Ireland: Winterfell, Direwolves, and the Iron Throne

July 31, 2016

It’s just before 10:00 am when our van pulls into Inch Abbey. We’re not quite sure why we’re here, except that this is where we’ll be meeting our tour guide.

There are seven of us on today’s tour: a couple in their 20s, two Swedish gals, a local father and son who are up to Belfast for the weekend, and me. Everyone seems friendly, but we haven’t said much on the 40 minute drive out of Belfast.

We sit in the van for several minutes before a second van pulls into the lot. Our van door opens, and a man with long black hair and a Game of Thrones jacket climbs in.

This is Will, our guide for the day. It’s immediately obvious that Will is a huge Game of Thrones fan, and that he and his friends get a kick out of tracking down the various location used in the show.

Will also happens to own the direwolf pups (more on that later) and has been an extra several times on the show. In fact, his whole family is into Game of Thrones. His dad was a Dothraki warlord in Season 1, and two of his brothers have appeared as extras as well.

As we pile out of the van, we’re given several cloaks and an extremely heavy sword. Unlike the costume cloaks and rubber swords from yesterday, these are the real deal.

Inch Abbey is, or was, a 12^th century Cistercian abbey. Today it’s mostly in ruins, and quite photogenic ruins at that.

It also happens to be the location where Robb Stark’s bannermen crowned him King of the North.

As Will describes how they filmed that particular scene at night, we’re busily trying on the cloaks and posing for pictures.

The cloaks are surprisingly difficult to put on, and we take turns helping each other wrap, buckle, and arrange them just so.

After we’ve taken our pictures, Will holds up a binder with a picture of the scene as it appears in the show. It’s really cool looking at the picture, then back to the ruins.

After twenty minutes or so, Will hands the sword and cloaks off to a friend in another van, and we all pile back into our van for our next stop. Will hops in at the last minute, and we’re off to Downpatrick.

Unlike all the other stops on the tour, Downpatrick has nothing to do with the Game of Thrones. However, it contains St. Patrick’s grave, which is worth a visit all on its own.

I expect the grave of Ireland’s patron saint to be a big deal. Instead, it’s a single slab incised with a Celtic cross on a little mound in the graveyard.

Will says there are several graves that belong to St. Patrick around Ireland. Maybe that’s why this one is so understated?

In just a few minutes we’re back on the road, this time headed to Tollymore Forest. As we speed down the motorway, Will’s iPad becomes our in-flight entertainment as he shows various “makings of” clips from the show.

He’s collected several excellent clips, and we’re right in the middle of one when we pull into the Tollymore Forest recreation center.

Tollymore Forest is both a state forest park and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It’s home to four hiking trails, a recreation center (complete with rock-climbing gym), and  – most importantly – several Game of Thrones film locations.

After a quick bathroom break and a chance for Will to chat with his friends at the rec center, we set off into the woods.

Although the forest is a mix of ash, beech, oak, and birch, we’re in a section that’s mostly fir trees. As the combined smells of pine trees and dank earth wash over me, I’m instantly transported back to the Tualatin Hills Nature Reserve in Portland. The smells and sights are exactly the same, and for a minute it’s difficult to remember that I’m on another continent.

Will is clearly at home in these woods. Over the next hour and a half, he leads us to the place where Wills finds the bodies in the snow,

the campfire Jon and Tyrion make on their trip north to the Wall,

and the place where the Starks find a dead direwolf and her pups.

There’s a break in the bank from the road to the knoll where the pups were found; this was bridged over in the TV show and then removed after filming.

Just to the left of this picture is a bridge over the creek. Will tells us that the dead stag from Season 1 was a real dead stag, found at the foot of this bridge just as HBO was starting to film in the forest.

It died of natural causes, and by the third day, which is when HBO filmed that scene, it must have been pretty gross. Still, there’s something to be said for un-looked for authenticity, eh?

Will also says that one of the things HBO looks are “sexy trees,” which is a catch-all term meaning particularly stunning trees that would look great on film.

We see several sexy trees during our trek through the forest, but none as spectacular as this one.

The Shimna River runs through the forest, and we cross it several times:

Just before leaving the forest, we pass The Hermitage, built into the river gorge by James Hamilton, 2^nd Earl of Clanbrassil, in the 1770s.

It was designed as a place where the ladies of the day could take shelter while the men were fishing in the river below.

Our time in Tullymore Forest seems to fly by, and sooner than I’d like we’ve come out at what’s obviously the main tourist entrance to the forest. This parking lot is full of cars and people milling around.

As we wait for our van to arrive, we’re approached by some lady wanting to do a tourist board survey. I pass her off to Will, then sit chatting with the father and son pair and the couple in their 20s.

They, of course, have seen every episode and are lapping up today’s adventures. The son, a guy in his late 20s, is even giving serious consideration to trying out as an extra the next time they issue a casting call. The rest of us are more than a little envious of the fact that they live so close to Belfast, and push him to answer the next extras call.

Once our van arrives, we’re off to lunch at a pub that Will knows. Unlike yesterday, where our bus ordered from a menu ahead of time, today we simply grab a table in the corner and order at our leisure. The pub is pretty quiet this early on a Sunday, and while we make small talk over the meal, none of us are inclined towards serious conversation.

After lunch, Will tells us we’re finally going to meet the Direwolves! The wolves are actually Northern Inuit dogs, a breed that was purposefully created in the 1980s to resemble wolves.

Will had always wanted to have a Northern Inuit dog, and a few years ago he bought two puppies from a breeder and brought them home. Not long after, HBO contacted the breeder and asked if the owners of the puppies would allow them to be used in their show. Will and the other owners brought their puppies back to the breeder, and his puppies were chosen to play the Direwolves.

They were still quite young and completely untrained, so after a couple of days of trying to train the dogs at Will’s house, the trainer got permission to take them away for two weeks of intensive training. When Will got the dogs back, they were completely house-trained and very well-behaved.

By the time we spill out the van at Will’s dad’s shop, we can’t wait to meet them. The back half of the shop is entirely given over to Game of Thrones, complete with a replica of the Iron Throne.

Will’s dad sits in the throne as he talks about his experiences as a Dothraki warlord, and shows us pictures from the set. Then it’s our turn to take pictures:

There’s a commotion at the front of the shop, and a man who looks like a younger version of Will walks in with two direwolves in hand!

At first we’re all reluctant to be the first to touch them, but they’re super friendly and love the attention.

They’re also quite attached to Will and keep their eyes on him at all times. Finally Will stands behind the person taking the picture, and we get some great shots.

After fifteen minutes, the dogs start to get restless – it’s time for their afternoon walk. Will is restless too – he’s eager to continue to the tour, so we wave the dogs and Will’s dad goodbye and head off to Castle Ward Estate.

Castle Ward estate is owned by the National Trust and covers 820 acres. It’s on the shore of Strangford Lough and was used as the main on-site location for Winterfell in the first season.

Throughout the day, Will has been showing us pictures from the TV show to line up with what we’re seeing in real life.

That comes in especially handy at Castle Ward. The tower and arched entry formed the basis of Winterfell,

but looking at Will’s picture shows just how much was CGI-enhanced.

There are several other Game of Thrones filming locations on site, but only three of particular interest: the site tree where Brienne fought the Stark bannermen,

the tower used as one of Walder Frey’s Twin Towers (the second tower is a CGI duplicate of this one),

and the sexy tree under which Robb marries Talisa.

In a weird twisting of reality, Will tells us that the Twin Tower is also a gymnasium for Pokemon Go, which was just released this week. The couple in their 20s whip out their phones, but apparently the gymnasium is already owned by their team.

It’s beginning to rain as we say goodbye to Will. He’s an awesome guide, and clearly loves what he does. He’s also very down to earth about what it takes to work on the set, and loves to share stories of his involvement with the show.

It’s a pretty quiet ride back to Belfast, and a quiet walk back to my hostel. I’m in the mood to go out for dinner, so I grab my book (The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory) and head to the local pub.

There’s barely anyone in the pub, which suits me just fine. The service is prompt, the food excellent, and my book completely absorbing as darkness falls.

Later, as I get ready for bed, I can’t thinking about Will. It seems like he has a pretty amazing life: dogs that he loves (and so does everyone else), bragging rights as an extra on Game of Thrones, and an income from sharing his love of the show with tourists who are just as into it as he is. No one’s life is perfect, of course, it seems like his might be close.

Up next: Falling into Titanic