Fans are flocking to these UK House of Dragons filming hotspots

ans are flocking to filming locations from Game of Thrones & House of Dragons 

Searches for Game of Thrones filming locations have increased by 153% this year, but which ones are the most iconic – and where are the hidden gems? 

If you’ve ever fancied visiting the iconic locations from Game of Thrones, you aren’t the only one.  

It seems the release of House of Dragons reignited our passion for the show, as Google searches for ‘Game of Thrones filming locations’  have increased by 153% globally in the last 12 months. 

Using hashtag data from Instagram, online entertainment experts from Irish casino Slotbox.com analyzed a list of filming locations from both Game of Thrones and House of Dragons, to find out how many photographs have been taken at each location.  

Fans are flocking to the UK House of Dragons hotspots 

Since the show aired last month, Google Trends data shows fans are keen to find out more about the iconic filming locations used to depict their favourite scenes. In August, searches for “House of Dragons filming locations” increased by 536% globally, suggesting a surge of fans are interested in these destinations. 

So which ones are the most popular? And which ones are proving to be untouched by the public? Experts at Irish Casino Slotbox.com have revealed everything you need to know.  

Location	Country	No. of #
St. Michael’s Mount	Cornwall, UK	137,372
Kynance Cove	Cornwall, UK	58,780
Holywell Bay Beach	Cornwall, UK	30,034
Svínafellsjökull	Skaftafell National Park, Iceland	11,336
Ciudad Monumental	Cáceres, Spain	7,996
Penha Garcia Castle	Penha Garcia, Portugal	6,396
Cave Dale	Derbyshire, UK	5,070
Castillo de La Calahorra	Granada, Spain	782
Eldon Hill	Derbyshire, UK	118

From our data, it seems as though fans may be flocking to Cornwall with three locations ranking as the most popular. St Michael’s Mount was used to portray Driftmark in Blackwater Bay and has 137,372 hashtags overall. Kyance Cove has 58,780 hashtags, which you might recognise as the Valyrian camp in the show.  

Another hotspot popular with tourists is Holywell Bay Beach, where Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen were filmed on the beach together. 

Iceland’s famous glacier Svínafellsjökull (11,336 hashtags) was also used during the filming of House of Dragons, which is part of Skaftafell National Park, popular with hikers and tourists. Meanwhile, over in Portugal, in the quaint village of Penha Garcia, producers fell in love with the castle ruins, which reportedly features in scenes throughout the series. With just 6,396 hashtags, you’ll rule the kingdom if you visit this quiet filming location.  

Further down the list, as we begin to uncover the quieter locations, Eldon Hill (118 hashtags) and Cave Dale (5,070) in Derbyshire, UK were also used in House of Dragons, making the perfect day out for fans who want to enjoy the fresh air.  

In Granada, Spain, fans may recognise Castillo de La Calahorra from the show, which is another hidden gem (782 hashtags), along with Ciudad Monumental in Caceres, which is a Unesco World Heritage city. The city is having a moment in the spotlight with several photos of sets and props appearing on social media during filming. 

The most popular filming locations from Game of Thrones  

Location	Country	no of #	Fictional location
Kirkjufell mountain	Iceland	86,616	Beyond the wall (S6 & 7)
Bardenas Reales Nature Reserve	Arguedas, Spain	80,601	Daenerys’ desert captivity (S6)
Lokrum Island Botanical Gardens	Adriatic Sea	76,956	Quarth (S2)
Dark Hedges	County Antrim, Northern Ireland	70,297	Kings Road (S2)
Alcázar de Sevilla	Sevilla, Spain	39,031	The Water Palaces of Dorne (S5)
Dunluce Castle	Causeway Coast, Northern Ireland	38,862	House Greyjoy (S2)
Roman Bridge	Cordoba, Spain	26,975	The Long Bridge, Volantis (S5)
Doune Castle	Scotland	20,456	Winterfell (S1)
Castle Ward	County Down, Northern Ireland	18,093	Winterfell (S8)
Tollymore Forest	Northern Ireland	18,003	Forest of Winterfell (S1)

With 86,616 hashtags overall, Kirkiufell mountain in Iceland is the most popular Game of Thrones filming location on Instagram. It was used in season 6 and 7, featuring as the “arrowhead mountain” that the Hound and the company north of the Wall see when capturing a wight. 

Next up with 80,601 hashtags is Bardenas Reales Nature Reserve in Northern Spain. The desert landscape was used in season 6, providing the perfect backdrop for the Dothraki sea. Other popular Spanish locations include the Alcázar de Sevilla (39,031 hashtags) which was used as the location for The Water Palaces of Dorne in season five, and Roman Bridge in Corboda (26,975 hashtags) which was used in this season to portray the Long Bridge in the Free City of Volantis.  

Just a 15-minute ferry ride from Dubrovnik in Croatia is the tiny island of Lokrum, which attracts a notable amount of attention on Instagram with 76,956 hashtags. The botanical gardens were used in filming for Qarth garden scenes when Daenerys and her entourage attended a garden party in season 2.  

A whopping four locations from Northern Ireland also make the list, including the Dark Hedges in County Antrim (70,297), Dunluce Castle (38,862) and Castle Ward (18,167) which were both used to film Winterfell, and Tollymore Forest (18,003).  

Credit to slotbox.com who carried out the survey