was the capital of the Earldom of Ulster. After the earldom’s collapse, it remained the only English outpost in Ulster for the next four centuries. Carrickfergus was the administrative centre for Carrickfergus Borough Council, before this was amalgamated into the Mid and East Antrim District Council in 2015, and forms part of the Belfast Metropolitan Area. It is also a townland of 65 acres, a civil parish and a barony. Credit Wikipedia® Carrickfergus – Wikipedia