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Cliffs at Fairhead used for key Game of Thrones meeting

Tourism NI FairheadTourism NI
Fairhead was used as the backdrop for the first meeting between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen

Viewers of Monday night's Game of Thrones would have watched the dramatic first meeting of two key characters in the series.

Northern Ireland viewers may have noticed that the dramatic setting for Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen's encounter was somewhere close to home.

Fairhead in County Antrim is the latest Northern Ireland filming location for the hit HBO series.

Close to Ballycastle, it is known as NI's tallest cliff face.

Fairhead rises 600ft above sea level on the Causeway Coast.

Highly regarded as an outstanding rock-climbing location, it's believed to be the biggest expanse of climbable rock in Britain or Ireland.

HBO filmed parts of Season Seven at Fairhead, forming the backdrop for much of Episode Three, "The Queen's Justice", which saw Jon Snow finally meet Daenerys and her dragons at Dragonstone, and reunite with Tyrion Lannister.

Tourism NI FairheadTourism NI
The cliffs are steeped in their own mythology

It adds to the list of Game of Thrones filming locations publicly accessible across Northern Ireland.

Filming sites close to Fairhead include Larrybane, which became Renly Baratheon's camp in the "Stormlands"; Murlough Bay was transformed into "Slavers Bay" in Season Five while further along the Causeway Coast lies one of the show's most recognisable filming locations Ballintoy Harbour.

It has become synonymous with Pyke and the Iron Islands and was first used in Season Two.

Other Northern Ireland locations include Tollymore forest, Castle Ward, the Dark Hedges and Shillanavogy valley.

Tourists at the Dark Hedges in County Antrim
The Dark Hedges are another famous Game of Thrones location

Fairhead has its own mythology - legend has it the Children of Lir were put under an evil spell, transforming them into swans to spend 900 years in exile from humanity in the Sea of Moyle.

Judith Webb, Tourism NI's Experience Development Officer, said: "Game of Thrones is the biggest TV show in the world and it has been transformative for Northern Ireland as a screen tourism destination.

"There is an international hunger to access the filming locations, providing a huge tourism opportunity for Northern Ireland.

"But it also gives locals a new reason to get out and explore our beautiful landscape - the filming locations provide a unique itinerary for the ultimate Northern Ireland staycation."