Game of Thrones actors announced for Winterfell Festival

Fans of Game of Thrones will have the opportunity to meet a Knight of the Kingsguard and a member of the Night’s Watch as actors from the show attending Winterfell Festival on 24 September are revealed.

The festival, which is being hosted by the National Trust, invites visitors to step into the world of the Stark family at Castle Ward, the iconic filming location for Winterfell, House of Stark, in the popular HBO series.

Ian Beattie aka Meryn Trant, Knight of the Kingsguard and Michael Condron, aka Bowen Marsh, First Steward of the Knight’s Watch will be hosting a series of ‘walk and talks’ during the one-day festival.
Festival goers will be able to meet the actors and learn about their experie
nces on set filming Game of Thrones.


Visitors will also get to see Grey Wind and Summer, two of the Direwolves raised by the Stark family. Known as Odin and Thor in the real world, these Northern inuit dogs are the closest thing to real wolves you’ll ever meet!
Thronies will also recognise armourer Boyd Rankin as Mikken, the blacksmith at Winterfell in Game of Thrones. Find him in the medieval courtyard where Boyd will be showcasing a selection of the swords and weapons he forged for the series, alongside live blacksmith demonstrations.

Winterfell Festival will be an unmissable spectacle centred round the King’s Tournament Games. Historical reproduction company Irish Arms will perform a series of medieval jousting performances on horseback throughout the day.  Sword sparring, jesters and falcon flights will add to the atmosphere in the tournament ring where visitors will be able to feast on roast hog washed down with local cider.
Travellers will be encouraged to walk down the King’s Road to the Inn at the Crossroads where they can pull up a pew and listen to stories from A Song of Ice and Fire being performed by actors, while dining on venison pie and ale.


Running from 11 am until 5 pm, there’s a full line-up of interactive entertainment for all ages to enjoy. Join a skirmish to Audley’s Castle; explore inside the iconic Winterfell Tower House or watch a Game of Thrones theme Shadow Puppet show. Children especially will enjoy the ‘King’s mini tournament’ with hobby horses and jousting games.
Tickets for the festival are proving hugely popular with visitors travelling to County Down from as far as Dubai for an insight into George R. R. Martin’s mythical world of Westeros.


For local travellers, Translink will be offering a return bus serve from Belfast to Castle Ward for anyone wanting to enjoy the local craft beer. See Translink’s website for details.
 
Tickets cost £22.50 for an adult, £10.88 for a child and £60 for a family (2 adults & 2 children between 10 - 16years. To book visit https://getinvited.to/castleward/winterfell-festival/
 
For full festival details visit https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/castle-ward/features/winterfell-festival-2017-
 
 

Editor’s notes
 
This event is independently operated by the National Trust and is not sponsored, endorsed or affiliated with HBO or anyone associated with Game of Thrones.
 
 
About the National Trust
The National Trust is a conservation charity founded in 1895 by three people who saw the importance of our nation’s heritage and open spaces and wanted to preserve them for everyone to enjoy. Over 100 years later these values are still at the heart of everything we do.
We look after coastlines, forests, woods, fens, beaches, farmland, moorland, islands, archaeological remains, nature reserves, villages, historic houses, gardens, mills and pubs. These include dozens of top tourist attractions such as Carrick-a-Rede, White Park Bay, Rowallane Garden, Castle Coole, Mount Stewart, Minnowburn, The Argory and Castle Ward. We restore them, protect them and open them up to everyone.
We are actively supported by over 80,000 members and around 6,200 volunteers in Northern Ireland. Over two million visitors enjoy our sites every year. We encourage everyone to enjoy and care for our nature and heritage. In doing so, we also advocate for the protection of the environment across all of Northern Ireland, not just at our own sites.
For more information on places to visit and opportunities to support the National Trust in Northern Ireland visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ni