Dark Hedges facts for kids

The Dark Hedges is a famous road lined with beautiful beech trees in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. These trees grow so close together that they form a natural tunnel. It's a very cool and mysterious place! Many people know it because it was used as a filming spot for the popular TV show Game of Thrones. This has made the Dark Hedges a very popular place for tourists to visit.

The Dark Hedges in 2016

How the Dark Hedges Began

The Dark Hedges were first planted a long time ago, around the year 1775. A man named James Stuart built a new house called Gracehill House. He named it after his wife, Grace Lynd. To make the entrance to his home look grand, he planted over 150 beech trees along the road leading up to it. These trees grew to become the amazing tunnel we see today.

Spooky Stories and Legends

Some people say that the Dark Hedges are haunted! According to local stories, a ghost called the Grey Lady visits the trees. She is said to float along the road and move from tree to tree. People have different ideas about who she might be. Some think she is the ghost of James Stuart's daughter, named "Cross Peggy." Others believe she was a maid from the house who died in a strange way. There's also a story that she is a spirit from an old graveyard hidden under the nearby fields. On Halloween, other spirits from the graveyard are said to join her.

A Star on Screen: Filming Location

The Dark Hedges have become famous because they've been used in movies and TV shows.

• They were used as the "King's Road" in the popular TV series Game of Thrones. This made the location very well-known around the world.
• The trees also appeared in the 2017 Transformers movie, The Last Knight.

Protecting the Dark Hedges

The Dark Hedges, as seen from further along Bregagh Road

The Dark Hedges are very special, so efforts are made to protect them.

• In 2004, a special order was put in place to help keep the trees safe.
• In 2009, a group called the Dark Hedges Preservation Trust was started. Their job is to look after the trees.
• When they were first planted, there were over 150 trees. By 2016, about 90 of them were still standing.
• A study in 2014 showed that the trees are in different conditions. They can be easily damaged by strong winds and bad weather.
• Sadly, some trees have fallen during storms. For example, two trees were destroyed by Storm Gertrude in 2016. Another fell in Storm Doris in 2017. More trees came down in storms in 2018 and 2019.

As more and more people visit the Dark Hedges, there have been some problems.

• Cars driving on the road can damage the trees' roots.
• There have also been issues with graffiti on the trees.
• Experts like the Woodland Trust have warned that heavy traffic could cause the trees to last less than twenty more years. This is because their roots grow close to the surface.
• To protect the trees, the Department of Infrastructure decided to close the road to most traffic. This ban started on October 30, 2017. Only special vehicles, like emergency or farm vehicles, are allowed to use the road now.

The Dark Hedges are considered one of the top 12 road trip spots in the UK and Ireland.

See also

In Spanish: Dark Hedges para niños