The Dark Hedges may be only “a short walk through a row of trees,” says Graham Thompson, “but by the time people get to the end, they’re smiling”.
The head of the Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust, which is about to take over formal legal stewardship of the Co Antrim landmark, he admits to a sense of awe every time he visits the famous trees.
“I walk down and think, ‘wow, we’ve got this amazing place, it’s wonderful’, and I just love seeing people enjoying it.”
On this sunny Tuesday afternoon, many have come to enjoy the natural phenomenon made famous by its appearance on the TV series Game of Thrones.
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People make their way the length of the Bregagh Road, beech trees arching above them, then turn and look back towards the former Gracehill House – now a hotel – from the far end of what was once its grand, tree-lined avenue. Thompson is right. They are smiling.
“It’s impressive,” says Duncan Lintott from Leeds. “I didn’t know what to expect, and then you get up here and you walk back with the sun on the trees, it’s fantastic.”
This is the view of the Dark Hedges that people come from all over the world to see; the silver trunks and gnarled, twisted branches which clutch at each other, as if reaching out to hold hands above the narrow country road.
“We love trees,” says Carolyn Windler from Colorado, “and these are top-notch trees”.
“I think it’s the way they go all twisty at the top,” she adds.
“And they connect in the middle too, that they create a tunnel,” adds her cousin, Erica Fraser. “They’re incredible, they’re so cool ... They’re just very unique trees, they look kind of otherworldly. We were just saying, can you imagine how amazing it would be if they were all intact?”
The reality is the Dark Hedges are dying. Originally planted in around 1775, they are diseased and, at 250 years old, are “way, way beyond their expected life expectancy,” says Thompson.
“These are common beech, and common beech are not indigenous Irish trees … here, in these climes, it’s very unusual for beech to live over 150 to 200 years.”
Originally, there were more than 150 trees. This had fallen to about 90, and in the last few years storm damage and unavoidable removal of several trees has brought their number down further, to around 75.
“There’s a managed decline,” explains Thompson. “These trees are all coming towards the end of their natural lives, there’s no dispute about that, and we cannot save these trees.
“What we want to do is make sure they live as long as possible, that people can still get enjoyment out of the site.”
Yet, walking through the trees, the extent of what has been lost becomes apparent.
[ Game of Thrones trees need management plan to surviveOpens in new window ]
“There are two really good vistas where you see what seems to be unbroken and undisturbed [trees], but now you have big gaps,” says Thompson.
In these gaps are new beech trees of varying sizes, with the most mature only about 12 years old.
This replanting scheme is one of the ways in which the trust looks after the site; another key role is checking the trees annually, and after every storm.
“We recognise this is an important tourist location,” says Thompson. “Nobody gives us any money to do this, but what we want to do is make sure that those people who come to the site enjoy themselves and do it safely.”
The Hedges’ place on the tourism map is evident. Visitor after visitor explains that they have spent the day exploring the Giant’s Causeway and other sights on the north coast, often as part of a several-week tour of the island.
“This was one of our special points to see,” says Birgit Böhm from Frankfurt. “It’s mystical, and I can imagine when the fog comes that it’s spooky.”
“I was looking for what to see in Ireland, planning the trip,” says Mélissa Lemieux from Montreal, “and then I saw this wonderful picture of the trees, with the light play, and I was just impressed. And I love trees.”
“We’ve done the Giant’s Causeway and Dunluce Castle, and then here,” she explains. “We’re going to Belfast after, to the pubs,” adds her husband, Nicolas Caron.
The trees are free to visit, so it is not known how many people come each year; but, says Thompson, there is no doubt “the Hedges have enhanced the overall tourism product of the north coast area and the wider Causeway Coast and Glens area, alongside the whole golf tourism”.
A review of the Causeway Coastal Route around the north coast, and its connection to the Wild Atlantic Way, is taking place. One aspect of this, Thompson says, is about “trying to spread the load of visitors from the honey pots of Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, the Giant’s Causeway and so on, and in that is the promotion of various other locations, including here.
“It’s mentioned as somewhere you might like to go and see rather than somewhere you must go and see, because the facilities aren’t here to look after lots of people.”
The plan, Thompson says, is to “keep it going as long as we possibly can, as long as it’s safe”.
“I’m a bit sad there’s so many missing,” says Lemieux.
For weeks, a picture of the Dark Hedges has been her screensaver on her computer at home at Canada. She had been hoping to take her own picture from the same angle.
“It’s a demonstration of our time, the weather is changing and things are going away, so it’s a bit nostalgic.”
Climate change has played a role in the hedges’ decline.
“The ground is getting drier,” says Thompson. “Relatively, there’s less water in the ground due to increased temperatures, and this will impact on these trees which have been used to something [different] for the last 250 years.
“The other thing is increased storm activity, it’s argued by many people that this is a direct result of climate change, and if we have more increased storm activity, we will have less trees.”
“The idea of the trees going away is really sad to me,” says Fraser. “I would say a huge number of people know about the Dark Hedges, so to me it’s kind of representative of the region.”
“Just plant them, because eventually they’ll grow,” says Windler. “Maybe you won’t get to see it – like we enjoy these trees that were planted hundreds of years ago – but someone else will get to enjoy it.”
One day, the tiny saplings planted along the Dark Hedges will reach maturity. But, Thompson says, “we’re not going to see it.” He points towards two young brothers, playing around a tree stump. “Those youngsters, they’re not going to see it.
“It will come to a time, it could be 40 or 50 years, when basically you have half a dozen trees left here, and that could be about it, and people won’t come.
“Being perfectly honest, there is no replacement.
“So, make the most of it, folks, and we’ll try to do the best we can to make the Dark Hedges last as long as possible.”
