This story / page is available in: German

 

Ireland Photo of the Week: Every Tuesday, our friend Kevin Balanda is sharing a special photo from Ireland and telling its story here on Irlandnews. Kevin worked in Dublin for many years and now lives in West Cork. He enjoys taking his camera with him wherever he goes. This week we travel to County Antrim in  Northern Ireland:

Skipping down The Dark Hedges in Co Antrim where ghosts wander

This is a photo of a beautiful avenue of ancient beech trees in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. With its somewhat dark history, a black-and-white photograph seemed appropriate. The trees were planted by James Stuart around 1775 to create an imposing, and thus intimidating, approach to his family’s Georgian mansion, Gracehill House. 

Legend has it that the hedges are visited by a ghost called the Grey Lady; claimed to be either the spirit of James Stuart’s daughter or one of the house’s maids who died mysteriously centuries ago. Others believe she is a lost spirit from an abandoned nearby graveyard. 

Given this history, it seems appropriate that the avenue features as the King’s Road in HBO’s epic series Game of Thrones. In the series, it is the major route connecting the major cities (Kings Landing in the south and The Wall in the north) in Westeros.  Along with other filming locations in County Antrim it has become a major tourist attraction amongst Games of Thrones fans.

Lesser known is that, although the trees are still magnificent, many are at risk in heavy storms. Of the 150 trees originally planted, about 90 remained in 2016. As visitor numbers have increased, there have been concerns about vehicular traffic damaging the trees’ roots as well as problems of graffiti. As their condition deteriorates, some trees have posed a danger to the public and have had to be felled. Like to many beautiful spots in our world, tourism brings its own challenges to The Dark Hedges.

 

Photographic specifications: This photo was taken on a late Summer evening with a lens set at a 70mm focal length. Camera settings were ISO 100, f/8, 1/45s. It was edited in Lightroom.

© Kevin Balanda 2025

 

MerkenMerken

This story / page is available in: German