There’s a saying among photographers in Ireland, ‘If the light is not quite right, wait for 10 minutes’. There’s a certain logic there.
For instance, if you are travelling on the Antrim coast road you would be advised to always have your finger on the ‘take’ button of your camera. Every turn of the road brings new stunning opportunities to try and capture the natural beauty of a landscape like no other you have witnessed anywhere else. For those who have never visited the Antrim coastline the previous sentence might sound like the ‘blarney’ for which we are famous.
But, for the initiated it’s an understatement.
This sentiment is seen time and time again in the sheer number or returnees who wait patiently, expectantly at a favourite place for the light to change to allow them to capture that elusive image that only they can see. Maybe this time it will happen, maybe.
The world famous ‘Nine Glens of Antrim’, recently designated, ‘An area of outstanding natural beauty’, begins a few miles northwards out of the town of Larne. One continuous road running alongside the Irish sea twisting and turning for 30 miles towards the town of Ballycastle and beyond to the impossible majesty of the ‘Giant’s Causeway’. Magical small towns and villages along the way heartbreakingly beautiful and a pure delight through the lens of cameras.
Mystical misty days. Rainy days. Cloudless days when the sun shines on the multitude of blues and greens on the surface of the sea, it makes little difference, it is all a unique chance to see and record the most enchanting vista of this green isle.
A photographers dream and one that you can relive through the wonders of your videos and photographs. And just think for a moment or two, this description covers a mere 30 miles. You have a hundred miles and more still to see.
A genuine Irish welcome and the freedom to photograph to your hearts content. One thing is sure, you will never run out of photographic opportunities. The whole island is a photograph.
Game of Thrones Film Locations in Northern Ireland
The TV series Game of Thrones, is one of the most popular and successful fantasy shows ever made worldwide. It first aired on TV in 2009, and was taken from a book by George Martin’s book named ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’. The filming of seasons 1-7 took place in 24 locations around Northern Ireland including Murlough Bay, Titanic Studios in Belfast, Inch Abbey, Cushendun Caves, Larrybane, Ballintoy Harbour, Castle Ward, and Downhill Strand.
The story follows families of power in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros that want to rule on the Iron Throne. It is now wildly known that The Game of Thrones is a TV series of the generation.
N. Ireland has really benefited from ‘The Game of Thrones’ success especially increased tourism. The visitors to the filming locations of Game of Thrones join the many fanatics desperate to relive the scenes from the series at the places where they were filmed.
The beautiful coastlines, historic castles and breath-taking scenery are the perfect setting for this epic storyline. ShutterSpeed Ireland has more on the ‘Game of Thrones Film Locations’ in an article here.
Rathlin Island in the Causeway Coast and Glens
Rathlin Island is an island and civil parish off the coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland and is the only inhabited offshore island of Northern Ireland, with a population of 125 people, which is the most northerly inhabited island off the coast of Ireland.
Rathlin Island is 3 miles from east to west, and 2 miles from its northern and southernly points.
The highest point on the island is known as Slieveard which is 136 metres above sea level. Rathlin is only 13 miles from the Mull of Kintyre on Scotland’s Mull of Kintyre. Rathlin is part of the Causeway Coast and Glens area and is represented by the Rathlin Development & Community Association. Rathlin is in the district of Moyle.
More on Rathlin Island on one of our earlier blogs here.
The Gobbins Cliff Path
A photographers delight
A good day in East Antrim N. Ireland, is a photographers delight. From Blackhead lighthouse at the edge of Belfast lough, to the painted dwellings in Whitehead, excites the creative imagination to snap a stunning landscape photograph. We have a vast selection of the picturesque cliffs and trails of the East Antrim coastline.
The Gobbins Visitor Centre is open daily and is where you can truly escape everyday life and experience nature at its best. Over a two hour guided walking tour you may feel the sea salt on your lips and marvel at tales of local spots on the trail. witness the native sea birds and keep your eyes open for some dolphins swimming off the rugged coastline.
The Gobbins path takes you along a narrow walkway hugging the dramatic cliff face, across spectacular bridges amid the crashing waves of the North Channel; traversing hidden Tunnels under the Irish Sea; up and down rugged staircases carved into the cliff face and into caves that were once home to smugglers and pirates.
More on The Gobbins Cliffs on one of our earlier blogs here.
The Giant’s Causeway
Declared a World Heritage Site and a National Nature Preserve in the 1980s, the Giant’s Causeway is named the 4th greatest wonder in the United Kingdom.
The Giant’s Causeway is made up of about 40,000 basalt columns.
These columns are a result of a volcanic fissure eruption. The tops of the columns naturally form steppingstones, making it easy to navigate about them. Located in Country Antrim, it sits on the coast of Northern Ireland.
Skellig Rocks (Skellig Michael)
The Skellig Rocks are situated 6 miles off the coast of Kerry.
On the shore of the island, you can find large rock formations which tower outwards to the ocean, some 6,000 foot high.
These towering rocks are rugged yet beautiful. It was here that Star Wars used it as a location when filming the movie “The Last Jedi.” You will be enthralled by the majesty and size of these formations.
Doe Castle
Doe Castle can be found on the shores of Co Donegal.
Built in the early 15th century in the style of a Scottish tower house, it is one of the better fortalices in the north-west of Ireland. The castle lays on a small peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides, with a moat in the rock of the landward side.
This Castle was built by the O’Donnell’s in the 1428. In the early 1440’s it had come into the hands of the MacSweeneys and stayed in the family for almost two hundred years. In the the Plantation of Ulster in the early seventeenth century, it came into the hands of English settlers.
The castle changed hands many times in the 17th-century when fighting for the control of Ireland between the English and the Irish. It is thought that in the 1650’s, Sir Charles Coote, the Governor of Londonderry, took over the castle.
Eventually, the castle was bought by Sir George Vaughan Hart and inhabited by his family until 1842. In 1935 the castle was declared a national monument and acquired by the Office of Public Works. The main Tower house of the castle underwent a restoration in 1998. The Castles grounds are open daily and a guided tour is available during the mid Summer months.
ShutterSpeed Ireland have over 300 photos and video multimedia of ‘Spectacular locations of Ireland’
Some of the information sourced in this blog has come from-
www.ireland.com
www.irelandbeforeyoudie.com
www.discovernorthernireland.com
www.castles.nl
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Sources Used:
The Planetd.com
Love Irish Tours
History.com
Trip Advisor.com
Cliffs of Moher
The ring of Kerry.com
Skellig’s Rocks.com