9 Places In Scotland Where They Should Have Filmed "Game Of Thrones"

    Anything Ireland, Croatia, Spain, and Iceland can do, we can do way better.

    Hilary Mitchell
    by Hilary Mitchell

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. Winterfell – Craigmillar Castle

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    The Winterfell we see on TV is a CGI-altered Castle Ward in Northern Ireland. But surely Craigmillar Castle in Edinburgh would have been better? Its tower house is one of Scotland's oldest; Bran would have definitely enjoyed climbing off it. But not falling off.

    2. The Water Gardens of Dorne – Logan Botanic Garden

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    The Game of Thrones producers travelled all the way to Seville in Spain to bring the Water Gardens to life: House Martell's lavish, fancy palace in Dorne. They should have just visited the tropical-looking Logan Botanic Gardens in the south of Scotland instead.

    3. The Vale of Arryn and The Eyrie – The Storr

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    Scenes featuring the Eyrie and Vale of Arryn were filmed in the stunning Thingvellir National Park in Iceland, but the incredible volcanic landscape of this stunning, mountainous part of the Isle of Skye would have worked pretty damn well too.

    4. Casterly Rock – Culzean Castle

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    In the show, the Castle of Trujillo in Spain doubles as the Lannister's home of Casterly Rock, but Culzean Castle in Ayrshire is a pretty damn good lookalike. It's the crenellated former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy, and was built in 1777.

    5. The Twins of House Frey – Clackmannan Tower

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    The series used the ruins of Inch Abbey in Northern Ireland as a stand-in for the Twin towers of murderous House Frey, but the ruins needed some CGI additions to make them look the part. In contrast, this ancient Scottish tower house already looks the part.

    6. The Fist of the First Men – Buachaille Etive Mòr

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    In the TV show, The Fist of the First Men is a steep, craggy hill beyond the wall, topped by an ancient fort. The scenes featuring the Fist were filmed on a glacier in Iceland; they missed a trick by not using the beautiful, snowy slopes of the Buachaille.

    7. Dragonstone Beach – Talisker Bay

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    This stunning, remote bay on the Isle of Skye is a dead ringer for the cliffs and sands of Dragonstone, where Stannis Baratheon regularly goes for stressed-out walks in season three. The beach featured in the show is Muriola Beach in Spain's Basque country.

    8. The House of Black and White – Hermitage Castle

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    This imposing and eerie 13th-century Scottish fortress wouldn't have needed too much CGi-tweaking to look like the creepy House of Black and White in Braavos, home to the Faceless Men. Instead, the scene above was filmed in Kastel Gomilica, Croatia.

    9. Pyke – Dunnottar Castle

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    The Pyke we see in the series is pretty much entirely CGI, but this stunning castle is 100% real. It's Dunnottar, a ruined fortress on a well-defended headland in Aberdeenshire. The brave, crazy, battle-hungry Greyjoys would have loved it. They're practically Scottish, after all.