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1 year ago
Season 2 is in full swing
Game of Thrones was a legendary TV series for a number of reasons – not least because of its standout cinematography and stunningly beautiful filming locations. From the woods of Ireland to saturated Croatian streets to the snowy wilds of Iceland, filming for the original show occurred here, there and everywhere. Then, the much-anticipated prequel series House of the Dragon finally hit our screens last year, showcasing the pseudo-Medieval magic of George R. R. Martin’s expansive universe in full force and introducing us all to the Negroni Sbagliato (thanks, Emma D’Arcy). With it came plenty of incredible filming locations that we are itching to visit – and now that season 2 is in full swing, the House of the Dragon wanderlust is hitting hard. Here’s a recap of some of the gorgeous settings we saw in season one, plus where House of the Dragon season 2 was filmed.
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Oscar Eskinazi & Harry Collett as Prince Jacaerys ‘Jace’ Velaryon & Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen. © HBO
The majority of House of the Dragon was filmed in the UK and Spain, with most of the show’s action taking place in King’s Landing and at Dragonstone.
However, not all of the locations we see on screen are real: much of House of the Dragon was filmed at Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios. Back in December 2023, universe creator George R R Martin wrote on his blog: ‘I am no stranger to film sets. […] But nothing I have ever seen can compare with the Red Keep and Dragonstone sets they have built at Leavesden Studios in London. HUGE, stunning, and so damned real that I felt as if I had gone through a time portal to medieval Westeros. I love castles and have visited dozens of actual medieval castles, keeps, and towers in my time, and none of the real castles I’ve ever seen can hold a candle… or a torch… to our Red Keep.’
This is also where new-for-season-two star Jamie Kenna was based for all of his scenes as Ser Alfred Broome, a member of Rhaenyra’s Black Council. ‘All of the filming I did was at the Warner Brothers Studios in Leavesden,’ he recently told C&TH. ‘I know they filmed other parts in Spain, Wales, Surrey… But I was in the comfort of a boiling hot studio in 15 layers of armour.’
More interested in getting out and about? Here are the key filming locations to know.
Back to Spain for the ancestral seat of House Targaryen, for which Castillo de La Calahorra acts as the filming location. In Martin’s imagined world, Pentos is a city adjacent to the seas of Westeros (the central continent and home of the Seven Kingdoms in Game of Thrones). The medieval castle Castillo de La Calahorra is situated on the town’s only hill, with a Gothic exterior and a Renaissance-inspired structure, built between 1509-12.
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The ancient village of Castleton is situated in Derbyshire, at the head of Hope Valley in the heart of the Peak District. With its dramatic landscape, is well-suited to House of the Dragon – particularly the Vale of Arryn, famous for housing the Eyrie in Game of Thrones, where enemies can be shot from above like fish in a barrel, or pushed through the moon door.
A trip to Castleton will surely involve less bloodshed – but the landscape remains very dramatic. With sweeping valleys and expansive cave and cavern systems, Castleton makes for an otherworldly visit. If you prefer to keep your feet firmly planted in this century (and this world, for that matter), long walks, delightful tea rooms and cosy pubs will keep you occupied. visitpeakdistrict.com
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At the edge of Kings Landing, there is a large body of water called Blackwater Bay. It houses Driftmark, a castle and home to House Velaryon. It previously featured in Game of Thrones during the Battle of the Blackwater. Lord Corlys Velaryon, also known as the Sea Snake, is a key character in House of the Dragon, sitting on the small council as Master of Ships.
In reality, Driftmark is a medieval church dating back to the 12th century on St. Michael’s Mount, a rocky island housing a small community off the coast of Cornwall, linked to Marazion island by a tidal causeway. stmichaelsmount.co.uk
Image: Fuzzypiggy, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Scenes in the Stepstones in House of the Dragon were filmed at Holywell Beach and Kynance Cove, Cornwall. The Stepstones are a chain of islands that link Westeros and Essos (the eastern continent in George R R Martin’s universe). The real Cornish filming locations naturally feature vast sweeps of soft sand with rolling dunes, making for the perfect double.
You might recognise Kynance Cove from the first season’s first big battle sequence; used as a battle camp, the location’s natural rocks and caves brought the scene to life.
Image (c) Ollie Upton/HBO.
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More specifically in King’s Landing, many scenes in season 1 take place in the verdant and manicured gardens. The real gardens are Spain’s Santa Clotilde Gardens, created by the Marquis of Roviralta, Raül Roviralta i Astoul. At age 25, in 1917, he moved to Lloret de Mar in search of land to build an isolated property in contact with nature and open to the sea. Completed in 1926 but extensively improved across the years, these gorgeous gardens are open to the public, making for a lovely stroll. lloretdemar.org
Image (c) Ollie Upton/HBO.
When we see Gwayne Hightower, Ser Criston Cole and his coterie dashing into the woods to hide from the dragon-riding Rhaena, we’re actually looking at Bourne Wood in Farnham, Surrey. This new-for-season-2 filming location has previously appeared in the likes of Napoleon and Gladiator.
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The dramatic exterior of Dragonstone is an amalgamation of Welsh quarries in Gwynedd, as well as the surrounding landscape of lakes and hills which can be found here. However, all of the interiors were built on huge sets in Leavesden and Northern Ireland – so it’s sadly not one we can visit.
Nearby in North Wales, House of the Dragon also filmed scenes that take place in The Vale and the Riverlands.
As was the case in Game of Thrones, the producers of House of the Dragon transported George R R Martin’s show back to the streets of Spain in order to get enough sun-soaked shots to conjure King’s Landing.
Situated in a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Extremadura, the Old Town of Cáceres is notable for its blend of architectural influences – Roman, Islamic, Northern Gothic and Italian Renaissance all feature – hence making it an ideal site for the similarly multi-influenced Kings Landing. Trujillo – 45 km to the east, and home to a number of medieval and renaissance buildings – also returns to screens for House of the Dragon.
Image: Old town of Cáceres, Spain
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Featured Image by Ollie Upton/HBO.
