NEFARIOUS DEEDS IN THE FAR NORTH: SHETLAND

There is always something vaguely unsettling about crime series shot in beautiful locations, the chocolate box Oxfordshire villages of Midsomer Murders or the beautiful Cornish coastal landscapes featured in the 1990s series Wycliffe being two that spring to mind.  Shetland, based on the novels by Ann Cleeves, and which began a new series last week on the BBC, has a more bleak and brooding backdrop, but very scenic for all that.  Here is a roundup of some of the locations seen in the latest series.



The Shetland capital Lerwick is a focal point for the action, although not all the Lerwick scenes were actually filmed there – for example, some of the street scenes were filmed in Glasgow.  One part of the capital which does make a frequent appearance is the area known as Lodberries.  There are 18^th century warehouses in this part of town jutting right into the water, and the house seen next to one of them is where the main character DI Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) lives.  The word ‘lodberry’ comes from an Old Norse word meaning a place where boats can be brought for loading and unloading.   

The Lodberries - geograph.org.uk - 66802.  Photo by Peter Ward, via Wikimedia Commons.

Another location regularly seen is the old building which serves as the Police Station in Lerwick where Perez solves his crimes. The production team used the real police station for external scenes, which in real life doubles as Lerwick Sheriff Court, and internal scenes were filmed on set in Glasgow.  The town of Barrhead in Renfrewshire has also featured in some of the police station scenes, which must have made Douglas Henshall feel at home, this being his home town. 

The latest series opens with a gruesome scene featuring a body part washed up on a beautiful beach.  The beach where the scene was filmed is Banna Minn beach, which is in the Shetland Islands, not the main island, but the island of West Burra.  With road links to the main island, West Burra is reachable in a half-hour drive from Lerwick.  One of Shetland’s most beautiful beaches, Banna Minn forms the link from West Burra itself to a ‘tombolo’ – a secondary island attached to a larger one.  St Ninian’s Isle, off the main island further south, is another stunning example of a tombolo.  This island provided the inspiration for Cleeves’ novel Dead Water and featured heavily in the second series of Shetland.

Banna Minn beach - geograph.org.uk - 1339381.  Photo by Stuart Wilding, via Wikimedia Commons.

Another focal point of the opening story in the latest series is the MacBay Hotel, rather rundown but with a knockout view.  The building used for this is the now-closed Westings Inn near the Tingwall airstrip.  The views, taking in the beautiful bay known as Whiteness Voe, are attributable to the Inn’s position near the summit of Wormadale Hill, about 20 minutes’ drive from Lerwick..  

Whiteness Voe - geograph.org.uk - 2805. Photo by Anne Burgess, via Wikimedia Commons.

Lerwick is reachable by ferry from Aberdeen and by air from major Scottish airports.  There is also a weekly flight from Manchester.  The town has been the capital of Shetland since 1708, but in the previous century was a Dutch settlement, and going further back in time, there are relics of earlier habitation in the form of an Iron Age broch (drystone structure) and the Celtic jewellery and Norse artefacts found in the town’s museum.  An oil boom in the 1970s led to considerable growth.  The town’s northerly position is such that it is actually closer to Oslo than to London.  The Shetland Islands number around 100, but only 16 of them are inhabited.  Confusingly for an island, the main island in the group is known as Mainland.

Map of the islands.

ANOTHER FINE MESS IN BRISTOL: STAN AND OLLIE

The comedy duo Laurel and Hardy rose to fame in America during the period from the 1920s to the 1940s, a golden age of film.  By the time they arrived at Cobh Harbour on 9^th September 1953 after a series of appearances on this side of the Atlantic, their renown was such that they were greeted by crowds of adoring fans.  Added to which all the church bells in Cobh started ringing out to the tune of the duo’s theme song “Dance of the Cuckoos”. 

This is just one of the scenes recreated in the new film about the pair “Stan and Ollie”.  However, the scene was not filmed in Cobh but on the Bristol Harbourside.  The production team made use of the MV Balmoral, which is normally moored by Prince Street Bridge but for the purposes of the film was anchored outside the M Shed on Princes Wharf, a vast interactive exhibition space which was formerly used as a dockside warehouse.  Another revamped harbourside building, now the Arnolfini Gallery, can be glimpsed on the opposite side of the water.  Although now given over largely to leisure pursuits, the wharf has been conserved as a working quayside, and this makes it ideally suited for film productions such as this.  Another recent film which made use of the Bristol Harbourside/MV Balmoral double act was the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, this time with Bristol standing in for Weymouth.

Part of the vibrant Bristol Harbourside

As well as the wharf, the exterior of the city’s HippodromeTheatre makes an appearance in the film, renamed Queen’s Hall.  In real life this was a cinema in Newcastle and the pair received another rapturous reception there.  The interior scenes were shot in the Old RepTheatre, Birmingham.  

The Bristol Hippodrome - geograph.org.uk - 1444344. Photo by Steve Daniels, via Wikimedia Commons

Bristol has certainly made the most of its Harbourside in recent years, opening the area up to a host of bars, restaurants, galleries and other attractions.  The M-Shed is free to enter and is well worth a visit for a look at all aspects of the city and its past.  One unusual addition to the scene within the last couple of years is the complex known as CARGO at Whapping Wharf, just behind the M-Shed, where shipping containers have been repurposed as restaurants, shops and other outlets.  The MV Balmoral is part of the White Funnel line and has in the past offered trips to a variety of places around the British Isles, but sadly there are no trips running at present, pending the raising of sufficient funds for sailing to resume.  The Hippodrome, in a bustling area adjacent to the Harbourside, plays host to family-type entertainments such as musicals as well as bands, real and tribute, ballet and so on.

Map of the city.

CRADLE OF BRITAIN'S GREATEST WORDSMITH: STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

We recently visited Stratford-Upon-Avon for a Christmas break, and while I was there I suddenly realised that I hadn’t yet blogged about the town.  Given it is the birthplace of the greatest writer ever to grace these shores, the playwright William Shakespeare, this is an unforgiveable omission from a blog about Britain’s film, TV and literary associations, so with this piece I hope to rectify my oversight.

This being the town where the great Bard was born, the main attraction is Shakespeare’s Birthplace, a quaint half-timbered house in the centre of town, looking rather out of place nowadays among all the trendy cafes, restaurants and chain stores.  It was here that Will was born on 26 April 1564, and visitors to the birthplace can view the room he was born in, the third of eight children.  His parents, John and Mary Shakespeare, were wealthy enough to own the largest property on Henley Street.  

Shakespeare Birthplace

But the birthplace is by no means the only Shakespeare-related attraction.  The local tourist board makes the most of the Shakespeare connection by adding a  host of other attractions with Shakespeare connections which are open to visitors.  Shakespeare’s mother Mary Arden brought the Bard up on a farm now known as Mary Arden’s Farm, which can be found in the village of Wilmcote to the north-west of Stratford.  Between 1597 and his death in 1616, Shakespeare lived in New Place in Chapel Street, at the time the second largest house in Stratford and now known as Shakespeare’s New Place.  The house has been turned into a museum with an Elizabethan garden.   

Not only Will himself, but his wife and daughter have contributed to the array of tourist attractions in the area.  At the western edge of town is Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, a charming half-timbered thatched cottage which was the family home of Shakespeare’s wife.  His daughter Susanna lived in a Jacobean home called Hall’s Croft with her physician husband.  This can be found near the river in an area in the south of Stratford known as Old Town.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Stratford-Upon-Avon. Photo by C5clive, via Wikimedia Commons.

Finally, no visit to Stratford would be complete without a visit to Holy Trinity Church, an imposing medieval church occupying a beautiful riverside location with its spire dominating the riverscape.  The church contains Shakespeare’s grave as well as his baptism and burial records.

Shakespeare's Grave

Map of the area.

A MURDER MYSTERY FOR RAILWAY BUFFS: THE ABC MURDERS

One of the most popular features of British tourism is the ‘heritage railway’. Up and down the country there are dedicated volunteers lovingly restoring former railway lines and bringing them back into operation, complete with an array of vintage rolling stock drawn by steam and diesel engines. One part of the country particularly well endowed with heritage railways is Yorkshire.  The Agatha Christie murder mystery The ABC Murders, shown on Boxing Day, has the murderer using the ABC Alphabetical Railway Guide, first published in 1853 but with the 1930s version used in this story, as the basis for his bloodthirsty attacks. So it is no surprise that the locations used for this BBC production include several stations on Yorkshire's heritage railways, not least because they come with a ready-made vintage appearance.



The first murder takes place in Andover, and the railway station which plays a part in this grisly event is Grosmont Station, part of the North York Moors Railway. Grosmont (pronounced ‘growmont’) is a village in the Esk Valley, within the North York Moors National Park. During the building of the railway, which runs from Whitby to Pickering, ironstone was discovered in Grosmont in 1836, giving rise to industrial activity in the locality, although this has now ended. This railway line makes a reappearance when the murderer gets to the letter D, with Pickering Station standing in for Doncaster.

Grosmont Railway Station, North Yorkshire Moors Railway - geograph.org.uk - 848888. Photo by Brian Robert Marshall, via Wikimedia Commons.

On reaching the letter E, the perpetrator selects the little-known village of Embsay in the Craven district of North Yorkshire. Little-known, that is, except as one of the terminii of the short but charming Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway. The railway, which featured in some of the ABC Murders train scenes, was formerly part of the Midland Railway line from Skipton to Ilkley, and this section reopened in 1981. It is only 4 miles long, but the volunteers have aspirations to extend it further. The railway offers a range of novel events, including a Faulty (sic) Towers inspired dining experience.

Embsay Station Waiting Room - geograph.org.uk - 1184612. Photo by Henry Clark, via Wikimedia  Commons.

Finally, a scene in the production depicting Kings Cross Station in London makes use of Keighley Railway Station, another station which was a stop on the Midland Railway. The station is partly given over to the modern-day rail network, but two platforms are used for servicing the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, which has been operating since the Worth Valley Line reopened in 1968. The line is a touch longer than the Embsay and Bolton Abbey line, at 5 miles, and there are six stations along the route.

Worth Valley Railway, Keighley - geograph.org.uk - 849385. Photo by Brian Robert Marshall, via Wikimedia Commons.

For a comprehensive list of heritage railways in the UK and Ireland, follow this link.

LOVE AND BETRAYAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND: DEATH AND NIGHTINGALES

I often find BBC dramas rather depressing, and this was certainly the case with Death and Nightingales, recently aired on BBC1 and starring Jamie Dornan. However the 3-parter, which was set and filmed in Northern Ireland, made the most of the natural beauty and historical heritage of this part of the UK. Although the story is set in County Fermanagh, two of the main filming locations are the National Trust property Springhill in County Londonderry and the grounds of Myra Castle near Strangford, County Down.

The drama, a story of love and betrayal set in 1885 in the Fermanagh countryside and based on the novel by Eugene McCabe, has as its main focus the home occupied by Billy Winters (Matthew Rhys) and his stepdaughter Beth (Ann Skelly). The property used for the filming of the interior house scenes was Springhill, a 17th-century plantation home in Moneymore, County Londonderry. The National Trust closed the property for the filming, which it must have done with some reluctance, as the filming took place during the busy months of May and June.

The house was apparently chosen because its history would have reflected the history of the Winters family in the story, in which the Protestant grandfather of Billy Winters would have bought his house around 1800, and the architecture would have been similar to Springhill’s. 12 spaces within the house were used during the filming, including the apartment used by National Trust staff, who had to move out to make way for the filming of Beth’s quarters. Springhill is home to no less than 8 species of bats, and the film crew had to wait until the bats had roosted each evening before commencing night shoots.

Springhill House, Moneymore. Photo by Kenneth Allen, via Wikimedia Commons

The dairy scenes and the boating scenes were filmed at the site of Myra Castle to the west of Strangford, County Down. The original castle, named Walshestown Castle, was built in the 16th century, but nowadays all that remains is a Landcape Park, where visitors can enjoy features including the Summerhouse, the Gate Lodge and the Pond among others.

Walshestown Castle Geograph-3036259-by-Mike-Searle. Via Wikimedia Commons

THE REAL HOWARDS END: PEPPARD COTTAGE, OXFORDSHIRE

The Merchant Ivory classic Howards End, based on the novel of the same name by E M Forster, is a story set in the early 1900s exploring relationships spanning three classes: the Wilcox family (headed by Anthony Hopkins as wealthy businessman Henry Wilcox), the bourgeois and philanthropic Schlegels (with Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham-Carter as the Schlegel sisters), and the working class Basts. The film takes in numerous UK locations, most notably in Oxfordshire and London, with a bit of Italy thrown in.

Howards End, a property which forms a focal point in the plot of the film, is a delightful red-brick country house clad in wisteria and surrounded by flower-strewn woodlands. The real-life house is called Peppard Cottage, a 14th-century country house overlooking Peppard Commond in Rotherfield Peppard, near the pretty riverside village of Sonning, between Reading and Henley-on-Thames. It was once owned by Lady Ottoline Morrell, who used to entertain members of the Bloomsbury group there. The cottage was still privately owned at the time of filming and after, but that did not stop fans of the film flocking to take pictures of it. In 2017 it was reported that the property was up for sale, for a cool £3.95 million. Howards End is not the only screen appearance by Peppard Cottage: it was also seen in Poirot, Inspector Morse and Midsomer Murders.

"Howards End" - geograph.org.uk - 558062. Photo by Graham Horn, via Wikimedia Commons

Howards End is in the fictional village of Hilton, and some of the village scenes were filmed in nearby Dorchester-on-Thames, but others were filmed a long way away in Worcestershire. One such featured Bewdley Station, one of the stops on the charming heritage railway line known as the Severn Valley Railway. Prunella Scales as Aunt Juley is seen in front of the City of Truro locomotive at the station. The George Tavern of the film is actually in the village of Upper Arley, between Bewdley and Bridgnorth.

Bewdley Station

Map of Oxfordshire

BETJEMAN'S VISITS TO A PIECE OF EXOTICA IN OXFORDSHIRE: SEZINCOTE

When John Betjeman was a student at Oxford University he used to visit the family home of his friend John Dugdale. The home in question, nestled in the rural idyll of the East Cotswolds, was Sezincote, a riot of Indian-inspired exotica commissioned by Charles, the brother of Colonel John Cockerell, grandson of the famous diarist Samuel Pepys, who had amassed a fortune at the East India Company. The brief Charles Cockerell set his architect brother Samuel was for a grand house in the Rajasthan Mogul style. The house must have made an impression on the Prince Regent, who visited in 1807, as he was inspired to change his plans for the Royal Pavilion in Brighton following his time there.

As for Betjeman, the house and grounds provided the inspiration for a poem forming part of the Summoned By Bells collection, covering his early life from childhood to student years. Describing his visits to the house for Sunday lunches, he waxes lyrical about the Cotswold lanes being “heavy with hawthorn scent”, while the house itself is “Indian without and coolest Greek within”. In the grounds, the lake “was made to seem a mighty river-reach”, and included “The bridge, the waterfall, the Temple Pool”. Betjeman’s friends parents were Colonel Dugdale, whose “eyes looked out towards the hills”, and Mrs Dugdale “In trailing and Edwardian-looking dress”. He concludes by declaring that “Sezincote became a second home”. Sezincote is open to visitors with the house open in the afternoon from May to September inclusive on Thursdays, Fridays and Bank Holiday Mondays, while the garden is open from January to November.

Map of the area.

Sezincote House - geograph.org.uk - 1577252. Photo by Cameraman, via Wikimedia Commons.