A TREE-lined avenue made famous by Game Of Thrones has fallen victim to Storm Gertrude – just months after warnings that heavy tourism traffic was damaging the trees' roots.
Several of the beech trees making up the iconic Dark Hedges in Co Antrim were uprooted in the high winds that battered the north yesterday.
The trees gained global prominence after providing a backdrop for hit fantasy drama Game Of Thrones, and have become one of the most photographed natural landmarks in Ireland.
Across the north the storm brought down trees and damaged electricity lines, causing thousands of homes and businesses to suffer power cuts.
Helicopter patrols were tasked to survey the electricity network for damage, while several roads were closed due to fallen trees and flooding.
Tyrone, Derry and Antrim received the brunt of the disruption as winds in Northern Ireland reached up to 85mph.
In Maghera, a man suffered minor cuts and bruises when a tree fell on a car he was driving on the Mullagh Road.
In the south, thousands of homes and businesses also suffered power losses, with the northwestern seaboard from Donegal to Sligo among the worst affected areas.
Last August The Irish News reported how an award-winning photographer had raised concerns over the damage traffic from tourists was causing to the trees.
Bob McCallion had warned the road is not suitable for the large volume of traffic drawn to the rural location and feared someone could be "seriously injured or killed".
He said cars and coaches parking under the trees were "damaging the road verges and the even the roots of these centuries-old trees".
Yesterday Mr McCallion, whose picture of the Dark Hedges featured in a BBC Countryfile calendar, said he was "saddened" by the storm damage.
The 61-year-old from Ballymena said the tourist traffic could be a contributing factor and called for more action to protect the trees.
"If you have a tree that has very shallow roots and you're getting erosion on the roadside from cars and vehicles and people, when high winds come it's not going to help," he said.
Visitors are expected to leave their vehicles in a nearby hotel car park before walking to the Dark Hedges, but limited parking has meant many simply park along the avenue beneath the trees.
"Traffic and footfall in the area is not being properly managed," Mr McCallion said.
The road near Armoy remained closed to traffic yesterday as roads officials worked to remove the fallen and damaged trees.
The beech trees were planted in the 18th century by a local family, the Stuarts, with the intent of creating a grand entrance to their nearby Georgian mansion, Gracehill House.
The Dark Hedges featured as 'King's Road' in Season Two of the award-winning HBO show Game of Thones.
Much of Game Of Thrones is shot in Northern Ireland, either on location or in studios in Belfast.
The Dark Hedges and other locations featured in the series have seen visitor numbers surge due to the growing popularity of Game Of Thrones tourist tours.
Last year Causeway Coast and Glens council said it doesn't own the road or lands beside the Dark Hedges, but it would "work with the other statutory organisations and community groups to try and resolve the congestion that is occurring at the Dark Hedges".
Transport NI at the time said it had received no complaints about the roads near the Dark Hedges.
