The star location in the film On Chesil Beach (as well as
the novel by Ian McEwan on which it is based) is self-evident from the
title. One of Britain’s most famous and
unusual coastal features, Chesil Beach stretches for 29 miles between the base
of the Isle of Portland and the eastern
edge of West Bay, hemming in a lagoon known as The Fleet, home to the
Abbotsbury Swannery. Filming began at
the beach in October 2016, with the two main characters played by Saoirse Ronan
and Billy Howle.
In the story a newly-married couple are spending their
honeymoon at a hotel on Chesil Beach, but their wedding night is marred by the
bride Florence’s antipathy towards the sexual act. She walks out on the groom, Edward, he
follows and they have a row on the beach.
The rest of the novel consists of Edward’s life in the decades that
follow and his deliberations on what might have been.
The weather is overcast and moody for the beach scenes in
the film, no doubt reflecting the mood of the couple. The hotel featured in the film is a fictional
one, but there are a number of places to stay near the beach for those wanting
to experience the locations from the film.
As well as Chesil Beach, another famous Dorset landmark, Lulworth Cove,
makes an appearance in the film’s trailer.
Visitors to Chesil Beach should be aware that it is illegal to remove
pebbles from the beach, incurring a hefty fine.
When writing the novel, McEwan was allegedly unaware of this and took
some pebbles to keep on his desk while writing, attracting the opprobrium of
local conservationists. However, he
returned the stones as soon as he realised his transgression.
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Chesil Beach - geograph.org.uk - 911979. Photo by StanWray, via Wikimedia Commons
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