Oona Chaplin helps volunteers carry a makeshift shelter out of an area of the Calais migrants’ camp that the French authorities plan to bulldoze next week. The petite, dark-haired actress is a familiar face in the “Jungle” although few of the migrants have seen her in HBO’s hit series, Game of Thrones. Nor do they appear to realise she is Charlie Chaplin’s grand-daughter. They know her simply as one of the small army of charity workers and volunteers who have helped them build wooden huts to keep them dry and protect them from the biting cold wind that tears through the tattered tents in the muddy settlement. The authorities have decided to clear an area near the motorway leading to the port, where there have been clashes with police. Migrants have hurled stones at passing lorries, and at a Scottish school bus last weekend. Chaplin, 29, works with a group called Help Refugees UK that is helping migrants move the huts to an area that should, in principle, be left untouched. She says it is understandable that the migrants have vowed to “peacefully resist” any move to evict them.
“They (the authorities) will be bulldozing what little belongings, what little humanity they’ve managed to rebuild.” Chaplin says many of the migrants have already had their homes destroyed by armed men in their own countries, and they feel they are being “brutalised again”. Seeking respite from the cold, we go into Haji’s cafe, which consists of a flimsy shed with chipboard walls and mattresses and cushions on the floor, but no chairs. The owner greets her enthusiastically and gets a hug and a thousand-watt smile in return. “Tea with plenty of milk and sugar please,” she asks Haji, a Pashtoun from the lawless frontier territory on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, where Taliban gunmen often battle Pakistani government forces. We sit in the corner and she tells me that a visit to an African refugee camp, in Western Sahara, prompted her to join the effort to aid some 5,000 migrants camped in Calais while they try to cross the Channel to Britain. Since September, she has made about half a dozen trips here, when her acting commitments have allowed.
“For me, this is an exercise in compassion,” says Chaplin, who played Queen Talisa Stark in Game of Thrones. She has also appeared in Spooks and Sherlock, and in the 2008 James Bond film, “Quantum of Solace”. She prefers to stay out of the controversial politics of migration. “I have no business meddling in UK immigration policy,” she says. “The political situation is very big but the human situation is very simple.” She points out that many of those in Calais fled for their lives from Islamist groups such as Isil: “They have been on our side. They are our allies, our friends. They are fleeing our enemies.” She cites the example of a Kurd she met at the camp who worked as a translator for the British army in Iraq but cannot get permission to enter Britain. It is as if “he’s considered a terrorist”, she says animatedly, her dark eyes flashing with anger at an impasse she views as a betrayal. Chaplin contends that the British public is “operating under a few misconceptions” about the migrants, who she argues are often “painted as terrorists, vermin or job-stealers” when in fact many of them are “incredibly inspiring entrepreneurs” and can offer valuable skills.
As we walk along the camp’s rutted paths, Chaplin’s friend and fellow volunteer, the actor and director, Jolyon Rubinstein, introduces me to a Sudanese doctor, Mohammed Adam Eisaballa. “I decided to save my life,” says Dr Mohammed, who fled the conflict in Darfur. I ask him why he has not taken up the French government’s offer to seek asylum in France. He says all his education was in English, which gives him a connection with Britain and British culture. Almost all the migrants in the camp would give a similar answer. Chaplin says their clashes with French police have put them off France: “If you’ve incurred the racism, the oppression and the violence the French authorities have demonstrated here over and over, where they use tear-gas bi-weekly, it wouldn’t make me want to stay and I love this country.” She says the migrants’ willingness to risk their lives to reach Britain is a testament to “the undefeatability of hope”. However, some are reconsidering as the winter cold begins to bite.
Tighter security at the ferry port and the Eurotunnel entrance have made it more difficult to reach England. The French authorities want them to go to centres elsewhere in the country, or agree to move into 125 shipping containers converted into dormitories offering beds for some 1,500 people. The migrants distrust the high-tech “palm print” entry system installed on the containers. They fear that if they succeed in reaching Britain, officials would be able to access their fingerprints on a shared European data base. Under European law, their asylum applications could then be rejected and they could be sent back to France. Chaplin concedes that immigration is a thorny issue for the British government, but says: “Those guys are making decisions based on numbers. We’re making decisions based on people.” It is a view that her grand-father, whose commitment to social justice was reflected in many of his films, might have shared. What do Dorne and Winterfell have in common? (You get no points for saying “they’re both places in Game of Thrones”).
Answer: the southern dunes of Dorne and the Starks’ homeland were filmed in Northern Ireland. In fact, you can explore a huge chunk of Essos and Westeros in a single weekend... This 18th-century farmyard, overlooking Strangford Lough, was the Winterfell in season one of the show: it’s where the Starks greeted King Robert Baratheon and his royal party, and where Bran undergoes his (unsuccessful) archery lessons. Visitors can don Game of Thrones-esque costumes and learn archery skills directly from extras off the show – concentrate hard enough and you’ll be able to boast Ramsey Bolton-level feats with a bow (minus actually killing anyone). Which episodes were filmed here? If you see an exterior of Winterfell in season one, it’s Castle Ward (with a bit of CGI clamped on). To the south of Belfast. From Downpatrick, take the A25 8 miles north, turn left onto Park Road at a brown signpost for Castle Ward National Trust Grounds. A five-minute bike ride away from Castle Ward (from where you can catch a cycle tour) is Audley’s Castle, a battlement named after the Norman family who arrived in Northern Ireland around 1210.
And it’s by this battlement that Robb Stark stashed his army while they prepared to face the Lannisters. Just beside the castle is Audley’s Field, where the aftermath of the battle of Oxcross was filmed (the one where Robb meets future wife Talisa – a meeting that ultimately leads to the infamous Red Wedding). You can see Audley’s Castle and Field in Season 2, Episode 1: The North Remembers and Season 2, Episode 4: Garden of Bones. It’s a 10-minute walk north of Castle Ward. This small village in the country’s north might seem a cushy sea retreat by the mouth of the river Dun, but a short walk around the coast takes you to a place full of dark and terrors: the cave where Melisandre (aka the red woman played by Carice van Houten) gives birth to the shadow creature. You can recreate the scene (providing you don’t mind getting your behind or imaginary shadow child too muddy) in this cave, or simply admire the sea view where cliff meets the ocean. And if you need fortification after the evils of the caves, then recover at the nearby Mary McBrides Bar, a proper ye-olde pub where you’ll see scenes of Braavos, a free city of Essos, carved into one of the doors.
Which episode was filmed here? You can see Melisandre’s extreme home birth in Season 2, Episode 4: Garden of Bones. North of Belfast, just south-west of Bally Castle. It’s about an hour and a half’s drive from the capital. 10 best Game of Thrones filming locations in Croatia This spot on the North Antrim coast was where the show first introduced behemoth Brienne through her fight with Loras Tyrell. Yes, the former chalk quarry is now an overflow car park Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge, but it’s where the Thrones crew set up camp: Renly Baratheon‘s war camp in the Stormlands, to be precise. And while the walls of the former quarry aren’t a feast for crows your eyes, turn around and you’ll be treated to the spectacular views of the Causeway Coast, Sheep Island and another filming location. The Kingsmoot scene – the one where Theon Greyjoy rallies the Iron Islanders to support his sister Yara’s claim to the Salt Throne – was filmed less than a minute’s walk away from the quarry.
The quarry was used for Renly Baratheon’s camp in the Stormlands in Season 2, Episode 3: What is Dead May Never Die. Episode 5 in Season 6: The Door used Larrybane as the location of the Kingsmoot. Larrybane is on the very northern tip of Northern Ireland, just under six miles from Ballycastle. This picturesque harbour may be small, but it’s home to a critical Braavos-based scene from season six. The stony staircase leading down to the sea were the steps Ayra crawled up after being stabbed by the troublesome Waif. The harbour steps were used in Season 6, Episode 7: The Broken Man. Carnlough is on the northern coast, about half an hour’s drive north-east from Ballymena. These photogenic hedgerows – planted by the Stuart family in the 18th century to impress visitors as they approached the entrance to their Gracehill House – were transformed into the Kingsroad for Thrones’ second season. This was the path where Ayra, Gendry and Hot Pie started their journey north on the back of a cart (spoilers: it doesn’t end well for them.
So, why are they called the Dark Hedges? The treelines are supposedly haunted: The Grey Lady (a lost spirit from a long abandoned graveyard) is said to appear at dusk amongst the trees. The Dark Hedges were used for Season 2, Episode 1: The North Remembers. North of Belfast, you can get to the hedges by following the A44 past Lissanoure Castle. Malta's top six Game of Thrones locations Ballintoy – from the Irish "Baile an Tuaigh", meaning "the northern townland" – is a tiny fishing village that doubles as many of the Iron Island’s landmarks. Ballintoy bay is Lordsport Harbour in season two of the show (the one where a disappointed Theon Greyjoy arrives to a lukewarm reception) and its nearby beach is the one Theon was baptised into the religion of the Drowned God. Parts of this beach were also used for the scene in series six where a priest and Balon's brother, Aeron Greyjoy, remind Yara that the new ruler of the Ironborn will be decided at a Kingsmoot.
In the episode Season 2, Episode 2: The Night Lands, Ballintoy beach is the one where Theon Greyjoy moors. Theon’s baptism in Ballintoy can be seen in Season 2, Episode 3: What is Dead May Never Die. Yara can be seen talking to the priests of The Iron Islands in Season 6, Episode 2: Home. You can find Ballintoy on the B15 coast road, 17 miles north-east of Coleraine, and six miles west of Ballycastle. By the mouth of River Bann lies the golden beaches and domineering dunes of Portstewart Strand, the filming location for the sweeping sands of Dorne. Yes, the scenes in season five where Jaime Lannister and Bronn storm the scorching south of Westeros weren’t filmed in Spain or Croatia, but on this this National Trust beach on the Northern Irish coast. You can see Jaime and Bronn on Portstewart Strand beach Season 5, Episode 4: Sons of the Harpy. At the northern tip of the country, 7 miles north-west from Coleraine. Cast your eyes over the remains of a Cistercian abbey on the north bank of the River Quoile and one phrase will come to mind: “THE KING OF THE NORTH!”
This 12th century building was where Robb Stark’s bannermen rallied to their leader after taking victory (and Jaime Lannister prisoner) at the Battle of the Whispering Wood. As well as being the camp of The Houses of the North and the Riverlands in Game of Thrones, Inch Abbey is home to a breathtaking view of the River Quoile – in the distance you can see Downpatrick Cathedral, burial place of St Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint. Season 1, Episode 10: Fire and Blood used Inch Abbey as a filming location. South of Belfast, and 2 miles north of Downpatrick. It all started here: the opening of Game of Thrones season one, episode one – the scene where a Night’s Watch deserter rides into a circle of dismembered Wildling bodies – was filmed deep within Tollymore in the Mournes. Although the fake snow and protective mesh has been removed from the forest floor, you can still see the clearing that played canvas to the White Walkers' corpse decor. As well as hosting the opening to the show, Parnell Bridge in the Forest was the filming location for the first scene that George RR Martin ever imagined in his Song of Ice and Fire series: the finding of the dead direwolf and six live pups.