Foamy waves pounded the car during a drive along Northern Ireland’s dramatic Causeway Coast under a brooding, stormy sky. This set a haunting tone for a two-day exploration of Carnlough, a quaint harbour village in County Antrim.
Uncovering Carnlough’s Filming Spotlight
Beyond its serene facade, Carnlough boasts a storied past, expansive glens, and a legacy as a filming hub for major productions like Game of Thrones. The Harbourview Hotel, once known as the Londonderry Arms, stars as the dilapidated motel launching the murder mystery road trip in Lisa McGee’s Netflix dark comedy thriller, How to Get to Heaven from Belfast.
This series follows the creator’s success with Derry Girls, shifting from teen antics amid the Troubles to adult friends Dara, Saoirse, and Robyn. Lured to Donegal for the wake of estranged friend Greta—who shares their buried secret—they discover the funeral is a ruse. Suspecting foul play in her supposed stair fall death, they embark on a quirky ghost hunt revealing dark truths.
Strange Coincidences During the Visit
Arriving in Carnlough evoked chills, especially trailing a funeral procession to the Harbourview Hotel. That evening, a dinner companion recounted her first husband’s fatal stair fall. The next morning, a ghostly figure topped a breakfast coffee amid ghost story swaps.
The hotel’s history spans founding by the Marchioness of Londonderry, ownership by Winston Churchill, and a recent handover coinciding with filming. Its reception desk, manned by Ardal O’Hanlon’s eccentric character, remains recognizable despite renovations into Ireland’s first whiskey hotel. Owner Adrien dismisses ghosts, though a 5 a.m. clicking noise raised doubts. Nearby Ballygally Hotel harbors legends of Lady Isobel, locked in a turret and leaping to her death, her spirit said to linger.
Irish Folklore Inspires the Thriller
The region’s ethereal vibe, rich in folklore, infuses the show’s spooky aesthetic. Lisa McGee highlights this: “There’s something about Irish storytelling where the gap between this world and the next—there’s a healthy respect for the stuff we don’t know about—the afterlife and magic and all the fairy tree myths—which I think is kind of unique. I think we are a very superstitious place, even though we pretend we aren’t anymore. I think that kind of belief that ghosts aren’t real…but they might be.”
Location scout Richard Glenholmes describes the vision: “[Lisa] said: ‘Think of Twin Peaks, Fargo, Psycho,’” noting the team’s success in rundown transformations. The road trip showcases Ireland’s rugged beauty, from cities to vistas in minutes.
Game of Thrones Legacy and Scenic Wonders
Venturing into the Glens revealed winding paths amid rolling mountains, intensified by relentless rain and wind. Sinead Keenan, portraying Robyn, reflects: “When you come from an area or country, I feel like one never fully appreciates it. It’s only when you move out of it and come back, you go ‘gosh, this is actually quite good.’ My god, the locations and some of the scenery was extraordinary. Michael and the whole team made it look amazing as well. We were always joking the Irish tourism board should be forking out some money for the job we’ve done for them, because it just looks stunning.”
The series signals a fresh chapter for McGee, minimizing Troubles references. Glenholmes notes: “Lisa is relying on us to show how Belfast feels now. You don’t see any police tape, army jeeps… We’re trying to move on from it.” He distinguishes it from Derry Girls: “People saying it’s like Derry Girls, she wants to put that to one side and say: ‘They’re different women now.’ It could be three girls who came from Derry, but not the ones who were in the show.”
Carnlough teems with screen history. Nearby stairs hosted Maisie Williams’ Game of Thrones scene fleeing the Waif. Glenarm Castle’s grounds served as a village in HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. A taxi driver to the airport shared: “Ask any of the folk around here, and they’ll know someone who worked on Game of Thrones. My ex-aunt was on the show. She played Queen Cersei.”
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast streams on Netflix now, spotlighting Northern Ireland’s cinematic allure.
