Tollymore Forest Park, twenty minutes from The Brambles Retreat, is where Game of Thrones began. It appears in the very first episode, 'Winter Is Coming', as the land south of the Wall.
The scenes where the Night's Watch scouts encounter the White Walkers, and where the Stark children find the direwolf pups, were both shot here.
You can walk the locations yourself for free, or take a guided tour that covers the filming history alongside the botany and history of the forest. Check current schedules and prices with the operator directly, as these vary by season.
Follow the river trail and you will reach Parnell's Bridge, a crossing over the Shimna River. It appears in Season 1, Episode 1, when Ned Stark and his children ride back through the Winterfell lands after the execution of a deserter.
The ancient woodland stood in for the Haunted Forest beyond the Wall in the pilot. It is genuinely atmospheric in poor weather, which is most of the reason it worked on screen.
The area near the Gothic Arch was used for the campfire scene between Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister on the road north to the Wall.
The Studio Tour is at Linen Mill Studios in Banbridge, County Down, about forty minutes from us and roughly an hour from Belfast. From Dublin it is closer to ninety minutes, so it works better as part of a Northern Ireland trip than as a day trip from the Republic.
It is built around the original sets, costumes and props from the production, including the Great Hall at Winterfell, and there is a section on how the dragons were created. You can sit on a replica of the Iron Throne.
Opening hours and ticket prices change seasonally and it is usually best booked in advance, so check the official site before you travel rather than turning up.
The Mourne coast and the wider County Down area feature repeatedly across the series. Inch Abbey, Castle Ward, Audley's Field and Tollymore are all within an hour of us, which makes The Brambles a practical base if you want to cover several locations across a weekend rather than driving out and back from Belfast each day.
The Brambles Retreat sits near Annalong at the foot of the Mournes. Eight en suite bedrooms sleeping sixteen, hired as a whole property from £700 per night midweek, which is £44 per person at sixteen sharing, or £900 at weekends.
Fifteen minutes from Newcastle, twenty from Tollymore, forty from the Studio Tour.
