Games of Thrones Tour

Coffee and Tea set up in hotel

My first stop on my semester abroad was in Dublin, Ireland. The first day there I went a hop-on-hop-off tour of the city. One of the stops was the Guinness Storehouse. My parents and I took a tour of the factory. It is a self-guided tour with a tasting room and a class on how to pour the perfect pint. While there, I also learned that beer is not my drink of choice.

The Wildling Pit

The next day we went on the Game of Thrones tour. Everyone in my family are huge Game of Thrones nerds. It all started with my dad because he read the books and ended with my sister and I binge-watching five seasons last summer.

Screencap from show and location side-by-side

The tour bus took us to a few of the different sites where the show filmed, mostly during the first season. The first stop was in Tollymore Forest where the Wildling Pit scene, the scene where the Starks found the direwolves, and the scene where Jon, Tyrion, and Benjin make camp before heading to the Wall.

After the Tollymore Forest, we went to Old Castle Ward. That is where Winterfell was first filmed, Robb Stark’s camp captured Jamie Lannister, and Brienne and Jamie saw the Hanging Tree with three Stark girls. Because it was too expensive to actually film at Old Castle Ward, the Game of Thrones crew actually built their own Winterfell to save money.

Tree where Robb Stark and Talisa Maegyr say their vows

The Hanging Tree

Me with my parents at Inch Abbey

The last stop was Inch Abbey. It is where Robb Stark was crowned King of the North and Catelyn finds out about Nedd’s beheading. It was hard to image the scene at the location because I saw during the daytime, and the location itself was manipulated to look different. At Inch Abbey the group was given replicas of the Hound’s helmet and the different swords used in the show to take pictures.

Overall I really enjoyed the tour. I love seeing the behind-the-scenes stuff for TV shows and movies. What made it really enjoyable was the tour guide. He is actually an extra on Game of Thrones and plays a Wildling. He gave behind-the-scenes info, that he was allowed to tell us, and different insights into the making of the show. The tour is really worth it if you’re a fan of the show and love seeing how TV shows and movies are made.


I also vlogged the day and put the video on YouTube. Just click here!