EuroTravel Top 10
Haworth( The Railway Children) Revered for its association with the Bronte family and their literary legacy, this beautiful hilltop village looking over Calderdale still echoes the phrase‘ among those dark satanic mills’- even on a sunny day. Despite the charm and character of the place not even the Ye Olde Sweetshop, a pit stop for adults eager to relive their youth, can erase the feeling that a satanic looking Victorian preacher might step out at any moment. It’ s this atmosphere, a mix of gentile tea shops and brooding creepiness that has captured the imagination of film makers and story tellers the world over. Perhaps the most well known movie shot here is The Railway Children( 1971) which introduced a then very young Jenny Agutter before her roles became more risqué. Surprisingly few Bronte books have been filmed in the village except for scenes making use of the very windswept and desolate moorland straight out of‘ Wuthering Heights’
Contrasting wildly with the innocence of the classic children’ s movie is the raucous comedy Rita Sue & Bob Too( 1986) in which a gaggle of brassy working class schoolgirls in white high heels were filmed having a sweary stand-off on the high street’ s cobbles. Haworth is within distance to the sublimely atmospheric Heptonstall, muse to poet Ted Hughes and a wonderful place to have a ramble before tucking into a warm beer and beef roast in one of the many period local pubs.
Cliveden( Sherlock Holmes) Cliveden isn’ t just a grand country house designed in Italianate style. It’ s also a time capsule of a changing society and a pleasure palace for famous figures from the world of politics and movies over the decades- including its most famous resident Nancy Astor. It is also the scene for Britain’ s most shocking political scandal.
Recently the 17 th century mansion set in the heart of Berkshire countryside was a backdrop for action caper Sherlock Holmes( 2009) starring Robert Downey Junior and Jude Law. The magnificent house once famously owned by William Waldorf Astor, who purchased it in 1893 for $ 1.25 million, has seen movie royalty such as Charlie Chaplin walk through its hallowed doors as well as guests US President Roosevelt and playwright George Bernard Shaw. Waldorf, left stricken after his young wife died, became a recluse and spent most of his time making changes to the property. Famously associated with the‘ Profumo’ scandal in the early 60’ s which brought down the Conservative government, the house was also used in scenes for a retelling of the infamous story about call girls, politicians and spies in the 1989 film Scandal. Cliveden has often been use for entertaining and filming some of the quirkiest movies including The Beatles’ film debut Help in 1965.
Hampton Court( Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) Obviously being a famous royal residence associated with Henry VIII and the doomed Anne Boleyn, this stunning redbrick palace hovering over the Thames and dating back to the 16 th Century has been the focus for many costume dramas, namely Anne of the Thousand Days( 1969). But more recently Johnny Depp requested not only to film at Hampton Court for his latest Pirates movie but also to enjoy an after-hours tour of the four hundred year old palace. Surrey, the beautiful county where Hampton Court resides has seen a wide range of movies shot in surrounding towns and villages such as the Regency styled Richmond on the banks of the river where Depp’ s Finding Neverland( 2004) also used the town’ s elegant Victorian theatre. Surrey offers a diverse landscape for visitors, notably a bucolic river scene, quaint market towns and villages as well as major bustling riverside cities such as Kingston, which recently was the location for BBC TV’ s quirky detective series‘ Vexed’
The county’ s close proximity to international film studios such as Twickenham and Shepperton makes it a popular production destination for film makers resulting in some of the world’ s most successful movies having been made in the area including Hugo, Hot Fuzz, Elizabeth the Golden Age, Clash of the Titans, Skyfall and the newly released Jack The Giant Killer to name but a few. ■
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