The Dark Hedges, Co Antrim, the location for filming The King’s Road in Game of Thrones. Image: Paul J Martin/Shutterstock
Planning a weekend trip? You can now do a whistle-stop tour of Westeros.
With fans now having to wait on tenterhooks until 2019 for the next season of Game Of Thrones, there’s been no better time to get your off-season fix than now, thanks to a new partnership between Esri Ireland and Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council.
The council has used Esri Ireland’s innovative digital mapping platform to create an interactive map of the key filming locations from the hit series. Northern Ireland’s rugged beauty has been a big feature of the show, with themed tours growing in popularity over the years.
‘Game of Thrones has significantly raised the profile of Northern Ireland as a tourist destination’
– PAUL SYNNOTT, ESRI IRELAND
Paul Synnott, director and country manager, Esri Ireland, said, “Game of Thrones has significantly raised the profile of Northern Ireland as a tourist destination and now, with this map, fans of the show from across the world can embark on a road trip that will take them through some of the series’ most impressive locations.
“Attractions such as The Dark Hedges near Stranocum, Ballintoy Harbour, and Downhill Beach have all been mapped out on Esri’s ArcGIS platform, providing a convenient point of reference for visitors to the area.”
A weekend in Dragonstone
Fans can precisely locate the settings of their favourite scenes, from Dragonstone to the striking King’s Road, along which Arya Stark travelled disguised as a boy following the death of her father Ned.
Niall McSorley, digital services manager, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council explained the logic behind this project: “In creating this map, our team wanted to encourage fans of the show to come and visit the real-world locations of some of their favourite scenes and discover the beauty of Northern Ireland for themselves.”
With more than 10 locations to visit across Northern Ireland, this map would make for a great guide for any Game of Thrones aficionado to kick off an adventurous road trip.
