The Dark Hedges are a famous tunnel of beech trees near Armoy, County Antrim in Northern Ireland. The trees were first planted to line the Bregagh Road on the way to Gracehill House, which was built around 1775. They were also featured in the second season of Game of Thrones, as Arya Stark and Gendry make their escape from King’s Landing. Since then they’ve become a tourist attraction.
But the trees aren’t in the best repair. Many are considered past maturity, and storms have knocked off branches in recent years. Originally there were 150 trees, but only 86 remain, according to BBC.
And that number will continue to drop. The Department for Infrastructure will begin “essential tree safety works” on the Dark Hedges next week, starting on Monday, November 20. They will be removing six of the trees, carrying out remedial work on others, and assessing the condition of another. The stumps of the removed trees will be retained. The department will engage with local landowners to develop a management strategy regarding the remaining trees.
It’s a shame that this landmark has to undergo this sort of maintenance, but it also makes sense; we can’t have tree branches falling off and knocking out unwitting tourists. If you remember the Dark Hedges from Game of Thrones and want to see them, you might want to start planning your visit sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, HBO may make some new memories in Northern Ireland as it plans to return there to film the new Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms:
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