Before leaving the island of Ireland, we took a brief trip back into Northern Ireland to visit the Game of Thrones Studio Tour. Both of us are big fans of the HBO television series, which is based on a high fantasy book series called, A Song of Ice and Fire, authored by George R.R. Martin. In addition to several locations in Northern Ireland being used for filming outdoor scenes, Linen Mill Studios, located a half-hour’s drive south of Belfast, served as Central Production for the series. Considering the number of film sets, production equipment, costumes and props that resided at Linen Mill Studios at the end of production, it was a very convenient location to house the studio tour.
Both books and films are solidly in the adult fantasy niche, and definitely not for the faint of heart! The Studio Tour follows suit, displaying some of the gruesome makeup, creatures, costumes and weapons that featured in the series. There were also hundreds of props, original film sets, production and design exhibits and interactive games throughout the tour. The artistry, creativity and exhaustive attention to detail that was put into the series was incredible to witness in person. We spent over three hours wondering through the very entertaining and highly immersive Game of Thrones Experience! So much fun : )
The dragon skull at the entrance to the Game of Thrones Studio Tour sets the mood ...
Costumes used by the Wildlings, a tribe of wild folk from the far north of Westeros (the fictional world that A Song of Ice and Fire takes place in)
Wun Wun the giant. Although he doesn’t look it, Wun Wun was a good boy!
The Night King and his disciples were definitely not the good guys!
They definitely rocked the armored skirt tho!
The original film set for Dragonstone Keep, including costumes worn by Emilia Clarke (Deanerys Targaryen) and Lena Headey (Cersi Lannister)
The original film set for the Great Hall of Winterfell remains virtually unchanged since filming ended
Angela pondering the craftsmanship on one of the dragon head guardians that flanked the main gates to Dragonstone Keep
One of the smaller dragon skulls, standing about 3 feet tall, that was on exhibit
Make up masks for the Wight Walkers, which are basically ice zombies. Yup, the series is definitely not going to appeal to everyone!
Some more of the gruesome bits
Here, Chris walks onto a film set used for interior shots of King’s Landing, the main seat of power in Westeros. In the past, we’ve visited some of the beautiful outdoor locations used for filming King’s Landing in Spain and Croatia.
The painting of this intricate map of Westeros wasn’t finished when filming began. So, they put the artist in costume and filmed scenes with him painting in the background - and it actually made it into the final cut of the series.
Enjoying one of the interactive areas at the Game of Thrones Experience … and trying not to pee myself
Another interactive game. This time archery practice on Wight Walkers.
A smiling Angela is added to the Hall of Faces in the House of Black and White. Yeah, it’s a fairly creepy bit in the series…
Chris is there too … though not quite as happy to be there as Angela
The Iron Throne. 1,000 surrendered swords forged into a King’s throne by dragon fire. Epic stuff for nerds.
Yeah … epically, happy nerds!
And on a lighter note, we’ll leave you with a photo showing the lovely scenery from Lady’s Island, which is located on the South coast of the Republic of Ireland. The photo was taken on our last day in Ireland before embarking on a ferry bound for Wales 🏴
I 🩷 Game of Thrones! Anyway- say hi to Clive and Lucy Anne from us.
Yeah! Clive and Lucy Ann were fans of the show too – so we brought back some souvenirs for them!
Fantastic !!!
It was really cool to see the extreme amount of detail they put into making the show. I was actually surprised that we spent so long geeking out at the studio!
Game of Thrones was the best! How cool that must have been!
Super cool! Especially since we didn’t even know it existed until we drove by a sign for it a week earlier!
I too am a GOT fan. I do not recall a series where most of all the main characters get bumped off. Fun stuff.
Yeah, me either. They get you super invested in a character, then bump them off in some kind of horrible way. It was definitely something different from the beginning.
❤️❤️👏👏
⚔️👑🐲😁