Newcastle. View of Tollymore Forest Park

It’s easy to see why Game of Thrones would choose film scenes in parts of Tollymore Forest Park in Northern Ireland; the natural park is fantastically beautiful.

The park entrance is a tunnel formed by the sprawling branches of Deodar cedars. Here, the Shimna river flows from the Mourne Mountains to the sea.

Dotted with shallow basins and shaded by trees, the Shimna river provides shelter for dippers, kingfishers, and otters. Little paths run through a forest full of mysteries waiting to be discovered, sometimes darting over picturesque stone bridges covered with twining vegetation. Some of these quaint bridges are already over 200 years old.