Dark Hedges, Tree avenue in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
The Dark Hedges form a tree tunnel along Bregagh Road in County Antrim, where rows of beech trees on both sides join together in an arched leafy canopy above the roadway. The twisted branches and trunks frame the narrow lane and create patterns of light and shadow on the road beneath.
The Stuart family planted over 150 beech trees along their driveway starting in 1775, creating a formal entrance to the Gracehill House estate. Over the decades the young trees grew into a dense avenue with twisted trunks and intertwining crowns.
The Stuart family planted these trees as an entrance avenue to their estate, creating a grand welcome for arriving visitors. Today many travelers recognize the location from a popular television series and associate it with the stories and characters from that production.
Visitors can park at Gracehill House and walk to the site, as the road is closed to vehicles to protect the tree roots. Early morning or late afternoon light brings out the lines and textures of the bark best, when the sun sits low in the sky.
In local tradition a gray figure appears at this spot at dusk, moving silently between the old tree trunks. Some say she disappears again at the last beech in the row before night falls completely.
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