Hello World. Merry Christmas to you all.

I was super stoked to explore Northern Ireland even though it consists of countless Game of Thrones filming locations. Sadly, I belong to the 1% of the population that has never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones.

HISTORY

Unlike Southern Ireland, which would become the Irish Free State in 1922, the majority of Northern Ireland’s population were unionists, who wanted to remain within the United Kingdom. Most of these were the Protestant descendants of colonists from Great Britain. The Government of Ireland Act 1920, which came into effect on 3 May 1921, provided for separate self-governing parliaments for Northern Ireland (the six northeastern counties) and Southern Ireland (the rest of the island), thus partitioning Ireland.

First stop was the The Dark Hedges. An avenue of Beech trees in County Antrim. The trees are more than 200 years old and have become one of the most photographed places in the Northern Ireland. They have become a major tourist attraction for thousands of Game of Thrones fans, been voted one of the most beautiful places in the world.

The Giant’s Causeway lies at the foot of the basalt cliffs along the sea coast on the edge of the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland. It is made up of some 40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea. The dramatic sight has inspired legends of giants striding over the sea to Scotland. Geological studies of these formations over the last 300 years have greatly contributed to the development of the earth sciences, and show that this striking landscape was caused by volcanic activity during the Tertiary, some 50–60 million years ago. I took countless photos here.

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. Considered one of the world’s scariest bridges, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is not for the faint of heart. Spanning a chasm that is almost 100 feet deep and nearly 70 feet wide, this Northern Ireland bridge connects Carrick-a-Rede Island to the mainland and attracts a quarter of a million visitors every year. The original structure was built by fishermen more than 300 years ago, and as recently as the 1970s, the bridge had only one handrail and large gaps between the slats.

Did a short yet insightful exploring of Belfast City.

I hope this post helps inspires you all to visit Northern Ireland 

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