14 min readIf you're a film and TV fanatic, there's a good chance that you've already seen Bristol in some of your favourite film and TV productions. Find out which in our brand new Starring Bristol video, and discover the locations that brought their worlds to life:
Fancy seeing them in person? Step onto our city-sized set and star in your very own Bristol adventure with our self-guided tour of the city's most notable filming locations, many of which are featured in the video...
1. Come to Bristol Cathedral for Wolf Hall, stay for the pastries
Standing in the city centre overlooking the green oasis of College Green, the majestic Bristol Cathedral has been at the heart of the city since medieval times. Thanks to its immaculately preserved interiors, which date from several different time periods, the building was cast in a major role in the BBC's acclaimed adaptation of Hilary Mantel's novel Wolf Hall.
Image: Bristol Cathedral, credit Graham Flack
Follow in the footsteps of Claire Foy's Anne Boleyn as you wander down the central aisle of the nave, which doubled as Westminster Abbey in a scene depicting the ill-fated queen's coronation in 1533, watched over by Mark Rylance's Thomas Cromwell (as seen in our Starring Bristol video from 0:08 - 0:33). The scene is tribute to the fact that Bristol Cathedral's Gothic revival nave is so convincing that you'd never guess it was actually built in the mid-19th century!
Elsewhere, you'll recognise the Cathedral's medieval Chapter House as the Duke of Norfolk's office, the Elder Lady Chapel as the setting of Catherine of Aragon's last moments, and the choir area as a backdrop for Anne Boleyn's tense encounter with the French Ambassador.
Image: Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall, credit Company Pictures
With so many filming locations to explore in one building, we're sure you'll have worked up an appetite! Thankfully, the Cathedral's Pinkmans Cafe is ready to refuel you, with some of the city's best-loved pastries, including their signature 'sourdoughnuts,' among many others.
For more of Bristol's medieval history, cross over College Green to The Lord Mayor's Chapel on Park Street. Originally connected to the Cathedral as the 'Hospital of St Mark,’ which provided food, care and shelter to at least 100 people per day in the 1200s, the building is now used as a place of worship for Bristol’s ceremonial Lord Mayor.
While you’re in the area, take the opportunity to segue into street art and admire world renowned street artist Banksy’s famous ‘Well Hung Lover.’ You’ll find it daubed onto the side of a building a few steps away from The Lord Mayor’s Chapel, as Park Street crosses over Frogmore Street, which in turn featured as a Victorian London street in Channel 5's period drama The Forsytes (seen in the Starring Bristol video from 0:53 - 1:16), and as the scene of a car chase in the third series of Disney+'s War of the Worlds. The neighbouring Denmark Street also served as a backdrop in some scenes of the BBC's adaptation of The Pale Horse, Netflix's Agatha Christie's Seven Dials, and the second season of Rivals.
Image: Banksy's Well Hung Lover
Or perhaps you’d fancy dinner and a show? If so, stop by Pizzarova for some of Bristol’s finest pizza, then nab dessert at the locally beloved Swoon Gelato before heading to The Bristol Hippodrome, where you’ll find touring West End productions throughout the year. The theatre was also one of Bristol-born Hollywood star Cary Grant's first workplaces as a teenager!
If you're more interested in experiencing a slice of Bristol nightlife, take your pick from live music gigs at the O2 Academy, club nights at the LGBTQ+ friendly OMG and Queenshilling, or drinks at Bristol's oldest pub, The Hatchet Inn.
2. Take a spin around Queen Square
This peaceful Georgian square is one of Bristolians’ favourite places to socialise, whether it's over a picnic or through play. It’s in the latter spirit that we find Danny Dyer’s Freddie Jones and Nino Furahata’s Toshi Yamazaki during the sixth episode of Disney+’s hit TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals (as seen in our Starring Bristol video from 0:34 - 0:52), in which they drive two of the infamous 1980s Sinclair C5 electric tricycles around the square's perimeter during a business meeting.
You can enjoy the square at a similar pace on foot, taking in landmarks including the site of one of the first U.S. consulates in Britain on its southern edge, and the impressive bronze equestrian statue of King William III in the centre.
Image: King William III statue in Queen Square
The square also runs parallel to King Street, one of Bristol's most beloved watering holes since its creation in the 1600s. The cobbled street is lined with a multitude of pubs and bars, including the Llandoger Trow, which is said to have inspired the fictional Admiral Benbow pub in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. Be sure to stop for a pint or two at the King Street Brew House, where you can take your pick from an extensive range of local beers brewed freshly on site, and catch a show at the Bristol Old Vic, the oldest continuously operating theatre in the English-speaking world.
You can find another filming location tucked away near the square's northeastern corner at The Granary Club. Based in a cellar beneath the restaurant of the same name, this atmospheric cocktail bar may seem unassuming at first, but is in fact the very same room that David Jason's Del Boy fell through a bar into during a memorable scene from the 1980s sitcom Only Fools and Horses.
Image: The Granary Club
3. Follow in famous footsteps on the farm
Hop aboard a 25 bus towards Eastville or a 70 towards UWE Frenchay, and head out of the city centre to St Werburghs, where you'll find the peaceful surroundings of St Werburghs City Farm.
If you're thinking that such a wholesome location would be the last place you'd expect anyone to try and hide a body, you'd be wrong! In the final season of Bristol-born Stephen Merchant's The Outlaws, the titular group of miscreants not-so-subtly attempt to smuggle the corpse of criminal Marshall 'Smiler' Smiley into a supply shed without being noticed by their inept supervisor Diane Pemberley during a Community Payback session (as seen from 1:28 - 1:59 in the Starring Bristol video).
Thankfully, you won't encounter anyhting so dramatic on your visit - only adorable farm animals, a playground for the kids, and a cosy cafe serving a variety of dishes crafted using produce grown and reared on site. You'll find plenty more mouth-watering food and drink treats nearby, from authetic dim sum at CLOUDS, to hearty Italian classics at Cafe Napolita and sensational seafood at Fisk & Frite.
Image: The Outlaws season 3 filming at St Werburghs City Farm
4. Scale the heights of Brandon Hill
Rising over the city centre and crowned by Cabot Tower, one of Bristol's most recognisable landmarks, Brandon Hill is the city's oldest park. You'll find the entrance just off of Park Street, near Bristol Cathedral and College Green. Take a wander along the meandering paths, which will take you to peaceful hidden sanctuaries, children's play areas, and a beautiful nature reserve. While all of these features are lovely, Skins fans will have eyes for one thing only; a bench.
Head to the top of the hill, where, at the foot of Cabot Tower, you'll find the very same bench that Hannah Murray's troubled character Cassie Ainsworth dances on in the fifth episode of Skins' first season (as seen from 2:17 - 2:30 in the Starring Bristol video). Just keep an eye out for the many carved and graffitied tributes from fans!
Image: Cassie's Bench, credit Company Pictures, Storm Dog Films and All3Media International
5. Head to the Harbourside
One of the many gems in Bristol's crown is its historic Harbourside, which was once one of Britain's busiest ports, and the starting point for many famed voyages. Today, the area is a melting pot of Bristol culture and culinary excellence. Learn more about the city's history at M Shed and Bristol Dockyards, the latter of which is home to Isambard Kingdom Brunel's legendary SS Great Britain, then savour some of the delicious food and drink that Bristol is renowned for while watching boats sail gently along the river at Wapping Wharf. If you fancy taking to the water, hop aboard one of Bristol Ferry's distinctive blue and yellow vessels, or try your hand at paddleboarding with SUP Bristol.
Image: Bristol Harbourside
Explore everything that the Harbourside has to offer with a walk along the Harbourside Loop route. We'd recommend starting outside the M Shed, beneath its four iconic cargo cranes, which has starred in multiple big screen productions in recent years. The most notable of these is 2018's Stan and Ollie, a biopic of the illustrious Laurel & Hardy comedy duo, in which the dock doubles as an Irish port (from 3:12 - 3:29 in the Starring Bristol video). Steve Coogan's Stan Laurel and John C. Reilly's Oliver Hardy wave at crowds from MV Balmoral, a beloved former cruise ship that's part of the Harbourside furniture. The dock was also used to portray Weymouth Harbour in scenes depicting Lily James' character Juliet Ashton travelling to and from Guernsey in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, released in the same year.
Once you reach the Underfall Yard, take a detour to the Cumberland Basin to find another memorable Skins location. Directly opposite Noah's is the riverbank that the gang park in a stolen car following the dramatic aftermath of one of the show's trademark 'Skins parties' near the end of the series' first episode (as seen from 2:35 - 3:02 in the video). While the scene doesn't end well for the characters, with the car accidentally rolling into the river, you can have a much nicer time admiring the view from a distance, over one of the sublime seafood dishes at Noah's. The restaurant itself also played the role of Sid's Cafe in Only Fools and Horses.
Image: Noah's Bristol
6. Explore the Old City
It's easy to see why this area is a favourite of producers! Thanks to the grandeur of its historic buildings, the medieval core of Bristol has been used to stand in as London in several TV shows, most notably the BBC's Doctor Who, and Disney+'s Rivals. As a result, actor David Tennant has been a familiar face in the area in recent years, first visiting in 2022 to film scenes alongside none other than Neil Patrick Harris and Catherine Tate for Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials, and again in 2023 to film a scene for the first season of Rivals, alongside co-stars Aidan Turner, Emily Atack, and Nafessa Williams.
Start on Clare Street, a bustling thoroughfare in the heart of the Old City, alive with the buzz of the many restaurants and bars that call it home. It is here that David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor witnesses the general public turn inexplicably violent on a Central London street thanks to the nefarious doings of Neil Patrick Harris' mysterious Toymaker in the third of Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials, The Giggle.
Image: David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker on Clare Street in Doctor Who's 60th anniversary special 'The Giggle,' credit Logan Walker
Later in the same episode, the Doctor and his companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) travel backwards in time to 1925 to investigate an ominous toyshop dubbed the 'Mr Emporium,' which was played by independent creperie Chez Marcel on Broad Street. More recently, the street has also appeared in Amazon Prime Video's Young Sherlock as a 19th-century London shopping street.
Image: Exterior of the 'Mr Emporium' (Chez Marcel) in Doctor Who's 60th anniversary special 'The Giggle,' credit Logan Walker
Between Clare Street and Broad Street is the impressive Corn Street, which has been a trading hotspot for 800 years. Keep an eye out for the four intricate brass tables or 'Nails' lining the street, over which merchants once conducted their business, and the magnificent Georgian Corn Exchange building, which houses parts of St Nicholas Market. Established in 1743, the market is Bristol's oldest and best-loved, with over 60 permanent stalls selling a wide variety of goods, souvenirs, and mouth-watering street food, making it a must-see for any visitor. Don't miss a chance to tuck in to one of Eat a Pitta's fabulous falafel boxes at their stall in the Glass Arcade!
If you want to get to know the market and its modern history better, there's no better way to do so than on the St Nicholas Market and Air Raid Shelter walking tour.
Image: St Nicholas Market
Directly opposite St Nicholas Market is the 19th-century Harbour Hotel Bristol. Originally built as a bank, the opulent venue lent its services to the Rivals production crew as the setting of a glamorous television awards ceremony in the seventh episode of the show's first series. David Tennant's Tony Baddingham, Nafessa Williams' Cameron Cook, Aidan Turner's Declan O'Hara, and Emily Atack's Sarah Stratton are among the characters making their entrance on the red carpet outside the fictional 1986 'British Television Awards' (from 3:30 - 4:00 in the Starring Bristol video). Follow them inside and treat yourself to a cocktail in the speakeasy-style Gold Bar, or a spa session in the atmospheric subterranean HarSPA.
Image: The Gold Bar at Harbour Hotel Bristol
Fancy a spot of dinner, or a couple of drinks? You're spoilt for choice in the Old City, but some of our highlights include deliciously innovative liquid nitrogen-frozen cocktails at Brozen Bar, one of the elegant dishes at lavish Italian restaurant San Carlo, and the extensive range of Belgian and UK craft beers at independent bar Froth & Fries.
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