This Country is what is commonly known as a ‘mockumentary’ or mock documentary. The series charts the lives of siblings Kerry (Daisy May Cooper) and Kurtan (Charlie Cooper), who live in a boring Cotswolds village. Daisy and Charlie, who also wrote the series, are brother and sister in real life.
The series was shot in a number of locations around the Cotswolds, but the main focus is Northleach, which features as Kerry and Kurtan’s home village. The first episode opens with them at one of their favourite hangouts, the village bus stop. The bus stop in real life offers connections to both Oxford and Cheltenham. Kerry’s home is a house on an estate in the village, and the house in real life is at 15 Fortey Road.
Other locations in Northleach to look out for in the series include the village allotments, seen in an episode in which Kerry is put in charge of some chickens. The village church in the series, St Mary’s, is played by the Church of St Peter and St Paul in the centre of Northleach, known as the Cathedral of the Cotswolds. Meanwhile, the Westwoods Centre, a village sports and community centre, plays the role of the Vicar’s office.
Northleach is a classic Cotswold wool village; the wool trade hit the big time from 1340 to 1540 when a lot of money was made from exports to Europe. The village church is a reminder of the prosperity enjoyed during that time. Today the meadows surrounding the village still resound to the baas of the local sheep. As well as looking up the locations used in This Country, visitors can explore The Old Prison and its cafe, and Keith Harding’s World of Mechanical Music. The village lies just off the A40 14 miles east of Cheltenham.
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| Northleach, 1994, Market Square - geograph.org.uk - 4707633. Photo by Ben Brooksbank, via Wikimedia Commons. |
