Words: Sara Humphrey & Elyssa Campbell-Barr

With the evenings drawing in and the TV schedules livening up, the sofa can be a bigger draw than the great outdoors. Rather than becoming a couch potato, why not let your favourite shows provide inspiration for your autumn walks? These ten trails will take you behind the scenes of some of the most popular British TV dramas of recent years. 
 

1. Vera, Lindisfarne, Northumberland 

One of ITV’s most popular dramas from 2011 until its 2025 finale, Vera’s atmosphere is as brooding as its heroine as she mulls over mysteries while striding across windswept Northumberland moors and coastlines. The series also showcases the area’s villages, towns and cities, from quaint Alnmouth and Amble to bustling Redcar and Hexham, and the city of Newcastle, where DCI Vera Stanhope and her team of police investigators have their headquarters. 

Vera’s home in the series is on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. A private residence, the house itself isn’t a visitor attraction, but you can walk the 5km/3-mile Pilgrim’s Way from the mainland to the island – with caution! Check tide times, weather conditions and daylight hours before setting out, stick to the pole-marked route and be prepared to get muddy. 

Discover more of Vera’s filming locations. 

 

2. Beyond Paradise, Looe, Cornwall 

In this popular spin-off of the BBC’s long-running Death in Paradise, bumbling but 

brilliant DI Humphrey Goodman has relocated from the tropical island of Saint Marie to sleepy Shipton Abbott. Although billed as ‘Death in Devon’, the role of fictitious Shipton Abbott is largely played by the scenic Cornish seaside town of Looe. The houseboat belonging to Humphrey and fiancée Martha is moored on the banks of the nearby Pentillie Estate, and Martha’s café is actually The Stables tearoom at Port Eliot House and Gardens, near Saltash. 

The 15km/9¼-mile loop between Looe and Polperro shows off the stunning Cornish coastline, countryside and towns that give the show its distinctive West Country character.  

Visit the Beyond Paradise filming locations. 

 

3. Bridgerton, Greenwich, London 

Netflix’s Bridgerton follows the romance, intrigue and scandals of London’s high society, in a racy and diverse updating of traditional Regency-era dramas. While much of the action is filmed in Bath, Londoners also have some of the saga’s sumptuous locations on their doorstep. Ranger’s House in Greenwich Park doubles as the Bridgertons’ London residence, and characters stroll through its Rose Garden. Nearby Queen’s House is the setting for the grand ball attended by Prince Friedrich in the first series, and the Old Royal Naval College provides the backdrop for several scenes. 

Our 13km/8-mile Palace to Palace route takes you from the banks of the Thames, past the Old Royal Naval College (admission charge), close to Queen’s House (free, pre-booking recommended), into Greenwich Park, through the Rose Garden, to Ranger’s House (admission charge), and on to Crystal Palace if you wish.  

Plan your visit to Bridgerton’s TV locations. 

 

4. Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Nant Ffrancon, Eryri 

ITV’s dramatisation of the miscarriage of justice that saw hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses wrongly accused of fraud and false accounting was one of 2024’s most-watched series. When Alan Bates loses his Llandudno post office, he and partner Suzanne are shown relocating to rural Eryri. It’s a bit of artistic licence on the programme makers’ part (the pair really moved along the coast to Old Colwyn), but the idyllic scenery creates a dramatic contrast with the hellish legal battle they endure. 

The series depicts the couple living in an isolated cottage at Nant Ffrancon, where they enjoy rambling, Suzanne paints and Alan takes investigator Bob Rutherford for a pint in a Beddgelert pub. Get a taste of the area on a 4km/2½-mile circular National Trust walk.  

Discover the Welsh locations used in Mr Bates vs the Post Office. 

 

5. Sex Education, Symonds Yat, Herefordshire 

The coming-of-age drama Sex Education on Netflix takes us into the life of teenager Otis as – learning tricks of the trade from his sex therapist mother, Jean – he becomes a therapist himself for his fellow school students. The series’ colour-drenched sweeping views feel almost otherworldly, but you’ll actually find them straddling the border of England and Wales, in Symonds Yat in the Wye Valley. 

This 11km/7-mile walk starts and finishes at Ye Olde Ferrie Inn. Keep your eyes peeled and look across the river during the first stretch to see Otis and Jean’s distinctive red and white house nestled in the trees. The walk takes you past a lovely waterfall known as Dropping Well, King Arthur’s Cave and close to the house, before you reach Yat’s Rock for panoramic views of the valley. 

Visit the locations featured in Sex Education. 

 

6. Rivals, Tetbury, Gloucestershire 

Sexy, hedonistic and brimming with 1980s excess, the recent Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s bestseller about the battle for a regional TV franchise revels in the era’s idiosyncratic fashions, culture and social attitudes. Like other Cooper novels, it’s set in the fictional county of Rutshire – a thinly disguised Cotswolds – full of honey-hued houses and grand country estates. 

The archetypal Cotswolds town of Tetbury (close to Jilly’s home of over 40 years) doubles as Rivals’ Cotchester, where TV company Corinium is based, and hotshot American producer Cameron Cook has her home. A 9km/5 ½-mile circular route takes you from there to Chavenage House, which serves as The Priory, where star presenter Declan O’Hara and his rambunctious family relocate to at the start of the story.  

Discover the picturesque settings of Rivals. 

 

7. Shetland, Shetland 

‘The dark side of one of the most beautiful places on earth’ is the BBC’s tagline for this atmospheric crime drama, originally based on Ann Cleeves’ novels and now filming its 10th series. Most exterior scenes are shot in the archipelago itself, around 170km/110 miles north of the Scottish mainland. Nowhere else could stand in for the islands’ unique rugged landscapes, where you’re never more than three miles from the sea. 

Shetland’s tourist board has embraced the islands’ pivot to TV stardom, devising a range of trails that fans of the show can walk or drive. Walkhighlands offers detailed walking guides to locations throughout the Shetland Islands, including a 6km/3¾-mile circuit of the capital, Lerwick, where DI Perez had his waterside home, The Lodberrie.  

Find out more about the filming locations for Shetland. 

 

8. Peaky Blinders, Liverpool 

You might think you’d need to head to the Midlands to walk in the footsteps of everyone’s favourite gangster-turned-MP, Tommy Shelby. Birmingham feels like a character in itself in the BBC’s Peaky Blinders, but in fact most of the six seasons was filmed 100 miles north-west in Liverpool. 

Our Georgian Liverpool route guides you through the settings of several scenes, including Liverpool Cathedral, where Tommy worships, and Falkner Square, which doubles for London’s Belgravia, where his brother detonates a bomb. A short detour takes you to stunning St George’s Hall (opposite Lime Street Station), site of the tragic death of Tommy’s wife Grace. Peaky Blinders’ other Liverpool locations include the streets of Toxteth and Stanley Docks, while Aunt Polly’s lovely new house is a few miles away in Port Sunlight.  

Explore the filming locations of Peaky Blinders. 

 

9. Grantchester, Cambridgeshire 

Now in its 10th season, ITV’s Grantchester has all the ingredients of great comfort-watch TV. Steeped in 1950s nostalgia and picture-postcard-pretty settings, the series sees DI Geordie Keating solving intriguing whodunnit mysteries in partnership with the local vicar – first Sidney Chambers, then Will Davenport and most recently Alphy Kottaram. 

Based on The Grantchester Mysteries short stories by James Runcie, the series is both set and filmed in the real Grantchester, just a couple of miles from Cambridge. It’s an easy walk from the city, through Paradise Nature Reserve, along The Meadows and beside the River Cam. Once there, look out for the church, pub, thatched cottages and handsome country homes that feature in the show. 

Go behind the scenes of Granchester’s locations. 

 

10. All Creatures Great and Small, Grassington, Yorkshire Dales 

Both the 1978-1990 BBC adaptation of vet James Herriot’s bestselling autobiographical tales, and the recent Channel 5 remake, were filmed in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales. But while Askrigg was the setting for Darrowby in the original, Grassington further south plays the part in the remake. As you stroll around the town, look out for the pub, grocery, bakery, bookstore and vets’ surgery from the series. Countrywear outfitters Robert Bunney didn’t even need a 1930s makeover! 

Our circular route links Grassington with Dales villages including lovely Linton. You can imagine James rushing to his next appointment as you sup your pint of Yorkshire ale. Nearby series locations include Bolton Abbey, Ripon Racecourse, Malham Cove and Bradford Industrial Museum. 

Find out more about the locations used in All Creatures Great and Small.