Should you wish to follow in Mary’s footsteps, you may take a guided fossil walk on nearby Charmouth Beach. A key filming location, this rugged and dramatic stretch of coastline is prone to landslips, thus exposing the Jurassic-era fossils, so you never know what you might find.
Dating from the 13th-century, The Cobb, Lyme’s curving harbor wall, was another notable filming location. This local landmark also featured in an iconic scene in acclaimed 1981 drama The French Lieutenant’s Woman, which saw a cloaked Meryl Streep standing alone at the end of the Cobb during a storm, staring poignantly out to sea, a role that won her a Golden Globe.
This pretty seaside town is an ideal base for exploring the 95- mile long Jurassic Coast. Other notable sites along the coast include Chesil Beach, a bank of shingle stretching dramatically for almost 19 miles. It was the backdrop of the 2017 film On Chesil Beach, which coincidentally also co-starred Saoirse Ronan.
Burgh Island Hotel
Sarah Bray
Fans of the Harry Potter series of films can visit many actual filming locations throughout Britain, including London’s Kings Cross railway station (home to Platform 9 3/4) and various Oxford University buildings such as the Bodleian Library’s Divinity School, Duke Humfrey’s Library, and New College Cloisters. You may visit these and other filming locations on a Harry Potter Walking Tour of Oxford.
You can also set foot on authentic sets, and discover behind-the- scenes secrets by visiting The Making of Harry Potter visitor attraction at the Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, just north of London. Open to the public since 2012, this walk- through exhibition welcomes up to 6,000 visitors per day with attractions including Hogwarts’ Great Hall and Diagon Alley.
Something equally fantastical has been proposed for the Swanscombe Peninsula, south east of London. The proposed London Resort is a brand-new theme park set to feature six immersive lands. With partners the BBC, ITV Studios, and Paramount Pictures, some of the rides and attractions are expected to be based on blockbuster films and hit TV shows such as Mission: Impossible, Doctor Who, and Sherlock. If approved, it will be the first development of its kind to be built from scratch in Europe since the opening of Disneyland Paris in 1992. The proposed site covers 1,149 acres alongside the River Thames, just 17 minutes by train from central London. The proposal includes the construction of four new hotels totaling more than 3,500 rooms, a new terminal that could accommodate two cruise ships, a water park, and an e-sports stadium. Construction could begin in 2022 with a view to opening in 2024.
Britain is definitely ready for ACTION!
