The Dark Hedges ('' Irish: Na Fálta Dorcha'') is an avenue of

beech trees Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted species i ...

along Bregagh Road between

Armoy Armoy ( ) is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 5.5 miles (9 km) southwest of Ballycastle and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Ballymoney. According to an estimate in 2013 by the Northern Irel ...

and

Stranocum Stranocum () is a small village and townland in north County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The villages of Dervock and Armoy are nearby and the town of Ballymoney is about away. It had a population of 311 people in the 2021 Census. (2011 Census: 29 ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, Northern Ireland. The trees form an atmospheric tunnel that has been used as a location in

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's popular television series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'', which has resulted in the avenue becoming a popular tourist attraction.

Origin

In about 1775, James Stuart built a new house, named Gracehill House after his wife Grace Lynd. Over 150 beech trees were planted along the entrance road to the estate, to create an imposing approach.

Legend

According to legend, the hedges are visited by a ghost called the Grey Lady, who travels the road and flits across it from tree to tree. She is claimed to be either the spirit of James Stuart's daughter (named "Cross Peggy") or one of the house's maids who died mysteriously, or a spirit from an abandoned graveyard beneath the fields, who on

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

is joined on her visitation by other spirits from the graveyard.

Filming location

The Dark Hedges was used as a filming location for the "King's Road" in the television series ''

''. The trees were also used in the 2017 ''

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'' film ''The Last Knight''.

Status and conservation

A tree preservation order was placed on the trees in 2004, to enable preservation and maintenance, and in 2009 the Dark Hedges Preservation Trust was set up. Of the 150 trees originally planted by the Stuart family, about 90 remained by 2016. A survey in 2014 revealed that the trees are in various states of health and are at risk in bad weather. Two trees were destroyed, and one damaged, by Storm Gertrude in January 2016. Another tree came down in Storm Doris in February 2017. A tree toppled during Storm Hector in June 2018. Another came down during strong winds in January 2019. Two more trees were toppled during

Storm Arwen Storm Arwen was a powerful extratropical cyclone that was part of the 2021–22 European windstorm season. It affected the United Kingdom, Ireland and France, bringing strong winds and snow. Storm Arwen caused at least three fatalities and wide ...

on Saturday 27 November 2021. Three trees were felled as a result of Storm Isha in January 2024, and a further two during Storm Eowyn, on Friday 24th January 2025, raising further concerns about the preservation of the remaining trees. As visitor numbers have increased, concern has been expressed over vehicular traffic damaging the trees' roots, as well as problems of

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

and the daubing of

sectarian Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or religious conflicts between groups. Others conceive of sectarianism a ...

slogans on the trees. The

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 68 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tru ...

has stated that high traffic levels might cause the trees, which are surface rooting, to last less than twenty years. In 2017 the Department of Infrastructure announced plans to close the road to traffic, due to visitor numbers causing possible damage and degradation to the site. A ban on traffic using the road (between its junctions with Ballinlea Road and Ballykenver Road) came into place on 30 October 2017. Specified exemptions to the ban include emergency and agricultural vehicles in particular circumstances. In 2023, a survey found that 11 of the remaining 86 trees were in a poor condition and could pose a danger to the public, and 6 of them were to be felled.

Origin

Legend

Filming location

Status and conservation

See also

References

Further reading