Film and TV Location Staycations

Screen tourism has a poor reputation, largely because so much of it involves driving a long way to look at an ordinary field that was briefly famous. Done well it is the opposite: the productions that people travel for were mostly filmed in places that were already spectacular, and the screen connection is simply a reason to finally go.

Where Britain gets filmed

Northumberland

Alnwick Castle is among the most recognisable buildings in British film, standing in for Hogwarts in the early Harry Potter films, and it is a substantial castle to visit on its own terms. The wider Northumberland coast — Bamburgh, Seahouses — has been used repeatedly for the simple reason that it is enormous, empty and dramatic.

The Scottish Highlands

Glencoe is probably the most filmed landscape in Britain, and it needs no cinematic excuse whatsoever. Fort William makes the natural base, with Skye a further draw. Doune Castle in Stirlingshire has served several very different productions and is unusually enjoyable to visit because of it.

Yorkshire

The Yorkshire Dales around Malham and Skipton have carried everything from veterinary drama to fantasy, and Malham Cove is worth the walk regardless. The North York Moors and Whitby supply the gothic end of the same county.

Bath and the Georgian south

Bath is the default for anything set in Regency England, because the streets need almost no dressing. Wiltshire and Gloucestershire country houses supply the interiors.

How to do it well

Pick places that stand alone

The rule that saves most disappointment: if you would not visit without the screen connection, do not visit. A castle, a coastline or a glen repays the trip either way. A car park where a scene was shot does not.

Check what is actually accessible

Many locations are private houses, working estates or open only on certain days, and a good number of "locations" are composites of several places or partly built sets. Confirm before building a day around one.

Expect company at the famous ones

The best-known spots are busy, and increasingly so. Early morning is the answer, as it is everywhere else.

The place will not look like the shot

Worth knowing in advance rather than discovering on arrival. Screen images are graded, often shot in particular light, and frequently combine two locations that are nowhere near each other. Somewhere can be entirely the right place and still look unfamiliar, especially under grey sky in February. Go for the place, and treat the recognition as a bonus.

Estates handle this better than landscapes

Castles and country houses that have hosted productions usually lean into it, with information about what was filmed where and staff who enjoy talking about it. An open hillside offers none of that, so if the screen connection is the main draw, choose the building over the view.

Practical points

Base yourself in a town rather than at a location, because the locations are scattered and the towns have the accommodation. Two or three sites in a week is a comfortable pace alongside everything else the area offers.

See also our castles and ruins and national parks guides.