Northern Ireland loses more landmark 'Game of Thrones' trees in storm

A major Northern Ireland tourist attraction and one of the most memorable backdrops from the cult series "Game of Thrones" has been damaged in a storm, with three trees from the Dark Hedges road falling over in severe winds.

The three beech trees, among those lining a road made famous by a short sequence in the TV series, were knocked over during Storm Isha, which battered parts of Ireland and the UK over the weekend, Mervyn Storey from the Dark Hedges Preservation Trust organisation said.

"This is another blow to the Dark Hedges," Storey told the Belfast Telegraph newspaper, as the remains of three lost trees were being cleared from the area.

Conservationists have been warning for months that the Dark Hedges trees were endangered. In November, six beech trees were felled for safety reasons, while branches were trimmed from other trees.

The road has been closed to cars for some time now due to the numbers of visitors causing traffic jams while taking selfies.

Late in 2023, Storey warned that a long-term plan and donations were needed to preserve the dozens of trees which intertwine to form a somewhat sinister tunnel over the road in county Antrim. The condition of the trees has been steadily deteriorating due to storms and age.

Northern Ireland's foresty, hilly and castle-studded landscape formed the backdrop of dozens of iconic shots in "Game of Thrones", among them the castle used for Winterfell and the quarry used to create the towering, icy Wall.

For a country of fewer than 2 million people, Northern Ireland has a relatively dense number of famous tourist attractions, such as the Titanic museum in Belfast, the Bushmills whiskey distillery and the iconic columns of basalt at the Giant's Causeway.