You could spend this summer in the back garden, dozing off while reading a trashy novel and waking up to some awkward tan lines.
Or you could pile onto a cramped train, only to reach the seaside and go sit on a cramped beach, desperately trying to save your fish and chips from the flock of marauding seagulls circling overhead. Better still, you could embark on an adventure and walk in the footsteps of wizards, Jedis, queens, superheroes, and knights?
The UK has provided a stunning backdrop to some of the most iconic moments in film and – lucky us – it’s possible to visit many of those locations for yourself. There are the country estates that we know and love from our favourite period dramas, including this year’s Oscar-winning The Favourite.
Or there are the remote castles, beaches, islands, and villages that not only let us reconnect with nature, but have offered inspiration to directors and helped bring some of the most fantastical stories to life. Here are just 10 incredible filming locations from the across the UK that you can visit this summer.
1 – Alnwick Castle, Northumberland
This may be upsetting to hear, but you can’t actually visit Hogwarts Castle – unless it’s the miniature version housed at Leavesden’s Warner Bros Studio Tour. The closest you can get to the real thing, however, is the 11th-century keep at Alnwick Castle, the seat of the current Duke of Northumberland. Several key scenes from the Harry Potter series were filmed here, including the broomstick-training scene from The Philosopher’s Stone, shot next to the Outer Bailey. The grand Lion Arch also doubled as the entrance to Hogwarts, while many of the scenes of students walking between classes were filmed within the castle’s courtyards and gates.
2 – Hatfield House, Hertfordshire
You can do your best to recreate Olivia Colman’s Oscar-winning performance as Queen Anne in The Favourite at this Jacobean country house, built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, chief advisor to Elizabeth I and James I. While the majority of filming took place at the home, several key scenes were also shot at Hampton Court. From May until June, several costumes from the film will go on display, while you’ll even get to see the original throne used by Queen Anne at her coronation in 1702. The house, which is close to many of the major studios, is a popular filming location, having been used for the likes of Wonder Woman, Batman Begins, The King’s Speech, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, and Paddington 2.
3 – Wollaton Hall, Nottingham
This historic building will be immediately recognisable to film fans as Wayne Manor, as seen inThe Dark Knight Rises. While the abandoned Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire was used as an exterior location for Batman Begins, a fake graveyard was built at Wollaton and several internal refurbishments were made in order to create a home fit for a superhero. The Elizabethan home is also famous for its surrounding parkland, which is home to a herd of red deer.
4 – Puzzlewood, Gloucestershire
Said to have been the inspiration for the elven forests in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, this ancient woodland site also played host to a key scene in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The mossy scowles that dominate the area, consisting of hollow passages between the rocks, provided the backdrop for Rey’s first encounter with Kylo Ren in the forests surrounding Maz Kanata’s Castle on the planet of Takodana.
5 – Glencoe, Scottish Highlands
The breathtaking mountain scenery that surrounds this small Scottish village has already made it a popular tourist destination, with the many chalets, cottages, and lodges that litter the area offering the perfect long weekend for those wanting to escape into nature. But for film fans, there’s a little extra: it was the location of the Bond family estate in 2012’s Skyfall and Hagrid’s house in 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
6 – Bourne Wood, Surrey
This dense area of woodland, just south of Farnham, has been a popular location for film, tv, music videos, and ads. While scenes from Wonder Woman, Children of Men, Captain America: The First Avenger, War Horse, and Avengers: Age of Ultron have all been shot here, the area is most recognisable from the opening battle scene of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, where it stood in the forests of Germania. A rise specially constructed for the film remains today, which coincidentally offers spectacular views of the surrounding area.
7 – Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Romantics will want to make a beeline for Chatsworth House, one of England’s largest and most opulent homes. Not only is it mentioned by Jane Austen as one of the estates visited by Elizabeth Bennet before she reaches Mr Darcy’s home at Pemberley inPride and Prejudice, but it stood in for Pemberley itself in the 2005 adaptation of the book, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. Knightley returned to the location in 2008 for filming on The Duchess, where she played Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, who called the estate home during the 18th century.
8 – Castle Stalker, Argyll
Tucked away on small tidal islet on Loch Laich, this 15th-century keep was made famous by Monty Python, when it starred as “The Castle of Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh” in Monty Python and the Holy Grail – otherwise known as the castle occupied by the French in the film’s final scene. If you’re lucky enough to visit (the castle is open for tours during the summer), make sure to bring your very best Gallic insults. May we suggest: “I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!”
9 – Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire
This picturesque Welsh beach was overtaken by 600 extras and 150 horses when it was used to film the French invasion of England in 2010’s Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe. An odd-looking cottage, which looked as if it had been constructed entirely of shells, was also created there for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2. In the films, it’s the home of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, used as a safehouse for the Weasleys and their allies.
10 – Sheepstor, Dartmoor
A quaint, historic village located in West Devon, Sheepstor is not only the ideal countryside retreat, but it served as one of several locations across Dartmoor featured in Steven Spielberg’s 2011 epic War Horse. The legendary director himself had nothing but praise for the area, noting: “I have never before, in my long and eclectic career, been gifted with such an abundance of natural beauty as I experienced filming War Horse on Dartmoor.”
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For the relief of allergy symptoms. Pirinase Allergy 0.05% Nasal Spray contains fluticasone. Always read the label.
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