Last weekend was so much fun. I went up to Belfast for the weekend, and I got to see and do so much!
Okay. So I guess its not really that exciting, but still. I rode a train up to Belfast. Leaving the university where I am staying at around 6:30 was terrible. My friends and I caught a train at 7:30, and rode it all the way up to Northern Ireland and the city of Belfast.
After arriving in Belfast, the real fun began. We had bought tickets to the Titanic Museum, so that was the first things we wanted to do when we arrived in Belfast. The walk from the train station took us about 45 minutes, but it was so worth it!
I know that the building does not look like much, but I swear, the museum went on for forever. There was so much history in the museum. It was really interesting, because the museum did not only cover the history of the Titanic, but the ships impact on the economy and society of Belfast.
There was so much to do and so much to see, it was a shame that we started to get hungry and hurried through the end of the museum. But don’t worry, I still managed to take lots of photos!
After we finished up touring the museum and eating lunch, my group headed out to find our hostel. After another hour of walking, we found our hostel. On our way to the hostel, however, we found this cute little farmers market area. It was really fun to walk around and see the locally produced items!
After a short visit to the Farmers Market, we headed out to the hostel. Once there, we lounged around and rested up for a few hours, but we knew that there was still so much to see and do!
My group and I spent the rest of the day Saturday wandering around the city. We stopped at the City Hall, and I tried to capture the real beauty of the building, but it was hard to do!
From there, we basically just walked the streets. We had no plan; we simply wanted to take in the atmosphere of the city of Belfast. Overall, the city was very clean, but I could tell that it was still on the road to recovery. Because of that, there was a lot of street art, which really showed the spirit of the city.
For dinner, we stopped in the Cathedral Quarter of the city. The area was so quaint, and there were so many people around. In my mind, it is equivalent to Grafton Street in Dublin. From there, we went back to the hostel for a quiet evening in and a good night’s rest before Sunday.
Rise and Shine at a bright and early 6:00 AM. Unfortunately, we had to be at the bus stop at 7:45, so we all had to get up early enough to taxi to the stop. My group grabbed breakfast (and lots of coffee), before meeting up with the larger Game of Thrones tour group. Essentially, this tour would be taking us to the filming locations for several Game of Thrones sights.
The first place on the list is the Magheramorne Quarry, which is home to the exterior of Castle Black. Unfortunately, the quarry is closed off and the set is very hard to see. I did manage to grab a quick picture of the quarry, but I doubt you can see the set of castle Black.
From there, the tour took us to Carnlough, which is the site of Arya’s climb out of the water in season 6. It is very hard to see, but I took photos of the surrounding area, so maybe you can put the location into perspective!
The next stop were caves in Ballymena. These caves are the very same caves where Melisandra has a demon baby. The caves themselves were beautiful, and the scenery was quite breathtaking. I put more photos of the caves in here, simply because they were very picturesque.
Technically, the next set of photos has nothing to do with Game of Thrones. However, since the tour goes right past the area, we made a stop at the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.
Yes. That’s right, I crossed the suspended bridge. And I got some great photos too!
The scenery on the other side of the rope bridge definitely made the crossing worth it though!!
After we finished up at the bridge, our tour guide took us to several more Game of Thrones on-sight locations. The first location was home to Renly’s war camp. It is very easy to tell, on-screen, that this was the location.
Just around the corner from that sight, is the scene of some Greyjoy politics from season 6.
After that, we hopped back onto the bus to head to the next location on the tour. This location is home to the baptism of Theon Greyjoy from season 2.
The best part about this location was the fact that I got to play dress-up and carry a sword. My friends and I posed and fought and it was a blast. It was funny to see how the rest of the visitors were looking at the Game of Thrones tour group.
After quite a while playing with the swords and axes, the tour group walked to the next location. The oldest dock in Northern Ireland is home to not one, but two Game of Thrones scenes. First, the dock serves as the Iron Islands port.
The dock also serves as the port from which Arya leaves Westeros headed towards Bravos.
Once again, the tour made a pit stop that was not technically Game of Thrones related. We stopped at the Giant’s Causeway for an hour or so. The area was so beautiful, as I’m sure you remember from my previous posts. Instead of being misty and cloudy, this time my trip was blessed with gorgeous sunlight!
Once the hour was over at Giant’s Causeway, the tour group headed to the final two locations. The first location was the ruins of a once great castle. These ruins were actually the inspiration for the grand castle of Harrenhal.
The last stop on the trip were the Dark Hedges in Ballymoney. This alley of trees is featured at the end of Season1, when Arya is fleeing the capital. It was quite a gorgeous and very mysterious area.
Since that was the last stop on the tour, the group headed back to Belfast. From there, my friends and I headed back to Dublin, once again via train. I can easily say that it was a very exhausting trip, so when I got home I immediately went to bed!
Here are a few more photos from the trip, I hope you enjoy them! I will be heading to Greystone this weekend, so I will no doubt have more beautiful photos to share!
-- The Train Ride Up
Okay. So I guess its not really that exciting, but still. I rode a train up to Belfast. Leaving the university where I am staying at around 6:30 was terrible. My friends and I caught a train at 7:30, and rode it all the way up to Northern Ireland and the city of Belfast.
The Titanic Museum
After arriving in Belfast, the real fun began. We had bought tickets to the Titanic Museum, so that was the first things we wanted to do when we arrived in Belfast. The walk from the train station took us about 45 minutes, but it was so worth it!
I know that the building does not look like much, but I swear, the museum went on for forever. There was so much history in the museum. It was really interesting, because the museum did not only cover the history of the Titanic, but the ships impact on the economy and society of Belfast.
There was so much to do and so much to see, it was a shame that we started to get hungry and hurried through the end of the museum. But don’t worry, I still managed to take lots of photos!
Wandering around Belfast
After we finished up touring the museum and eating lunch, my group headed out to find our hostel. After another hour of walking, we found our hostel. On our way to the hostel, however, we found this cute little farmers market area. It was really fun to walk around and see the locally produced items!
After a short visit to the Farmers Market, we headed out to the hostel. Once there, we lounged around and rested up for a few hours, but we knew that there was still so much to see and do!
My group and I spent the rest of the day Saturday wandering around the city. We stopped at the City Hall, and I tried to capture the real beauty of the building, but it was hard to do!
From there, we basically just walked the streets. We had no plan; we simply wanted to take in the atmosphere of the city of Belfast. Overall, the city was very clean, but I could tell that it was still on the road to recovery. Because of that, there was a lot of street art, which really showed the spirit of the city.
For dinner, we stopped in the Cathedral Quarter of the city. The area was so quaint, and there were so many people around. In my mind, it is equivalent to Grafton Street in Dublin. From there, we went back to the hostel for a quiet evening in and a good night’s rest before Sunday.
Game of Thrones Tour
Rise and Shine at a bright and early 6:00 AM. Unfortunately, we had to be at the bus stop at 7:45, so we all had to get up early enough to taxi to the stop. My group grabbed breakfast (and lots of coffee), before meeting up with the larger Game of Thrones tour group. Essentially, this tour would be taking us to the filming locations for several Game of Thrones sights.
The first place on the list is the Magheramorne Quarry, which is home to the exterior of Castle Black. Unfortunately, the quarry is closed off and the set is very hard to see. I did manage to grab a quick picture of the quarry, but I doubt you can see the set of castle Black.
From there, the tour took us to Carnlough, which is the site of Arya’s climb out of the water in season 6. It is very hard to see, but I took photos of the surrounding area, so maybe you can put the location into perspective!
The next stop were caves in Ballymena. These caves are the very same caves where Melisandra has a demon baby. The caves themselves were beautiful, and the scenery was quite breathtaking. I put more photos of the caves in here, simply because they were very picturesque.
Technically, the next set of photos has nothing to do with Game of Thrones. However, since the tour goes right past the area, we made a stop at the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.
Yes. That’s right, I crossed the suspended bridge. And I got some great photos too!
The scenery on the other side of the rope bridge definitely made the crossing worth it though!!
After we finished up at the bridge, our tour guide took us to several more Game of Thrones on-sight locations. The first location was home to Renly’s war camp. It is very easy to tell, on-screen, that this was the location.
Just around the corner from that sight, is the scene of some Greyjoy politics from season 6.
After that, we hopped back onto the bus to head to the next location on the tour. This location is home to the baptism of Theon Greyjoy from season 2.
The best part about this location was the fact that I got to play dress-up and carry a sword. My friends and I posed and fought and it was a blast. It was funny to see how the rest of the visitors were looking at the Game of Thrones tour group.
After quite a while playing with the swords and axes, the tour group walked to the next location. The oldest dock in Northern Ireland is home to not one, but two Game of Thrones scenes. First, the dock serves as the Iron Islands port.
The dock also serves as the port from which Arya leaves Westeros headed towards Bravos.
Once again, the tour made a pit stop that was not technically Game of Thrones related. We stopped at the Giant’s Causeway for an hour or so. The area was so beautiful, as I’m sure you remember from my previous posts. Instead of being misty and cloudy, this time my trip was blessed with gorgeous sunlight!
Once the hour was over at Giant’s Causeway, the tour group headed to the final two locations. The first location was the ruins of a once great castle. These ruins were actually the inspiration for the grand castle of Harrenhal.
The last stop on the trip were the Dark Hedges in Ballymoney. This alley of trees is featured at the end of Season1, when Arya is fleeing the capital. It was quite a gorgeous and very mysterious area.
Since that was the last stop on the tour, the group headed back to Belfast. From there, my friends and I headed back to Dublin, once again via train. I can easily say that it was a very exhausting trip, so when I got home I immediately went to bed!
Here are a few more photos from the trip, I hope you enjoy them! I will be heading to Greystone this weekend, so I will no doubt have more beautiful photos to share!
Read along with Shannon at https://shannonsdublintrip.wordpress.com/
Learn more about the U of A Faculty-Led: Education Abroad: Ireland at https://studyabroad.uark.edu/eduireland
