GAME of Thrones has passed me by – like a swish of a broadsword in the evil dark. Perhaps because I don’t have Sky, which airs this HBO medieval fantasy series that has put the Antrim coast on the map. Causeway Coast and Glens has naturally produced a guide to key locations where it was shot.
Lady Isabella fell to her death after her husband Lord James locked her in and starved her
Picking it up in leaflet form at our hotel base, Ballygally Castle, the Gold Dragon coin drops – Ballintoy Harbour was thronged midweek out of season because here:
Theon was baptised into the faith of the ‘Drowned God’ and the pirate Salladhor Sann met Davos and pledged his support (and ships) to Stannis Barateheon. It also served as Lordsport Harbour for the homecoming of Theon Greyjoy.
I’m none the wiser really. Tolkien has a lot to answer for; someone’s bound to mug it up for Mastermind. I imagine in summer the narrow winding road down to the inlet must get clogged. It’s worth the trip – a spectacular cluster of crags and sea-bashed rocks looking across to Sheep Island. We were only there because we refused to shell out £9 a head to see the Giant’s Causeway (pictured above) further along the A2 coast road. Our excuse? We had clambered all over this amazing geological spectacle – 40,000 interlocking basalt columns created by an ancient volcanic eruption – in less sophisticated times long before it gained World Heritage Status and all the controlled access through a hi-tech interpretive centre.
Beautiful Sheep Island from BallintoyThat World Heritage Status applies to a stretch of Northern Ireland’s great north coast. Here are terrific ruined castles, Dunluce and Dunseverick, brooding over rough seas, and the NT-owned Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge attraction, where for £5.90 you can teeter 20 metres across a foaming chasm on a swaying bridge traditionally used by fishermen to check their salmon nets. Then there was a single rope handrail to hang on to. Today it’s a bit more health and safety with two ropes.
Rope bridge across the chasmThe 15 minute clifftop walk to the bridge is exhilarating in its own right – a twitcher’s dream. Fulmars, kittywakes, guillemots and razorbills breed on the islands close by and the air is filled with their cries.
On a fabulously blue-skied early spring day we had already filled our lungs with good sea air during an hour’s walk along the vast corrugated sands of Portstewart Strand to work up an appetite for lunch at Harry’s Shack. Voted Ireland’s best restaurant of the year by the McKenna guide and fulsomely reviewed by Jay Rayner, this NT-owned beach hut rented out to a chef who once worked at the Fat Duck had a lot to live up to.
It did with a simple perfection rarely found. Whitebait, fishcakes, chorizo cod, fish and chips all stonkingly (I love that adverb) fresh. No licence yet, BYO, so we paid £3 corkage to drink a Lidl Sancerre. The food was amazing value, made possible by quick turnover and an all-day tea and cake trade. Right on the beach edge, it must be quite something at sunset and in stormy weather.
Sublime fish and chips at Harry's Shack, below
Driving east, after Ballycastle – where you can catch a ferry to Rathlin Island, home to a few families, lots of sheep and no trees – the A2 veers inland then snakes along a dramatic, unspoilt coast all the way down to Belfast. Picturesque Cushendun village, another Game of Thrones location, is worth a detour and Ballygally is worth a stay because of Ballygally Castle, part of the Hastings group, whose six hotels across the province all possess very different characters.
Our base, Ballygally Castle, below, the Antrim Suite
Ballygally Castle is just that, a haunted 17th century bastion looking out over a sandy bay towards Scotland. It has the look of a Scottish baronial pil.. The 54-room hotel was recently refurbished at a cost of £3m, introducing 18 new ‘5 star coastal view’ bedrooms including six family rooms. Our Antrim Suite, like a liner’s stateroom, had a particularly beautiful outlook. The refurb plays up to its castle image and you are encouraged to take the winding stone stair up the tower to the spartan ‘Ghost Room’ room reputedly frequented by the friendly spirit of Lady Isabella. She reportedly fell to her death from the turret window after her husband Lord James locked her in and starved her.
Laying the ghost card on a bit thickIt seems appropriate that Ballygally, with its own legends, should celebrate Game of Thrones with a special Afternoon Tea. The tasty treats included Lannister Egg Rolls, Baratheon Bread, Little Finger Chicken Caesar wraps, Jon Snow Cakes and Dothraki Trifle with mini Dragon’s eggs (No, I’m sill now wiser!). It’s available from 2 -5pm Monday to Saturday and 3-5pm on Sundays for only £18 per person. Allow for 24 hours’ notice for reservations.
Thirty minutes from Ballygally at Islandmagee, the Gobbins Path was once more popular than the Giant's Causeway until its closure in 1964. After restoration this spectacular cliff trail reopens in the summer of 2015 complete with visitor centre, café, playground, a tubular bridge and a 25-metre suspension bridge.
The A2 is the route of choice for Ulster coast huggers. South of Belfast, between Newcastle and Newry via Kilkeel, just before the border with the Republic, for 30 miles it becomes the wonderfully scenic Mournes Coast Road. This is the place where ‘where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea’, according to 19th century songwriter Percy French.
Spectacular Slieve Donard, below, our suite
They have named a pub after our Percy in the grounds of the Slieve Donard Resort & Spa in Newcastle, major settlement in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Slieve Donard, at 850m, is the highest peak in Northern Ireland’s highest range. Our suite in the Hastings-owned seafront hotel, was called Slievemartin after the rugged 485m ‘minnow’.
This is amazing walking country, but one glance out of our suite window at the grim clouds gathering over the mountains had us consigning the Brashers to the boot. Rain like stair rods soon scattered golfers at the Royal County Down Club, ranked among the world’s best courses and handily placed next door to the hotel.
Mountains of Mourne on a fine dayWe were tempted to drive into Newcastle town and detox at the traditional mineral-rich SOAK Seaweed Baths, but one sight of the resort’s stunning ESPA Spa and we were going nowhere. It’s amazingly relaxing to swim in a warm pool with floor to ceiling glass window while the elements rage outside. A wild coastal road trip with all the creature comforts – what more can you ask? Save revenge for the death of Eddard Stark, Lord Paramount of the North!
Panoramic pool at Slieve DonardFact file
The Hastings Hotel Group http://www.hastingshotels.com has six luxurious hotels across Northern Ireland. Neil Sowerby stayed in three of them during his Northern Ireland road trip. Ballygally was his base for the Antrim Coast Road, Slieve Donard for Mournes Coast Road.
Ballygally Castle, Coast Road, Ballygally, Co. Antrim, BT40 2QZ
Slieve Donard Resort & Spa, Downs Road, Newcastle, Co. Down, BT33 0AH
Culloden Estate and Spa, Belfast, Bangor Road, Holywood, Belfast, BT18 0EX
Hastings are particularly keen to promote their hotels as family-friendly destinations, offering rooms at Ballygally Castle from £150 per night, the (particularly family-friendly) Slieve Donard from £170 a night and The Culloden from £225 per night. Priced on a B&B basis with 2 adults and 2 children sharing. For further information ring 028 9047 1066. We were lucky enough to stay in suites at the hotels – respectively, the Slieve Martin, the Muirfield and Antrim – which cost considerably more, but each of which was a joy to stay in.
For Northern Ireland tourism information visit this link. http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/Beacon-of-Hope-A859?Layout=Homepage
Getting there
Neil Sowerby took his own car to Ireland via the the Stena Lines Liverpool (Birkenhead)-Belfast ferry service. The return trip costs from £129 each way. It takes eight hours, so if you are going overnight you might want to book a cabin. Very handy access to motorways once you get off at Belfast. The Stena Lagan has been recently refurbished and boast a smart bar/restaurant the Metropolitan Grill and Bar plus a further comforable lounge space, Barista Coffee. The Stena Plus lounge is available as part of the Premium fare, which also includes express boarding and disembarkation, or you may upgrade when on board for only £20 per person (lounge access only). On board offers on designer fragrances, electronics, gifts and confectionery, saving up to 50 per cent on high street prices.
For further details and to book visit this link. http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferries/Stena-Lagan
Dunluce Castle and, below, Dunseverick
Game of Thrones setting at Ballintoy 
Wavy sand at Portstewart Strand
