If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, the Dark Hedges (about 50 miles northwest of Belfast) is a big deal. More than in any other country, driving around Ireland you find excuses to stop and see places featured in your favorite TV shows, movies, pop songs, traditional songs, and great literature (and towns with the same names as your Irish friends…which can get exhausting if you’re traveling with an Irish Catholic American).
The Dark Hedges grow along Bregagh Road — known to the people of Westeros as the Kingsroad. Our tour group stopped here on our way from the Antrim Coast to Belfast. The half of the group that watches Game of Thrones was ecstatic at the chance to see this mysterious line of snaky trees. For the rest of us, it was just a beautiful walk. I love any chance we have as a tour group to get out of the bus, take a scenic walk, and hop back on the bus at the far end. (We were just driving through with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, but there are actually Belfast-based bus tours dedicated to Game of Thrones sights.)
This is Day 76 of my “100 Days in Europe” series. As I travel with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences across Europe. Still to come: England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, and more. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.