Journeying through the real Westeros

Ancient castles, timeless history, spectacular mountains and valleys, picturesque old harbours, towering cliffs and some of Europe's most beautiful and unspoilt countryside - is it any wonder that HBO's world famous Game of Thrones^® chose Mid and East Antrim to film some of its most memorable scenes?

When the makers of HBO’s Game of Thrones^® were scouring the planet for the ideal backdrop for their award-winning medieval fantasy series, their remit was tough.

To find an ancient landscape new to the rest of the world, where dramatic cliffs gave way to beautiful valleys, medieval castles mixed with picturesque old harbours and an endlessly surprising countryside could be as natural a setting for magical happenings as savage battles.

But for all the mystery and intrigue, they also knew this landscape must be real and wild, not over cultivated or familiar.

Perhaps it helped that this part of the world, where the hills and Glens of Antrim meet the spectacular Causeway Coast, still bears the mark of centuries of conflict between warring clans that mirrors that between the Houses of Stark and Lannister and their rivals for the Iron Throne.

Shallagh Braes | Shaped by Sea and Stone

Or that its own legends, folklore and myths, still alive in local imaginations, have a power every bit as haunting as those of Westeros.

So come along with us and journey through the authentic world of the Seven Kingdoms, visiting locations from key scenes in Game of Thrones® and absorbing the wild beauty of a stunning landscape, still relatively unexplored. There may be banquets and boat trips, a chance to see exquisite jewellery from the series and a door carved from the trees of the Kings Road. You can forge your own medieval knife and follow in the footsteps of the Dothraki hordes. Fantasy has never seemed so real!

Things to See & Do

The Steensons

The Steensons are delighted to welcome visitors to their workshop and gallery.

Game of Thrones® Afternoon Tea at Ballygally Castle Hotel

Ballygally Castle Hotel is offering a Game of Thrones® Afternoon Tea which will delight fans of t

Hot Milk Forge

Hot Milk Forge offers Evening and Weekend Classes in Blacksmithing and Bladesmithing.

Itineraries

Plan Your Trip

Make the most of your stay in Mid & East Antrim by selecting from one of our itineraries. Each one caters to a different interest, a different mood, and ensures you experience the very best in the region.

Game of Thrones® Itinerary

The makers of HBO’s Game of Thrones® wanted to find an ancient landscape new to the rest of the world - dramatic cliffs that give way to beautiful valleys, medieval castles towering over picturesque stone harbours.

Game Of Thrones®

Coast Itinerary

The Causeway Coastal Route that twists and turns along the ancient County Antrim coastline is quite simply a journey unlike any other.

Coast

Heritage Itinerary

This land has a story to tell - A historic tale passed down through generations, through artefacts and ruins, through folklore and ancient writings, where etchings of the past reveal a deeper understanding.

Heritage

Wellbeing Itinerary

From atop Slemish Mountain, the vast sky stretches away into the far distance - Patchwork fields, divided by dry stone walls, and the grasslands of the Shillanavogy Valley are burnished gold by the sun.

Wellness Itinerary | Shaped by Sea and Stone

Wellbeing

Hospitality Itinerary

Let’s explore the culinary landscape of Mid and East Antrim and follow the trail of one of Ireland’s Top Ten Foodie Destinations of 2019.

Hospitality

Towns & Villages Itinerary

To truly appreciate the splendour of Mid & East Antrim, you must walk its towns and villages - These are places that have grown up from the rolling valleys of the Glens, nourished by the ebb and flow of the sea.

Towns & Villages Itinerary | Shaped by Sea and Stone

Town & Villages

48-Hour Itinerary

The idyllic area of Mid & East Antrim was not built in a day, over thousands of years, the land started to take shape - with the collision of the rough Irish Sea on the soft grassy verges and the power of mother nature, the land started to flourish.

48 Hour Itinerary

Editorials

The Hot Milk Forge

Eamonn Higgins is reviving the ancient craft of blacksmithing amidst the unspoilt beauty of Glenravel. Join him to take up your own anvil, forge and hammer to craft traditional blades or a longbow straight out of Game of Thrones.

Forging Game of Thrones

Hot Milk Forge | Shaped by Sea and Stone

Steensons

Steensons in Glenarm are makers of exquisite jewellery. You can browse their range of hand-crafted jewellery in their showroom, or enter their studio and watch their artists at work.

Arts & Crafts

Carnlough Bay Boat Tours

Meet Davy Smyth, a third generation fisherman in the quaint village of Carnlough, nestled between the rolling hills of the Glens of Antrim and the sea.

Boat Tours

Glenarm Castle

Medieval conflicts of the Glens and Causeway Coast, giving way to an 18th-century elegance that transformed this achingly beautiful site into one of the treasures of Northern Ireland.

Castles