10 on-screen Christmas locations you can visit in the UK
From charming snow-covered country roads to twinkling city streets, numerous UK locations have played starring roles in Christmas TV and film classics.
And many of this these on-screen spots are real-life destinations that you can visit – whether you’re a fan of the movies or just looking for ideas for festive days out.
From the Surrey village in The Holiday to Brighton’s Palace Pier, which features in The Snowman, so many festive film and TV locations all have stories to tell.
Below are 10 classic on-screen Christmas destinations you can visit across the UK – and we have a feeling you'll be familiar with quite a few of them...
The Vicar Of Dibley: The Christmas Lunch Incident (Turville, Buckinghamshire)
Who doesn’t love a Christmas meal with all the trimmings? But maybe not four? That’s what faces vicar Geraldine (Dawn French) in this Christmas special, as she staggers from one hospitable parishioner to the next. Hopefully you won’t be distracted by indigestion when you visit Turville, Buckinghamshire, the village that served as home to the TV series. It’s tiny but no stranger to cameras, having also appeared in war film Went the Day Well? as well as Midsomer Murders, Foyle’s War, Jonathan Creek and more.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin – Dibley’s St Barnabas – stands at the centre. With your back to it, look to the horizon for the Cobstone Windmill, once owned by Hayley Mills and seen in the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. There are many walks around the countryside; start and end one at The Bull & Butcher in Turville then enjoy an award-winning pie in the pub – sprouts optional…
Love Actually (London, various locations)
Most locations for these interlinked stories were in the capital and you can see just a few in a west-to-east wander. Start in Blenheim Road, Turnham Green where Jamie (Colin Firth) lived (near Southfield Primary School, seenin Motherland). It’s in the highly desirable Bedford Park, thought to be the world’s first garden suburb and full of beautiful Queen Anne Revival houses. Next, hop on a bus to Notting Hill – specifically St Luke’s Mews – just the place for making a romantic declaration like Mark (Andrew Lincoln) if you lack the nerve to speak aloud. Now you’re near Portobello Road where, on Fridays and Saturdays, antiques traders offer intriguing possibilities for Christmas presents.
If you draw a blank, head to Oxford Street to see the lights and pop into Selfridges like Harry (Alan Rickman). Finish your tour by crossing the Thames to the South Bank where Daniel (Liam Neeson) talked to his son; find ‘their’ bench outside 56 Upper Ground, sit and watch the world pass by before a final bit of gift-buying in the galleries and shops under the Oxo Tower.
The Holiday (Shere, Surrey)
If you look for Rosehill Cottage, as seen in house-swap rom-com The Holiday, you won’t find it – it was only ever a film set. But Shere, where the idyllic village scenes were shot, is very real and has plenty to see. It’s quintessentially English, with charming buildings including the 12th-century St James’s Church and cottages designed by the architect Edwin Lutyens.
After taking a break in one of its tea rooms or pubs you can, like Amanda (Cameron Diaz) head to the surrounding countryside. Newlands Corner is a nature reserve with some of the best views over the Surrey Hills. It’s also notorious as the place where Agatha Christie’s car was found when she staged her disappearance in 1926; fears that she had drowned herself in another local beauty spot, Silent Pool, proved unfounded. However, the shore of this rather eerie lake is now home to an artisan gin distillery, which offers tours and experiences.
A Castle For Christmas (Culross and South Queensferry)
Following a career disaster, author Sophie (Brooke Shields) flees to Scotland and, of course, falls in love with her family’s ancestral village, a nearby castle and, eventually, the castle’s owner, Myles (Cary Elwes). Standing in for the village of Dunbar is Culross, Scotland’s best-preserved example of a 17th- and 18th-century burgh, with white-harled (similar to pebbledash) houses and cobbled streets.
Frequently seen in films and TV series, including the hit drama Outlander, its attractions include a restored Renaissance palace and former Cistercian abbey. Scenes in the fictional castle, Dun Dunbar, were shot at Dalmeny House. It’s currently closed for refurbishment but you can enjoy views of this Gothic Revival mansion on the 7km Shore Walk between the town of South Queensferry (also seen in the film) and the village of Cramond. Other sights include the Forth Bridges, and the ‘Dragon’s Teeth’ – World War II defences on the causeway to Cramond Island.
Nativity! (Coventry, West Midlands)
Like many Christmas productions, Nativity! was filmed in high summer but residents of Coventry, the main location, helped to decorate the city and even their own homes. In the movie, rival schools put on nativity plays; when a teacher from the underdog school lies about a Hollywood producer turning his play into a film, the mayor offers the ruins of Coventry Cathedral as a location. And what a spectacular setting it is!
Completed in the 15th century, the cathedral was almost destroyed in the Coventry Blitz but miraculously the spire – England’s third-tallest – and outer wall survived. The architect of the new cathedral insisted that the ruins be preserved, now forming a garden of remembrance. The new cathedral, built alongside from similar sandstone, has magnificent stained and engraved windows, and several important sculptures. Christmas events include Carols by Candlelight; visitors can also explore the Blitz Museum and climb the old cathedral tower.
The Snowman (Brighton, East Sussex)
In the most iconic sequence of this classic animation, the Snowman and young James soar over Brighton’s Palace Pier and Royal Pavilion – and you too can enjoy an aerial view of both landmarks from the Brighton i360 observation pod, which rises to 138m. Brighton Palace Pier is a must-do for family fun, with amusements and places to eat and drink.
It also has a rich cultural history, as the setting for Graham Greene’s book Brighton Rock, and in TV shows and films including Doctor Who, Mona Lisa – and Carry on at Your Convenience! Built in the 1780s for the future King George IV, the Royal Pavilion is in Indo-Saracenic style, with minarets and domes – perhaps its opulent design may provide inspiration for your Christmas decor. There will also be an ice rink in its Regency gardens for winter fun over the holidays.
A Very Yorkshire Christmas (Knaresborough, North Yorkshire)
In this rom-com, opera singer Jessica (Rachel Shenton) is stranded in ‘Pine Falls’– not the most authentic choice of name for a Yorkshire market town, but at least enchanting Knaresborough looks the part. Sightseers are spoiled for choice: the Victorian viaduct is unmissable in every sense and nearby, at Water Bag Bank, is the film’s quirky thatched house.
Also seen on screen are the Norman Castle, and the Market Place that hosts Christmas stalls on 7 and 8 December this year. If you’re peckish, try the Thirteen Coffee House & Cakery, which doubled as the film’s Crumble Café, or grab a pub lunch at The Half Moon Free House or Mother Shipton Inn. Mother Shipton’s Cave – which was home to Mother Shipton, a soothsayer, and is claimed to be England’s oldest tourist attraction – has been going strong since 1630; it’s open on selected dates for Christmas events.
Bridget Jones' Diary (Snowshill, Gloucestershire)
This film put London’s newly relaunched Borough Market on the map as the location of Bridget’s (Renée Zellweger) flat. But the most seasonal scenes were filmed in Snowshill, a chocolate-box perfect Cotswold village where Bridget’s parents and the Darcys lived. Stand on the village green and imagine the joys of turkey curry, then take a circular walk around the area before a meal at the Snowshill Arms.
The manor house here is worth a visit too; once home to eccentric collector Charles Paget Wade it is now a National Trust property, so you can see his weird and wonderful treasure trove. And in nearby Broadway there’s a market on 29 November and 6 December plus entertainment and pony-sleigh rides.
Paddington (Hatfield House, Hertfordshire)
This is another movie mainly set in London, but film-makers’ trickery means the bear did venture out of the capital. While the Reform Club was used as the foyer of The Geographers’ Guild, the scenes in the Guild’s archives – where Mr Brown (Hugh Bonneville) dresses as a cleaner to gain access – were filmed at Hatfield House. This glorious pile is a ‘prodigy house’, built in anticipation of Elizabeth I staying on one of her summer tours of the country.
Part of the Old Palace of Hatfield, where Elizabeth and other children of Henry VIII lived, stands in the grounds, but is dwarfed by the current Jacobean house. The interiors are just as ornate as the exterior, with woodcarvings, plasterwork and precious artefacts; among the highlights is a portrait of Elizabeth holding a rainbow. All this is set in 42 acres of grounds, including a knot garden, topiary, woodland area and a deer park with walks.
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Story (Elm Hill, Norwich)
If you bring toys to life, expect trouble – but at least the film-makers found the perfect setting for their legendary toymaker’s shop: Elm Hill, in Norwich. With cobbles and merchants’ houses from Tudor times, this medieval street was just right. There are shops, galleries and cafés and, in the former church of St Peter Hungate, Hungate Medieval Art presents free exhibitions and events.
Unbelievably, in the 1920s, there were plans to tear the area down; thankfully, the Norwich Society suggested it be restored and preserved. Look out for a new landmark on the street too – the Norwich keyboard, which sparked urban legends until the mystery was finally solved…
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