The Dark Hedges

The Dark Hedges! Nearly 300 year old beech trees lining a byroad in an otherwise completely unremarkable stretch of land halfway between Ballycastle and Ballymoney in northeast Ireland. The trees were planted by the Stuart family in 1750 to give the byroad an impressive entrance to their mansion. We cannot imagine that they could have imagined this outcome.

The trees reach across the lane and intertwine, standing guard and filtering light in the most ethereal ways. With each 10 yards it seemed like we were on a new path with a different degree of light and shade surrounding us. As the leaves bud, we will consider a return trip to see the lane on full display.

The locals told us that until the lane became part of a few scenes from the wildly popular HBO show "Game of Thrones", only locals would visit it. As the manager of our nearby hotel said, "I drive by them everyday. After a while they just look like trees!".  Well, I call bullshit on that one. He was from Scotland anyway. The Irish have a way of giving it the respect it deserves, with the embellishment dial set to 11, of course. A tour guide told us that it is in the top 10 tourist attractions in the world. Well, we were there one afternoon and the following morning and, while there were a few buses and several couples driving and walking the lane, I think the pyramids are probably safe for a while. As pictured below, we were lucky enough to be there when only a few cameras were clicking.







Here is a scene copied from the web the features the lane used in Game of Thrones, where it is part of "The Kingsroad".

The trees are almost 300 years old, yet their lifespan is projected to be only 200. In Ireland, of course, this fits perfectly with everything mystical and mythical! There are very clear signs of decay and several trees have been lost...

...but there are many more saplings on the way. After about 10 years the saplings are expected to be about 12 feet in height. 

Our hotel was less than one year old and located just 200 meters from the dark hedges, it is a 16-room hybrid of a wedding facility and game of thrones tourist attraction (the actors sometimes stay there, with horses placed in the field behind it, during filming). Inside featured an eclectic display of life-size knights, bronze lions (6,000 £ each!), beautiful bars, modern furniture, and, unfortunately, the type of meals that make completely unnecessary the question, "Was the food [still on the plate as we leave] to your liking". Oh well, we were there for the pillows, not the meal. Off we go for the next adventure.