Guess where are some of the best GoT shooting locations? Yes, indeed they right here in the northern coasts of N.I.
And since we were already here in N.I., how could we pass on this
perfect opportunity to visit these enchanting sites? So, for the 3rd day
of our four-day trip to Belfast, we decided to do the GoT day tour for
just £25 per head that included visiting the Carrickfergus castle, the
death-defying rope bridge, the wonderous Giant's causeway and the
enchanting avenues of beech trees called the Dark Hedges.
Carrickfergus Castle
The
way to Rope bridge, Carrick-a-Rede national trust, was long but filled
with some astounding scenery till the eyes could see. We were mostly on
the coastal route so while one side of the coach was facing the lovely
view of the hilly pastural grounds complete with grazing critters (that,
mind you, come with the strong odour of manure...) while the other side
was facing the seafront with some incredible features and villages. And
to top it all, the tour guide was a delight who was both informative
and entertaining for the entirety of the journey.
After an hour and half of road trip, we finally arrived at our 2nd destination, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Thankfully,
the weather also cleared up by the time we got to the heritage site. If
one could fall in love with a place, well you can say I was in one! The
place was exceptionally beautiful, abundant in natural charm with
stunning views of Rathlin Island and even Scotland!
The rope
bridge connects the mainland with a little island called Carrickarede
that was formed about 60 million years ago by hardening of magma from a
volcanic eruption. There are few more islands beyond Carrickarede but
due to the delicate nature and uniqueness of their geology, they are
best left untouched. The bridge itself is about 30 meters above the sea
level, and spans about 20 metres in length, wide enough for one person
to cross over at a time. To keep up with the health and safety, a single
file of about 8-10 people cross the bridge at a time per side with an
interval between the two sides. We had about an hour to explore, cross
over to the island, take pictures to our heart's content, and return to
the coach for departure.
Here are a few pictures that barely do justice to the beautiful scenery of Carrick-a-Rede:
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| picture perfect |
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| Locked to you |
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| On the way to the bridge |
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| Looking back... |
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| I want to swim in the blue... |
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| The bright turquoise waters |
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| I could be here forever... |
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| Crossed over! |
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| The view below... |
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| Volcanic islands |
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| Colour blend |
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| Happy me... In love with nature |
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| " Please! One last pic and we can go... I promise" :P |
Next
stop, Giant's Causway... The Causway coastline was not too far from
here. But first, lunch! After such a lovely time under the sun, we were
ready for some munchies since it was almost lunch time. We were taken to
a cafe for our meal. Since there was massive queue and only few minutes
to spare, I was happy with just a cream tea for me meal. My friends
helped themselves to some too. After lunch, we were ready for the
biggest highlight of the day, the World Heritage Site, Giant's Causway!
Giant's Causeway is a very interesting and curious geological anomaly of interlocking (mostly) hexagonal basalt columns,
that is presumably a result of an ancient volcanic eruption about 50-60
million years ago, situated in the Northern coasts of the Causeway
Coast World Heritage Site protected and maintained by the National trust.
The place gets its name from the legends where giants were thought to build columnar causways. The peculiar structure of the geometric stones are an enigma of nature to me! How the columns fractured into perfect hexagonal "biscuits" just seem so surreal!
Perhaps
the world was created in 8-bits at the beginning, and with time the
programmer (i.e. the creator) got better at producing finer resolutions
and made everything more defined... The giant Causeway looks
like the remnants of those by gone 8-bit pixelated era to me.... Now
wouldn't that make for a good story ;)!
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| Causway coastline |
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| Causway coastline |
Giant's Causway
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| Perfect Hexagonal boulders |
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| Pensive yet romantic |
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| Something out of a fairy tale... |
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| The surreal formation |
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| The waves beat down but the pillars still stand |
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| Beautiful features |
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| View of a lifetime... |
Words
couldn't descride this place alone, it has to be felt in person. It is
incredible how sometimes some place can transport into a different world
all together... Next, from Giant's Causeway we boarded the coach for
our return. We stopped over at the Bushmills brewery for some taster of
Irish whiskey for about 15-20 minutes. The lovely driver mentioned that
if time permits we would be driving through the mysteriosly haunting
Dark Hedges before sundown.
So,
the time did permit, we got to Dark Hedges right on time and had few
minutes to spare before it was dark. The beautiful avenue of beech trees
is as haunting as in the pitures and movies. They trees were planted by
the Stuart family in the 18th century with the intention of compelling romantic, atmospheric, tunnel-like avenue of intertwined
landscape features to impress visitors as they approached the entrance
to their Georgian mansion, Gracehill House. Even after 2 centuries, the
trees remain a magnificent sight and have become one of the most
photographed natural phenomena in N.I. to the extend that the iconic
trees have been used as a filming location in HBO's epic series Game of
Thrones, representing the King's Road.
Look how haunting they are...
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| Tall and mighty... Even after 200 years |
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| A passage into a different world |
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| The king's road |
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And
so ended the expedition into the world of irish haven... My
Liverpudlian friend left us the next day at the crack of dawn, while my
Glaswegian friend and I headed to the US embassy to get our visa
interview done. After the interview was over, we spent the rest of the
day exploring the city of Belfast and the shopping centres before our
flight to Glasgow... Yes siry, I was off to another adventure at the
city of Glasgow with my friend and host for next two days :) Anyway,
here are a few glimpses of the city:
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| City Hall |
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| City hall |
Local artistry
And
so ends my accounts of the little jaunt to the lovely country of
Northern Ireland. I know I will be back as its exquisite beauty beacons
me even now as I type, and there is still so much left to see...
Until my Glasgow diaries...
Adieu!
A
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