Eight years of nerve wrecking fights, screaming, walker killing, wedding slaughtering, dragon riding, tearing down walls and overthrowing kings to rule the seven kingdoms of Westeros, yes, I’m talking about Game Of Thrones. A show that made us laugh, cry and want to punch the television. On my recent trip to Ireland, after a memorable tour of the country with Shamrocker Adventures, I decided to sign up for the famous Game Of Thrones Tour for my love of one of the best television shows ever created.
DISCLAIMER: SPOILERS AHEAD, DO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED THE SERIES.
Table of Contents
What is a Game Of Thrones Tour?
It’s a day tour from Dublin, Belfast, Derry or Tollymore of multiple filming locations of Game Of Thrones, lead by a team of tour guides who were extras on the show.
Who was my guide?
Meet Eric Nolan, an Irish man who plays a wildling alongside Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) on the show and can also be seen on ‘Vikings’. This day, Eric was not slaying men in a battlefield, he was an ordinary Irish guide who took us on an adventure with his on-set experience and Irish humour into the world of Game Of Thrones.
What did we do on the Game Of Thrones Tour?
We were still 3 weeks away from the series finale; I stood in front of the Hilton Garden Inn on a cold morning, half asleep with a coffee in hand waiting at the meeting point of the Game Of Thrones tour. I wasn’t sure what to expect, should have I stayed in Dublin and explored more of its food places? Or spent another day in Belfast instead? Looking back to it now, I can’t believe I was actually having second thoughts about this. Ok, enough of chit chat, let’s get into this tour.
We left the Republic behind to the north (pun intended) on our massive Game Of Thrones Tour bus to a place called ‘Tollymore Forest’ in Northern Ireland. On the 2 hour ride, Eric told us about his experience as a wildling on the show and shared a lot of behind-the-scenes information which would probably not be available anywhere on the internet nor will it ever be. Our knowledge of Game Of Thrones was also put to test on a pop quiz on the bus, where the winner was crowned the ‘King In The North’ of this Game Of Thrones Tour.
On arrival at the Tollymore Forest Park, we were each handed a cloak before we entered the picturesque wilderness of this beautiful park for a true Game Of Thrones Experience. During the next 3 kilometers in the forest, we visited many filming locations of the show, including the place where the white walkers were first introduced in the pilot episode and the place where starks meet the dire wolves for the first time. Eric explained how this forest was transformed into ‘beyond the wall’ and the importance of each and every detail of the scenes that were shot there. It’s crazy how much of work is put into a scene of few seconds, did you know all the snow was just paper and water? You would if you’ve seen ‘The Last Watch’ documentary, it’s those attention to details is what makes this show so great.
Our next stop was for lunch just a few kilometers away at a Game Of Thrones themed restaurant THE LOBSTER POT. After all the epic food I had in Ireland, for a change, food was the last thing on my mind that day. However this was no ordinary restaurant, here you could drink wine from a goblet and known things, eat chicken with a Guinness from a tankard and also hold an actual replica of King Geoffrey’s crown, you don’t get to smash it though.
The Lobster Pot Menu 
The Lobster Pot Menu
As we finished lunch, there were 2 celebrities waiting to meet us outside, these celebrities were Thor and Odin, you may know them as Summer and Grey Wind, the direwolves on the show. It was love at first sight, I just wanted to take these majestic beasts home, but for now I just took pictures with them and tried to convince their trainer that he is better off without them, I failed miserably. Make sure to follow them on Instagram.
Our next location was at Castle Ward Estate for another 3 km trek and a whole bunch of filming locations. This area was more out in the open with river banks and private lands. Eric explained how these locations were selected and prepared for the scenes on the show and also the significance of each scene, on and off screen. Here was also the location of Robb’s camp where Jamie Lannister was captured. Eric gave insights into the weeks of sleepless nights for the battle sequences and the months of preparations done before the filming and how the battle in ‘The Long Night’ episode of the final season was the longest battle sequence ever filmed in the history of cinematography.
Our last stop was at Inch Abbey, the location where Robb and Catelyn Stark receive the news of the beheading of Nedd Stark at Kings Landing and also where Robb is crowned the ‘King In The North’.
We were given weapons at this location to complete our westeros attire so we took pictures with Jon Snow’s ‘Long Claw’, Arya’s ‘Needle’ and tried our luck at lifting the mountain’s sword with one hand. This is also the location where we crowned the winner of the quiz the ‘King In The North’
On the 2 hour ride back to Dublin, they played my favorite episode of the series, ‘The Battle Of The Bastards’ and once again I stood there wondering ‘why oh why didn’t Rickon run in a zig zag path’.
What I liked about the Game Of Thrones Tour?
The thing about the extras on the show is how much they loved what they were doing, if you have seen the Game Of Thrones documentary ‘The Last Watch’, you know exactly what I’m talking about, you could see how passionate Andrew McClay was about his character as a stark guard in the documentary. Even a big bearded manly guy like him got emotional after the last scene of Game Of Thrones was shot, and when Kit Harington (Jon Snow) gave his final speech on set and needed the extra effort to form words just because he couldn’t hold his tears back, I swear I needed a napkin myself.
I’ve been following this show since its Pilot episode and the fact that you get to have a one on one interaction with a cast member who is open to answering any question you throw at him was my favourite thing about the tour. Oh and Andrew McClay is also a guide on the Game Of Thrones Tour, you can see him in action on the GOT bus in the credits scene of ‘The Last Watch’.
What I did not like about the Game Of Thrones Tour?
I honestly cannot think of a single thing I didn’t like on this tour, no free Guinness maybe?
My Verdict
When I was watching ‘The Last Watch’ documentary, I constantly found myself pointing at the screen and saying to myself “Oh Eric already told us that”, now, having watched the finale, the documentary and a hilarious ‘Thrones Musical Parody’ at the Fringe festival in Edinburgh (Scotland), words cannot describe how awesome was this Game Of Thrones tour. If you happen to be Ireland and don’t do this tour, then you either don’t watch the show or don’t understand it and you should ‘Dracharys’ yourself.
A massive shout out to Eric for being an aawesome tour guide, keep doing what you are doing, and to Mark and Stephanie, two amazing people on the tour (who got engaged recently) for letting me photograph you for this post, congratulations once again.
Have you done a Game Of Thrones Tour in Ireland? Or in Croatia maybe? Did you like it? Let me know in the comment section below and I’ll make sure Eric gets your message.
