Ireland and the UK feature a variety of historic movie locales ranging from the dramatic Highlands of Scotland to the ancient castle remnants in Ireland as well as metropolitan settings in London and Newcastle areas. Movie buffs should make room in their travel plans for visits to the top 5 locations in Ireland and UK for movie history.
Notting Hill, London - England
Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant starred in Roger Mitchell's 1999 hit movie, Notting Hill, which captured a variety of intimate locales in the west London area. The movie's popularity has caused many enthusiasts to visit the Notting Hill area in search of specific film locations such as the renowned street market on Portobello road, where local vendors offer fresh fruit and eclectic antiques. The infamous pastel blue door belonging to Thacker's flat in the movie has since been removed. Visitors can still find the location at 280 Westbourne Park Road but the blue door has been replaced by a standard black one and is now the entrance to a multimillion-dollar flat.
Trim and Bective Abbey - Ireland
Mel Gibson's epic film Braveheart, detailing the exploits of William Wallace against English rule, used a variety of locations high up in the picturesque Scottish Highlands, but many of the scenes containing ancient towns and structures were filmed in Trim and Bective Abbey in Ireland. Located about 26 miles northwest of Dublin, Trim is home to Trim Castle, which served as the English town of York in the film. The locale is now a massive remnant of an ancient castle but for the film, wooden extensions and structures were built to create the town of York and the London Square. Trim is located 5 miles away from Bective Abbey, which was used as background for Longshanks' castle and the William Wallace torture scenes.
Glencoe, Highlands - Scotland
Glencoe offers a brilliant depiction of the Scottish highlands and has been used in a multitude of films including Braveheart, Highlander, Rob Roy and most recently, the Harry Potter series. Glencoe can be reached via the A82 road connecting Glasgow to Fort William. The famous Clachaig Inn provides visitors with a lodging base camp surrounded by locations used for Harry Potter props and settings such as Hagrid's Hut and The Bridge to Nowhere. The nearby highland scenery was regularly used as the landscape backdrop for Hogwarts.
Torquay, Devon - England
The surrounding areas of Torquay, Devon have become a popular location for period films requiring highly specific locales. The formidable looking Compton Castle located 5 miles west of Torquay was the location for Combe Magna - the large estate owned by the character John Willoughby in Ang Lee's rendition of Sense and Sensibility. Those with keen eyes will also recognize the estate as the home of character Lord Bullingdon from Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon. Less than 5 miles away is another Sense and Sensibility location, the St. Mary's Church in Berry Pomeroy, Devon. The county is also home to the Saltram House, which is a 30-minute drive from Devon's west side coastal city, Plymouth. The large estate doubled as Norland Park and was featured in the beginning of the film when Mrs. Dashwood and her children were forced to leave their estate after the death of Mr. Dashwood.
Newcastle - England Durham's Newcastle city became the seedy backdrop for the original Get Carter movie of 1971. The film features the fictitious pub Vic and Comet. Michael Caine's character, Jack Carter, made regular visits to the pub. The actual film location is no longer a pub, but the pub scenes were most likely filmed at the nearest pub O'Neil's, which is easily spotted thanks to its light blue exterior decoration. The film also features regular scenes set at 25 Coburg Street, the boarding house where Jack Carter stayed throughout the film. Though the area is much more affluent looking than the grimy film depiction, it is the same location where Jack Carter exits the house armed with a shotgun and spooks two rival hit men. The large Gateshead car park south of the Tyne River is the location where Jack Carter eventually pushes gangster Cliff Brumby off the top level.
Ireland and the UK are home to plenty of other locations from films such as Mission: Impossible, Robin Hood, The Italian Job and countless others. However, movie buffs will have plenty of sightseeing to do just in these top 5 Cities in Ireland and UK for movie history.
If you're thinking of travelling to any of these movie locations around the UK and Ireland and looking for affordable hotel accommodation check out our hotels in London, our hotels in Dublin or our hotel in Edinburgh.
