Castle Ward

Castle Ward is an 18th century National Trust property located near the village of Strangford, in County Down, Northern Ireland. It overlooks Strangford Lough and is 7 miles from Downpatrick and 1.5 miles from Strangford.

Castle Ward is open to the public and includes 332 hectares (820 acres) of landscaped gardens, a fortified tower house, Victorian laundry, theatre, restaurant, shop, saw mill and a working corn mill. From 1985 to 2010 it has also hosted Castleward Opera, an annual summer opera festival.

The exterior of the castle was converted to Winterfell's courtyard for the HBO geries Game of Thrones. This is the first scene in the show- not including the prologue. It is in the courtyard where viewers are introduced to all the Starks, the Lanisters, and the King Robert Baretheon.