Alley of Mystification
The Dark Hedges, County Antrim, NORTHERN IRELAND
Some places look exactly as if they were coming straight out of a fairytale. They look almost too good to be true…when I visit Northern Ireland, I always make sure to visit that location in particular. Most of the time, I prefer to not have anybody in my images…but for this particular case, I think it makes the shot! It gives scale to the scene. It shows how tall the trees actually are… Here in the frame was Philomène, a French girl who just happened to be there on that morning. She had a yellow jacket! Perfect!
To tell you more about it, The Dark Hedges, were one man’s way of impressing his visitors. His name? James Stuart and he built his house named Gracehill Mansion in 1775 right at the end of Bregaph Road. All 150 trees were planted along Bregaph Road which lines up perfectly with the mansion’s driveway. These trees are almost 300 years old and sadly are starting to show signs of age. With every severe storm passing by, a couple branches break which makes The Dark Hedges look leaner and leaner by year.
The Dark Hedges are so iconic that they were featured as the King’s Road in the series Game of Thrones. In fact, many other locations from the popular series are located in Northern Ireland. I actually wrote a Blog Article that talks about a few of them. If you are a Game of Thrones fan, I highly recommend you to have a look at it! CLICK HERE to read it!
Photo © copyright by DantyArt Photography.
