{"id":366782,"date":"2017-10-30T16:33:03","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T16:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=366782"},"modified":"2017-10-30T16:33:03","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T16:33:03","slug":"game-of-thrones-traffic-ban-on-dark-hedges-road-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=366782","title":{"rendered":"Game of Thrones: Traffic ban on Dark Hedges road begins"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A traffic ban at the Dark Hedges – made famous by the TV fantasy drama Game of Thrones – has begun.<\/p>\n

The tunnel of beech trees on the Bregagh Road near Armoy in County Antrim has become a major international tourist attraction.<\/p>\n

The scene was used by the Game of Thrones crew to represent the Kingsroad in the HBO drama series.<\/p>\n

The ban comes after concerns about the impact of traffic on the site.<\/p>\n

The Department for Infrastructure order will also prohibit buses and coaches from using the designated stretch of the road.<\/p>\n

The ban is being enforced along Bregagh Road, from its junction with Ballinlea Road to its junction with Ballykenver Road.<\/p>\n

Any motorist who flouts the ban could face a fine of up to \u00a31,000.<\/p>\n

Some vehicles, including agricultural and emergency vehicles, will be exempt from the ban “in certain circumstances”.<\/p>\n

\"Bob<\/span>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bob McCallion has campaigned for the preservation of the Dark Hedges, and he welcomed the traffic restrictions.<\/p>\n

“We have been campaigning to have barriers put on the road because its going to be abused and its going to be very hard to police, but it’s a step forward,” he said.<\/p>\n

Mr McCallion called for measures to be be put in place to stop people climbing the trees, and carving their names into them.<\/p>\n

“There needs to be a daily management of the site,” he added.<\/p>\n

‘Damage to trees’<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Dark Hedges were planted more than 200 years ago by the Stuart family, who created a tree-lined avenue along the entrance to their Gracehill House mansion.<\/p>\n

\"AA large branch of one of the trees fell onto the Bregagh Road in July 2016<\/span><\/figure>\n

About 150 were planted by James Stuart, but time has taken its toll over the centuries and now fewer than two thirds remain standing.<\/p>\n

In January 2016, during Storm Gertrude,\u00a0high winds ripped up two trees, causing them to collapse.<\/p>\n

Later that year,\u00a0a large, rotten branch broke off one of the trees and fell across the road.<\/p>\n

The Dark Hedges became a huge draw for tourists and TV fans after they appeared, albeit briefly, in the closing scene of one episode of Game of Thrones.<\/p>\n

Arya Stark, one of the show’s main characters, was filmed travelling on a cart along the road, disguised as a boy.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/span><\/figure>\n

Conservationists have expressed alarm about the increasing traffic levels in the area and the possible damage to the trees’ roots.<\/p>\n

During the Easter holidays this year, pictures of traffic jams were shared on social media and\u00a0some users criticised the number of vehicles lining the road.<\/p>\n

\"Patrick<\/span>
Cars continued to roar by as Patrick Cregg was interviewed by the BBC<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Patrick Cregg, director of the Woodland trust in Northern Ireland, said tourist coaches in particular were doing great damage.<\/p>\n

“Our great fear was that what we enjoy today future generations would not enjoy, and we have already lost a significant number of trees,” he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Cregg explained that replanting was already under way to replace the lost trees.<\/p>\n

“Hopefully, with replanting we will create the Dark Hedges of the future, although its going to take centuries for that,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

–<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Source: BBC<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A traffic ban at the Dark Hedges – made famous by the TV fantasy drama Game of Thrones – has begun. The tunnel of beech trees on the Bregagh Road near Armoy in County Antrim has become a major international tourist attraction. The scene was used by the Game of Thrones crew to represent the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-366782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-showbiz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=366782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366782\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=366782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=366782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=366782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}