Robbie Boake is a man who gets about. “I’m looking for places with drama, history and people that tell their own fascinating stories,” he says. Those might be the qualities that make for satisfying travel, but Boake isn’t on holiday: he’s chief location scout for the all-conquering HBO series Game of Thrones, and he has his own story to tell.
The show returned to our screens on Monday, breaking Sky viewing records — and the drama of the locations is as central to the show’s success as the drama of the plot. So, can you travel to Westeros this summer? Yes, Boake says — after a fashion.
“Location scouts rarely find all they need to tell their stories in one place, so it’s essential to explore. We find an area with the right feel, the right atmosphere, and go from there. It’s like doing a jigsaw, and when the puzzle starts to come together, it’s incredibly satisfying. People should travel the way we scout, simply to see what’s out there.”
With that advice in mind, here’s how to find your Game of Thrones adventure.
Croatia
“It has a rich history, a long, well-defended coastline and lots of picturesque islands,” Boake says. “Parts of it look untouched by time.” Ideal GoT territory, in other words.
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With gates, towers and 6,500ft of battlemented wall, Dubrovnik is made for long, lingering pans and extreme close-ups. It has starred as King’s Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, since season two, and it’s seen a lot of action: the Battle of Blackwater Bay, Cersei Lannister’s naked walk of penance and the fatal poisoning of her incestuous love child, the leering boy king Joffrey.
Up the coast is the equally show-stopping Split. Its centrepiece, the elegantly ruined Diocletian’s Palace, built by the Roman emperor at the beginning of the 4th century AD, has stood in for the slave colony Meereen.
Fly to Dubrovnik with British Airways, easyJet or Monarch, or to Split with BA, easyJet or Jet2
Northern Ireland
“This is my workplace, my office — it’s incredible,” Boake says. “The countryside is littered with gems. The more I look, the more I find.”
Northern Ireland is to Game of Thrones what New Zealand was to The Lord of the Rings. Much of the location filming is done in Co Down and Co Antrim: their louring skies, forsaken strongholds, huge beaches and old-growth forest have become series mainstays, standing in for the upper reaches of Westeros, the Iron Islands and virtually every campground and battlefield.
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The Castle Ward estate, in Co Down, has enjoyed top billing as Winterfell, former seat of the House of Stark, but there were a lot of contenders for the role. “I love Shane’s Castle, on the shores of Lough Neagh, in Co Antrim,” Boake says. “It was one of the first places I found, and it has served us so well on so many occasions.
“And the Binevenagh, a mountain in Co Derry, is absolutely stunning. It dominates the skyline, there’s a lake on top of it, and you can see Islay and the Mull of Kintyre from the summit on a clear day.”
Fly to Belfast with BA, easyJet or Ryanair; archery lessons and a cycle tour at Castle Ward cost £58pp (gameofthrones-winterfelltours.com)http://www.gameofthronestours.com/
Spain
“We look for the rugged and unspoilt,” Boake says, “but also for cities of historical note, of culture and refinement. Spain has all of that in spades.”
The south of the country has provided striking locations for past series: the courtyards, gardens and follies of the magnificent Alcazar, in Seville, did a quality turn as Sunspear, seat of the Martell family; and the cathedral and Roman bridge in Cordoba were used to depict Volantis. But northern Spain will be the bigger star in season six.
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Boake, under strict orders, remains tight-lipped, but leaked info suggests that the gothic cathedral, Arab baths and sinuous waterways of Girona, in Catalonia, will put in a striking performance as Oldtown and Braavos; and Peñiscola, with its tangle of alleys and tunnels, will portray Meereen and/or Dorne. The walled city is a proven talent, having doubled as Valencia in the 1961 film El Cid.
Shots have appeared online of filming at Castillo de Zafra, a medieval fortress in Guadalajara. Some fans are convinced it will stand in for the Tower of Joy, meaning we’ll see the return of Ned Stark — albeit in a flashback.
The location most likely to scoop the Emmy for best supporting setting is Bardenas Reales, a 42,000-hectare natural park near the ancient town of Tudela, in Navarre. The semi-desert landscape has been sculpted into fantastical shapes by wind and water. Let’s hope those grunting horsemen, the Dothraki, were happy to be relocated there.
Fly to Girona with Jet2 or Ryanair, or to Seville with easyJet or Ryanair
Iceland
“It’s uniquely cold and harsh for a place inhabited by humans,” Boake says. “Go with someone who knows what they’re doing — an Icelander, preferably.”
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The island doubles as the frigid wastes “beyond the Wall”, prowled by rebellious wildling tribes and armies of the undead. Any GoT expedition here should take in the outlandish lava formations of Dimmuborgir; the craters, geysers and waterfalls of Thingvellir National Park; the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajokull, which can be climbed; and Grjotagja, the lava cave-cum-thermal pool, and popular bathing spot, where Jon Snow and his wildling squeeze, Ygritte, um, got to know each other a bit better.
Fly to Reykjavik with easyJet, Icelandair or Wowair