Taking a helicopter ride through the sky can make you see the area you’re above in a totally new way. Someone looked down on Northern Ireland and saw, in the place of the familiar cities and landmarks, the fantasy world of Westeros, setting of the Game of Thrones novels by George RR Martin. We all know what the result of that was - one of the most successful TV series of the streaming era. And you can make the action of the series come to life by visiting Northern Ireland and seeing many of the locations that represented the environs of Westeros, from high cliffs, to ancient temples, and everything weird and wonderful in between.

Of course, to enhance the scenery, the makers of the Game of Thrones series used some technological tricks to recreate the scenes described in the novels. The offering of helicopter flights in this part of the UK is also complemented by some high tech wichcraft. There’s a flight simulator here that allows you to experience piloting in any and all weather conditions, different models of helicopter and even different locations around the world in a ground level facility. Sightseers, thrill seekers and aspiring pilots can all find a helicopter experience here that will make their dreams come true, and won’t cost the Earth.

Where are the best places to take a flight in a helicopter in Northern Ireland?

• The Giant’s Causeway: This is perhaps the most famous natural feature. It’s a coastal landscape made up of hexagonal pillars of volcanic rock that form cliff faces, islands and natural staircases that descend into the Atlantic Ocean. It’s an area that’s strongly connected to traditional Irish mythology, having supposedly been built by the giant Fionn mac Cumhaill during a dispute with a Scottish Giant. A large stretch of the County Antrim coastline is known as the Causeway Coast, which includes the fascinating bay of Ballintoy Harbour, who’s rocky formations and channels were chosen to play the part of the Iron Islands in Game of Thrones.

• Londonderry: Do you remember the scenes set in Dragonstone in the Game of Thrones series? You can recreate the establishing shots of this island by flying along the Downhill Strand on the north coast of County Londonderry and seeing Mussenden Temple perched on the clifftops. This circular building was actually constructed as a library, but modelled on an ancient Roman temple. A flight here can also take in the city of Londonderry, which is at the head of the sea lough of Foyle.

• County Fermanagh: The southwest part of the country is dominated by a system of lakes and rivers, dominated by Lower and Upper Lough Erne. Over 150 islands are scattered across the surface of the lakes, and inlets and coves along shorelines turn the area into a labyrinth of land and water.

• Mourne Mountains: The highest mountains in this region are in County Down. Standing at 850 metres above the level of the nearby Irish Sea, Slieve Donard is the highest peak in the granite range. Other highlights include the Mourne Wall, a boundary of almost 20 miles that was built to stop animals entering the area of the reservoir in the Silent Valley.

• Belfast: Although filming for Game of Thrones took place in Belfast, most of it was in studios and the sets can’t be seen from the air. But that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to see on a helicopter tour of the Northern Irish capital. As well as the historic buildings and parks of the city centre, you can look down on the docks where the most famous boat ever was built, the Titanic. Of course, this was also a star of the screen.

• Flight simulators: The helicopter flight simulator facility is located in Dromore, County Down, but the software is capable of taking you to locations around the world as you enjoy an authentic flight simulation, or put in some hours for pilot training.

Options for organising an experience

- If you’re going to take a pleasure flight and enjoy the scenery or this fascinating part of the British Isles, you’ll take off from one of a number of airports around Northern Ireland. These are usually Derry City Airport in the north, Newtownards Airport near Belfast, and St Angelo Airport in the south. From these airports, there are different lengths of flights on offer depending on where you want to go and how much you want to see. The shortest flights are just 15 minutes, but this can be a tour or a 15 minute flight to a luxury dining experience, while longer tour routes take a full hour to complete.

- For those of you who want to learn something about piloting a helicopter, there are two options. Either try the simulator in Dromore for a 30 minute or 1 hour session, or get your hands on the real thing at Newtownards Airport. That’s right, you can be a pilot here in a trial lesson, in which a flight instructor will get you airbourne and let you take a turn at the controls. You have the choice of a taster flight, of just 20 minutes or experiences of any duration up to 1 hour.

Requirements to do this activity

In general, the tours through the skies of this region take place in Robinson R44 helicopters which are fitted with four seats. One of those is for the pilot, so these experiences are for 3 people. Each passenger will have a window seat, so everyone’s going to enjoy the aerial panoramas that open up below the helicopter’s runners. If you take a trial flight, you have the option of choosing a nippy two-seater Robinson R22, or a larger Bell Jetranger model as well as the R44. There are weight limits to fly, as there are on all other kinds of flights, which in general are around 17 stone or 107 kilograms per passenger.

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