Game of Thrones Dark Hedges road accidentally painted

After the devastating winds of Storm Gertrude brought down three of its majestic beech trees a few weeks back, the iconic Game of Thrones tourist attraction, Dark Hedges, was hit by yet another catastrophe this week - a white street marking down the middle of the road.

Located on the Bregagh Road in Armoy, Co. Antrim, the Dark Hedges are one of the most photographed tourist attractions in Ireland, bringing Game of Thrones fans the world over to the Orchard County.

Used in the series as the location for the “King’s Road”, the stretch of road and its wooded border is one of the must-see Northern Ireland sites for the show’s avid followers.

Fans traveling to photograph the stunning line of ancient and magical trees last Wednesday, however, were met with an awful sight - a modern road marking, newly painted on a section of the road running between the trees, which made the scene very obviously different from that which features on the show.

Game of Thrones trees: White lines at Dark Hedges have people seeing red https://t.co/4sJsGmALuU pic.twitter.com/ilwQQVHcpa
— BBC News NI (@BBCNewsNI) February 9, 2016

Although tourists were understandably incensed that it had been altered by a road maintenance crew, the appearance of the line would not have had any affect on a Game of Thrones crew returning to the use the area as a set, as they use special effects to hide the modern road surface anyway.

None the less, the Northern Ireland government were quick to rectify the maintenance crews mistake and the line was once again scrubbed away by Thursday afternoon.

This iconic #GameofThrones set has been DESTROYED by overzealous workmen... but how? https://t.co/HKSVcma1dq pic.twitter.com/JIjOwUXgnW
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) February 11, 2016

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Department of Regional Development has since confirmed that the white lining was a mistake and that it has now been almost completely rectified.

“Following completion of a small resurfacing scheme along a 200m stretch of the Bregagh Road at the Dark Hedges, the white lining at the junction with the Ballinlea Road was extended in error,” she said.

“The contractor was instructed to remove the line and the white lining was burned off earlier today. The repair work was completed at 1.30pm this [Thursday] afternoon.

“Whilst there is the potential for some residual marking to the carriageway as a result of the removal, we are confident that, given the time of year and the number of vehicles using the Bregagh Road, that any such marks will disappear soon."

Contractors reverse decision ..... @niroads @nigreenways @osni_maps #darkhedges #GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/8JYLl6qfGG

— Gavin Bamford (@jggb1) February 11, 2016

The beautiful tunnel of beech trees was originally planted in the 18th century by the local Stuart family to decorate the entrance into their nearby Georgian mansion, Gracehill House.

You can see it and the other Northern Ireland locations used in Game of Thrones using our guide: Travel the Northern Ireland seen in “Game of Thrones” (PHOTOS).

H/T: The Telegraph.