The Iron Islands are a cluster of seven main islands off the western coast of Westeros, in the mouth of Ironman's Bay between the North and the Westerlands. They are the smallest and poorest region of the Seven Kingdoms, and the only one whose people would rather be raiders than farmers.
House Greyjoy rules from Pyke, a castle built across sea-stacks on the island of the same name. The ironborn worship the Drowned God and keep to the Old Way of reaving whenever the Iron Throne is too weak to stop them.
Explore: The Iron Islands
Great Wyk is the largest island; Old Wyk is the holiest, home to Nagga's Hill where kings were once chosen. Harlaw is the richest and most populous, ruled from Ten Towers. Pyke, Orkmont, Saltcliffe and Blacktyde complete the seven, with the Lonely Light far out in the Sunset Sea.
The islands are stone, wind and thin soil. There is little farmland, less timber and no city; Lordsport on Pyke is the largest harbour. What the islands do have is iron, lead and tin, and the finest sailors in the Seven Kingdoms.
Ironborn culture prizes what is taken by the "iron price" over what is bought with gold. Every captain is a king on his own deck. The islands have rebelled against the Iron Throne more than once, most recently in Greyjoy's Rebellion nine years before the events of the first book.
Key places in The Iron Islands
- Pyke Castle
Greyjoy seat built on sea stacks off the Iron Islands, linked by rope and stone bridges.
- Ten Towers Castle
Harlaw castle on the wealthiest of the Iron Islands, built piecemeal over many generations.
- Old Wyk Island
Smallest and holiest of the Iron Islands, where the ironborn gather for kingsmoots.
- Great Wyk Island
Largest of the Iron Islands, with mines, cliffs and several lesser lordly seats.
- Lordsport Town
Chief harbour town of the island of Pyke, where longships moor below the Greyjoy castle.
Distances from Pyke
| To | as the raven flies | by road (approx.) | on horseback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winterfell | 720 mi · 1,160 km | ≈ 900 mi | ≈ 30 days |
| King's Landing | 940 mi · 1,520 km | ≈ 1,180 mi | ≈ 39 days |
| Casterly Rock | 400 mi · 650 km | ≈ 500 mi | ≈ 17 days |
| Highgarden | 800 mi · 1,290 km | ≈ 1,000 mi | ≈ 33 days |
| The Eyrie | 890 mi · 1,430 km | ≈ 1,110 mi | ≈ 37 days |
| Riverrun | 400 mi · 640 km | ≈ 500 mi | ≈ 17 days |
| Storm's End | 1,190 mi · 1,910 km | ≈ 1,480 mi | ≈ 49 days |
| Sunspear | 1,700 mi · 2,730 km | ≈ 2,120 mi | ≈ 71 days |
| Castle Black | 1,000 mi · 1,610 km | ≈ 1,250 mi | ≈ 42 days |
| Oldtown | 1,210 mi · 1,940 km | ≈ 1,510 mi | ≈ 50 days |
Travel times assume about 30 miles a day on horseback with rests, 18 miles a day on foot and 110 miles a day under sail with fair winds. Armies, wagons and winter storms move far more slowly.
All places in The Iron Islands
- Pyke Castle
- Great Wyk Island
- Lordsport Town
- Old Wyk Island
- Ten Towers Castle