“When you cross this bridge, you’ll be in England,” says Mike, our guide. We’re standing on the Welsh side of the Old Tramway, a walking bridge that spans the Wye River and has defined the border between the two countries since the eighth century. Many a battle has been waged over this border, but I’m not here to learn about the history.
This is a film tour, and this region of the Wye Valley is just one of the settings for Sex Education, the Netflix Anglo-American comedy. It’s this very bridge that socially awkward teenager, Otis Milburn, rides his bike across on the way to school.
As I walk across the bridge to England, just down the riverbank are the ruins of the 12th century Tintern Abbey. It’s hard not to wonder what the massive building might have been like before King Henry the VIII ordered the dissolution of all monasteries when he squelched Catholicism. The Abbey’s roof was sold, and it began its slow journey into today’s ruins, which still make for a spectacular film setting (remember Iron Maiden’s “Can I Play With Madness” video?).
The entire Wye Valley, this 72-kilometre stretch down the Wye River, with its stunning scenery and rolling woodlands has been a British tourism destination since as early as the 18th century and has been used as a location for scenes from blockbuster movies like Harry Potter and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
But it’s not just this perfect countryside setting which has been used as a film setting in Wales. The entirety of the country is quickly turning into a goldmine for film location scouts the world over, recognizing that Wales offers varied mind-blowing backdrops — from the snow-capped mountains of Snowdonia in the north, to the amazing rugged Atlantic beaches that surround Wales on three sides, and the lush green countryside in-between. It’s not only the aesthetics that are attractive to film companies. Because Wales is small (just over half the size of Vancouver Island), travel distance between these regions is short, making it fiscally attractive as well.
Less than an hour away is Wales’ capital city. Cardiff has long been the film location for the quirky Dr. Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. More recently, however, Cardiff has morphed into a favourite setting for many other films, as well as being a stand-in for London locations. With a population of less than 400,000 versus London’s nine million, it’s much easier (and cheaper) to shut down the streets in Cardiff to shoot a scene.
The National Museum Cardiff is a popular setting (including as the fictitious London National Antiquities Museum in Sherlock Holmes “The Blind Banker” episode). Here, it’s hard not to be side-tracked by the impressive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, from greats like Monet and Van Gogh and, my favourite, Renoir’s La Parisienne. This is the largest collection outside of Paris thanks to the Davies sisters, daughters of a local industrial tycoon, who took a hankering to collecting European art from those periods.
“Who was your favourite Dr. Who,” asks Dean, a guide for the film location tour at Cardiff Castle. David Tennant for me, but others in the group have their own idea, and almost all 13 actors who have played the role since 1963 are mentioned.
As Dean points out the scene settings (Moriarty stole the crown jewels in Sherlock Holmes here, and the ornately gilded Arab room was used for a scene from Dr. Who’s “Heaven Sent” episode, just to name a few) in the medieval castle, he also gives us the inside scoop: he gave President Obama a tour and Steven Seagal once “popped by.”
Heading north up the coast is Freshwater West Beach in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Not only is it a stunning beach, but it was here that the shell cottage (from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) was built on site. Overlooking the sea, one can feel the collective sadness of mourners who have left socks and epitaph stones on the sand dune where Dobby the House Elf died. Fighting scenes from Russell Crowe’s Robin Hood were also filmed here, as well as scenes from Their Finest, where the beach doubled as the beaches at Dunkirk.
At the quiet village of Laugharne (some literary experts say this is Llareggub, the village from Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood) beautiful with its stone cottages, cobbled streets and 12th century castle, after a quick pint at Brown’s Hotel, where purportedly Thomas quaffed many a beer, I visit the cliff-top boathouse where Thomas lived for a period. The rooms remain essentially as they were when he left, and in the attic filled with memorabilia, the audio of Thomas reading his works (“rage, rage against the dying of the light”), gives me goosebumps.
Scenes from the popular Thomas film, Edge of Love, starring Keira Knightly and local Matthew Rhys, were filmed in nearby New Quay, and Lower Fishguard is the setting for the 1972 film Under Milk Wood starring Richard Burton, which looks much today like it did then.
Next stop is Portmeirion, located on the edge of Snowdonia National Park. A popular family vacation destination, many Welsh will tell you this place holds their most nostalgic childhood memories, and from my first step through the ornate arches, I’m in love with its over-the-top wackiness.
This quirky, surreal “village,” built between 1925 and 1973 atop the steep cliffs overlooking a sandy estuary on the River Dwyrd, was the brainchild of eccentric Welsh architect, Clough Williams-Ellis. The architecture spans the stylistic spectrum, including the grand classical Palladian style, and bright colours and palm trees give the village a Mediterranean atmosphere. Delightful surprises (Williams-Ellis’ face is on one of the gargoyles) and optical illusions, like faux gabling, are everywhere.
Portmeirion attracts celebrities (George Harrison celebrated his 50th birthday here, and Noel Coward wrote Blythe Spirit in one of the suites), and it has been used for filming and photo shoots since its opening in 1926, including the 1960s cult classic, The Prisoner. Liam Neeson’s Under Suspicion and Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane both shot scenes here as well.
I can’t wait to re-watch these films so I can say, “I was there!” Netflix, here I come.
IF YOU GO:
Travel: it’s often easier (and cheaper) to fly into a London airport, then take a 2.5-hour train ride to Cardiff.
Where to stay: Cardiff – Jury’s Inn, a lovely Victorian building in downtown Cardiff; St David’s in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park; Roch Castle Hotel, a real castle, built in 1195 or Twr-y-felin Hotel, a luxurious contemporary art boutique hotel (the Blas restaurant here is one of the best places to experience traditional Welsh dishes with an upscale twist); Portmeirion – stay in one of the quirky, unique rooms within the resort.
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