Fans go to extremes lengths to glimpse House of the Dragon stars in North Wales

North Wales Live

19 hours ago

Film set photos show how familiar places in Gwynedd and Anglesey are being transformed
Hundreds of people have been turned away from locations being used to film House of The Dragon (HoTD) in northwest Wales. Most were innocent tourists but a few went to extreme lengths to gain access to sites.
Season three filming has now ended in Dinorwig Quarry and at Llyn Padarn near Llanberis, Gwynedd. The focus will now switch to Anglesey, with location prep well underway at Penmon and Newborough Forest.
The sheer scale of the sets built so far have amazed the few people who've been able to see them. So too have been the steps taken to deter unwelcome visitors, some of whom travelled long distances in the hope of grabbing exclusive photos of actors and film sets.
Among them was a man from Romford, London, who was given his marching orders after he tried to access the three sets at Dinorwig Quarry. Having arrived from filming HoTD locations in Northern Ireland, he wasn't deterred and began flying a drone from higher up the quarry.
'It was pointless,' said local resident John Horrigan, who lives next to the quarry. 'The main set is in a huge cleft and they'd rigged up a covered gantry above it to prevent anyone looking in. They'd thought of everything!'
Last weekend, security guards at Dinorwig were disturbed to find a breach in one of their defences. To prevent visitors reaching the quarry's off-limits 'hidden waterfall', a major draw on social media, a 5ft metal barrier had been placed across a hole cut in fencing by trespassers.
Between midnight and 5am on Sunday morning, the barrier was destroyed. 'Someone had bent the whole thing in half,' said John. 'I mean, the strength to do that..... it's incredible. It was clear they were trying to get to waterfall, rather than the film sets, but it was a strange time to go. With filming starting on Tuesday, first thing on Monday the security team made sure that way-in was monitored - it was something they'd planned to do anyway.'
By and large, most people being turned away were visitors wanting to explore the quarry without realising it had been closed for season three filming. 'Every day 100-200 people were leaving disappointed,' said John, who was given privileged access to photograph some of the sets.
'These people were coming from all over the place. Some were holidaymakers looking for a day-out, others had driven all the way from places like Manchester, even London just to see the quarry.
'As most of the security teams were from North Wales, some of them living nearby, they were able to advise on alternative places to visit, like the waterfall by Llanberis. By explaining the situation, and giving advice, there were no arguments.'
Sets are also under construction at Porth Penmon, known locally as Jeff's Beach, which was also used for HoTD season two filming near Penmon Priory. This time cranes have been lifting pre-constructed sets into position at Flagstaff Quarry Buildings a little further along the bay.
Photos show vehicle tracks laid across fields towards the former quarry's crusher house and dock. Week-long filming here is due to start around June 23. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
HoTD set build at Penmon
Preparation works have also taken place in Newborough Forest, another season two location. A week of filming is due to start on Monday, June 16, and may include nearby Traeth Llanddwyn, now nicknamed the "Dragon beach" after scenes were shot there in 2023. In fact, the beach's island does have a permanent dragon feature - there's more on this here.
Eyebrows were raised at the planned felling of trees and the removal of rough vegetation and tree stumps at the nature reserve. It is understood only unsafe trees and branches were taken down.
Site manager Natural Resources Wales said ecologists oversaw the work, which has provided a logistics site for the production company. One filming is finished, the area will be restored to dune grassland and native scrub.
In 2023, horses were brought to Penmon for cavalry scenes and on Thursday eight more horses were in evidence at Dinorwig Quarry. During the week, some 300 actors and film crews were on site, ferried up from a filming base beneath Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in Nant Peris.
'They brought in 38,000 litres of water, weighing 38 tonnes, to film a rain scene because the weather was dry,' said John. 'The next day, it rained!' More House of The Dragon updates can be found here.
By Friday, the focus had shifted to Union Rock at the west end of Llyn Padarn, Llanberis. Last year the shoreline neaby was used to film scenes from Netflix fantasy The Witcher: this time, Union Rock itself took centre stage.
Here, several giant boulders, rocks and steps were constructed. 'The biggest was at least 20ft high,' said John. 'Steps were built into Union Rock and more leading up two enormous artifical boulders.
'Even if you got right up to them, it was hard to tell they were fake. Watching them built the rocks was fascinating. Once they'd finished with the polystyrene and expanding foal, they painted them using garden sprays filled with different tones of paint.
'First they'd start with light tones, then they added darker tones. Then they got out buckets and paint brushes and began flicking paint on the rocks to buld up a speckled texture. It sounds basic but by the time they'd finished, the rocks looked so real!'