Don’t be fooled by the recent hot weather – winter is here. HBO gorefest ‘Game of Thrones’ is back for its penultimate season (from Monday July 17 on Sky Atlantic at 9pm) and we’re so excited that we’re seeing Westeros everywhere we look, from the wilds of Richmond Park to the dark depths of Chislehurst Caves.
aka The Crypt of Winterfell
Fancy going in search of Lyanna Stark? A trip to the catacombs in Highgate Cemetery will convince you you’re about to solve the greatest ‘Game of Thrones’ mystery of all time. All men must die, and some of them have chosen this brick-vaulted gallery as their final resting place. Find it by wandering past the ivy-swathed gravestones on a tour of the West Cemetery.
aka The King’s Road
With roaming deer and ancient woodland, the verdant wilds of Richmond Park look just like the much-travelled King’s Landing stretch of the King’s Road. Stop for a rest in a leafy copse and you’ll half expect to stumble across a Stark, or be ambushed by the Brotherhood Without Banners.
aka Beyond the Wall
Chislehurst’s complex of caves are more scary than sexy, but add some steamy nakedness and they could easily be the location for Jon and Ygritte’s season three bonk. We wouldn’t recommend any heavy petting down here, though.
aka the Great Sept of Baelor
Wary of wildfire? You might want to steer clear of Temple Church. This historic chapel, built in the twelfth century by the Knights Templar, is perfectly round with ornamental arches, much like the Sept in King’s Landing where many a murdered Lannister was laid to rest. (Before Cersei blew the whole damn thing up, of course.)
aka the Red Keep
For space to swing your Valyrian steel sword, head to London’s Guildhall. Its medieval banqueting room is a vast gothic space with a suitably bloodthirsty history: it’s where Lady Jane Grey was sentenced to death for treason. All it needs to go fully George RR Martin is an Iron Throne forged from the swords of vanquished men.
aka The North
This secluded garden in the City is home to the ruins of the Church of St Dunstan, which was left a shell after being bombed during WWII. It’s all bare windows, lush green leaves and climbing plants; peaceful, but eerie. The kind of place you’d find the three-eyed raven or mythical children of the forest worshipping the old gods.
aka Dorne
Hampstead Heath’s romantically shabby pergola is a dead ringer for the Old Palace in Dorne. It’s a grand walkway, now overgrown with twisted trunks and greenery. The only difference is that it’s high on a hill above ornamental gardens with dreamy views of London rather than a haunt of royalty and home to those poison-happy Sand Snakes.
‘Game of Thrones’ airs on Sky Atlantic in the UK.
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