Top 10 Amazing Facts about the Dark Hedges

Top 10 Amazing Facts about the Dark Hedges

The Dark Hedges is an avenue of large mature beech trees, which were planted by James Stuart to frame an avenue to his home.

The trees were planted around 1775 when he built nearby Gracehill House. The trees are on both sides of the road, forming a “tunnel” that is between 6 and 10 meters in width.

At first glance, it doesn’t look like much. But once you step out of your car and take a look around, you can see why it has attracted photographers, painters, and curious tourists for decades.

90 Beech trees line this road creating a canopy of twisting branches overhead.

It was intended as a compelling landscape feature to impress visitors as they approached the entrance to their Georgian mansion, Gracehill House.

Two centuries later, the trees remain a magnificent sight and have become one of the most photographed natural phenomena in Northern Ireland. The Dark Hedges are truly hauntingly beautiful.

Here are the top 10 amazing facts about the Dark Hedges.

 

 

1.  The Dark Hedges were planted by James Stuart

The Dark Hedges is an avenue of large mature beech trees, which were planted by James Stuart to frame an avenue to his home.

The trees were planted around 1775 when he built nearby Gracehill House. The trees are on both sides of the road, forming a “tunnel” that is between 6 and 10 meters in width.

The goal was to impress visitors arriving at the house. It is similar to the beautiful oak alleys you find at Oak Alley Plantation and many of the other River Road plantations in Louisiana USA.

Today, the Dark Hedges (as they have become known) now stop just before the current gates of Gracehill House.

The Gracehill House is privately owned and operates as a bar & restaurant, wedding venue, and golf course. So you can still visit the estate for a drink, meal, or to play a round of golf.

2.  The Dark Hedges have a Resident Ghost

A favourite local ghost story features the grey lady, a spectre that glides along the Bregagh Road, sashaying between the gnarled trees. She vanishes from sight when she passes the last tree.

Whilst some local people believe she is the ghost of a maid from the nearby house who died in mysterious circumstances centuries ago.

Perhaps the daughter of James Stuart is referred to in some genealogy lists as ‘Cross Peggy’, others believe that she is a lost spirit from an old, deserted graveyard that is thought to lie hidden in the fields nearby.

On Halloween night, the forgotten graves are said to open and the Grey Lady is joined on her walk by the tormented souls of those who were buried beside her.

3. The Dark Hedges was featured in Game of Thrones

 

The show that made the Dark Hedges famous was of course Game of Thrones, the TV adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s bestselling novels.

In the show, the Dark Hedges was used as “The Kingsroad“.

This Kings Road runs across Westeros, from Kings Landing in the south to “The Wall” in the north.

The Dark Hedges appear as the King’s Road in the Season 2 opening episode “The North Remembers“.

 In the episode, Arya Stark can be seen escaping from Kings Landing in a caravan that travels through the Dark Hedges along the “Kingsroad”.

The Dark Hedge has also appeared in films such as Transformers: The Last Knight in a scene where the magician, Merlin, is riding on a horse through the trees.

4.  The Dark Hedges Trees are Over 300 years Old

In 2014 ninety-four Beech trees (Fagus sylvatica L.) were surveyed and recorded as part of a Heritage Lottery Funded project commissioned by The Dark Hedges Preservation Trust and the Causeway Coast & Glens Heritage Trust.

The trees ranged in age from mature to post mature which is estimated to be about 300 to 350 years. The life span of a typical Fagus sylvatica L. would be about 150-200 years.

Mature trees grow to a height of more than 40m and develop a huge domed crown. The bark is smooth, thin and grey, often with slight horizontal etchings.

5. The Dark Hedges is made up of Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) Trees

Beech is monoecious, meaning both male and female flowers grow on the same tree, in April and May.

The tassel-like male catkins hang from long stalks at the end of twigs, while female flowers grow in pairs, surrounded by a cup.

This cup becomes woody once pollinated, and encloses one or two beech nuts (known as beech mast). Beech is wind-pollinated.

The reddish-brown, torpedo-shaped leaf buds form on short stalks and have a distinctive criss-cross pattern.

Young leaves are lime green with silky hairs, which become darker green and lose their hairs as they mature. They are 4–9cm long, stalked, oval and pointed at the tip, with a wavy edge.

Interesting fact: beech can live for hundreds of years with coppiced stands living for more than 1000 years.

6. The Dark Hedges Trees are vulnerable to Storms

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 was 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, and another came down during strong winds in January 2019

Game of Thrones (GoT) fans in particular may also want to visit the Gracehill House during opening hours to take a look at the GoT themed door (one of 10 around Northern Ireland based on the 6th season of the show).

This door was carved from a tree that fell due to Storm Gertrude at The Dark Hedges in January 2016.

Even though the Dark Hedges lost many trees in recent years, due to strong winds and storms, it still remains an epic location.

7. The Dark Hedges is Protected

In 2004 the Department of the Environment (NI) Planning Service placed a Tree Preservation Order on The Dark Hedges.

The Order is intended to ensure the preservation of the trees while allowing work to be undertaken to safeguard road users.

The Dark Hedges Preservation Trust was set up in 2009 to preserve and enhance the ancient trees, prominent in the landscape on the Bregagh Road in Stranocum.

In preserving the trees it is also their intention to preserve an area of significant cultural importance and to use this importance to propagate an understanding of the value of the trees and their significance to the local community.

With the help of Heritage Lottery Funding, The Dark Hedges Preservation Trust project has four aims – to conserve and enhance The Dark Hedges, utilise the hedges as a learning tool and improve and develop interpretation around the hedges.

8.  The road Under the Dark Hedges is Closed for Vehicular Traffic

These magnificent trees are past maturity and branch breakages are unfortunately common occurrences. 

In October 2017, in the interest of public health and safety and the preservation of the trees, the Bregagh Road was closed to all vehicular traffic (with the exception of agricultural vehicles). 

It is also advisable to avoid walking under the trees during or following stormy weather conditions.

Visitors to the site should also be aware that Ballinlea Road is a public thoroughfare with traffic travelling in both directions.

9.  The Dark Hedges Are Extremely Popular in Northern Ireland

Yes, it’s just a road in the middle of nowhere. But yet, the Dark Hedges are extremely popular and attract tourists from all parts of the world.

It’s among the most visited places in Ireland, and you can see below just how crowded it can get.

The Dark Hedges are part of tours, so expect to see tour buses drop off loads of tourists when you’re there.

The Dark Hedges are one of the most photographed locations in Ireland. But it can be tough to photograph.

10. The Dark Hedges is a Stretch of a Public Road

The Dark Hedges is a unique stretch of the Bregagh Road near Armoy in Ireland that looks like something from a Tim Burton movie.

The Dark Hedges is currently free to park and visit. The site was not developed as a tourist destination.  It became famous through Game Of Thrones.

It was just a short stretch of a typical country public road. The Hedges Hotel located just off Ballinlea Road provides free parking.

This is an easy two-minute walk from the north end of the Dark Hedges. There is a marked path to follow near the parking area to get to the trees.

There are no public visitor facilities or restrooms onsite. The closest place to stop is The Hedges Hotel which is approximately a 2-3 minute walk from The Dark Hedges.

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The Dark Hedges is a favourite stop on the Causeway Coastal Route road trip, running along Ireland’s North Coast from Belfast to Derry.

The massive trees block most of the light, resulting in a “dark” tunnel that looks like a hedge.