Westeros is Wales: The UK filming locations behind House of the Dragon season 3
House of Dragon
Season 3 of House of the Dragon — premiered June 22 on HBO — was filmed across eight real locations in the United Kingdom, from a national nature reserve on Anglesey to a Victorian pier, a former slate quarry the size of a fortress, and a medieval castle. Here is where the cameras rolled, and what each location became on screen.
Llanddwyn Beach on Anglesey — also known as Newborough Beach — takes centre stage in season 3 as the location for the Battle of the Gullet. The beach was transformed into Driftmark's war-torn coastline, with Velaryon soldiers fighting Triarchy pirates through the surf, ship debris scattered across the sand, and hundreds of extras flooding the shoreline.
Showrunner Ryan Condal reportedly called it probably the most complex sequence ever produced for television. The beach itself is a national nature reserve — part of Anglesey's 200 kilometres of coastline, with bays, cliffs and beaches.
Adjacent to Llanddwyn Beach, Newborough Forest — a 2,000-acre Corsican pine woodland — also features in season 3, used for atmospheric woodland scenes that double as a burned-out wood near High Tide.
Beaumaris Pier, Penmon Point and Dinorwig Quarry
The Victorian wooden pier at Beaumaris was used for scenes involving Targaryen fleets and shifting alliances at sea. Actor Abubakar Salim, who plays Alyn of Hull, was spotted filming there in early July 2025, alongside armoured extras.
Penmon Point, with views across to its lighthouse and Puffin Island, also appears in the new season — used for coastal setups and ship sequences representing House Velaryon's seat at Driftmark.
Dinorwig Quarry near Llanberis — once the second-largest slate quarry in the world — returns in season 3 as the cursed fortress of Harrenhal. The production constructed extensive sets including a medieval village, a towering wooden hall façade, and massive battle-damage sequences.
Filming at the quarry took place in June 2025, with security so tight that legal orders shut down entire public footpaths to protect production secrets.
Continue reading below the ad
Snowdonia, Conwy, Surrey and Leavesden
Snowdonia National Park — also known as Eryri — returns as a major backdrop, with Craig yr Undeb (Union Rock) on Llyn Padarn used for key dramatic moments. Further locations in the park included Cwm Idwal, Ffynnon Llugwy, the Llanberis Pass, Capel Curig, and Nant Peris.
Conwy, on the north Wales coast, provided the season with its most immediately recognisable medieval architecture. The castle — built for Edward I at the end of the 13th century, with its walls, drawbridge and eight round towers — gives the production a ready-made Westeros atmosphere.
After Wales, the production moved to Hankley Common in Surrey for an extensive two-month shooting schedule across seven locations in the area, including Barossa Nature Reserve, Swinley Forest and Leith Hill. Leith Hill — with its tower and wide views across the Surrey countryside — served the production's need for elevated strongpoints, while the wooded landscapes around it were transformed into military zones and battlefields.
Further action scenes were filmed at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire — a former airfield whose open spaces and scale have made it a recurring location for productions requiring military atmosphere and vast exterior space.
Interior work, as always, was anchored at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden — the Hertfordshire facility that has been home to the wider Game of Thrones universe since the beginning.
SOURCE
Conwy Valley Getaway // Rhyl Journal // Wiki of Thrones // Wiki of Westeros // AhoyMatey // North Wales Live // Netflix Junkie
CREDITS
© HBO, Bastard Sword, 1:26 Pictures, GRRM
with our self-guided film walking tours
Discover how films are made, why locations matter and other behind-the-scenes stories.
download now, it's free!