Top seven UK destinations for set-jetters

Set-jetting is one of this year’s biggest travel trends. The trend, which involves planning a vacation around a filming location for a TV show or movie, is gaining in popularity across the globe.

According to an Expedia report, set-jetting tourism has overtaken social feed fantasies, with a whopping 66% of travellers contemplating a visit to a destination featured in a show or movie they’ve streamed at home, and as many as 39% booking a trip for the same reason.

No wonder movies and TV series have been filmed at these beautiful locations in the recent times.

The White Lotus put Sicily in Italy on many travel wish lists, Emily in Paris did the same to Paris, while And Just Like That… and Sex and the City reboot put the spotlight on the glamour of New York.

Other destinations that have inspired set-jetters include Romania (Wednesday), Croatia (Game of Thrones), Norway (Mission Impossible), Ireland (Banshees of Inisherin), and more.

The UK is a hot favourite, owing to the fact that so many popular films, franchises, and series have been filmed across Britain, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Which of these top seven UK destinations that have played a starring role in blockbuster movies and hit TV series is on your set-jetting wish list?

London

If there were a locations’ sweepstake, London would have won every round. The iconic buildings have proved irresistible to film-makers, with the presence of major studios like Pinewood, Elstree, Ealing, Shepperton, Twickenham, and Leavesden the icing on the cake. The range of movie and TV locations is exhaustive, and includes James Bond and Sherlock Holmes, Bridget Jones, and Downton Abbey.

The metropolis is manna for Potterheads. From the London Zoo (where Harry learnt that he could speak Parseltongue) to Cecil Court (the inspiration for Diagon Alley), and Australia House, Strand (Gringotts Bank) to Scotland Place (with the telephone box that led to the Ministry of Magic), there are sights everywhere. Not to be missed is Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross Station, the departure point for Hogwarts Express, and Lambeth Bridge, where the Knight Bus squeezes between two buses while taking Harry to the Leaky Cauldron.

Robert Downey Junior's Sherlock Holmes moved around Victorian London, including Brompton Cemetery, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Reform Club.

Bridget Jones, meanwhile, could be seen at Globe Tavern, Kensington Gardens, Piccadilly Circus, and Trinity Church Square.

James Bond did his due diligence in London too: meeting Q at the National Gallery, surveying the skyline, and heading into MI6 HQ at Vauxhall Cross. Professor Robert Langdon went to the National Gallery, Horse Guard’s Parade, Westminster Abbey, King’s College Library, and Temple Church as he attempted to crack the Da Vinci Code.

Superhero fans will recognise University College London from The Dark Knight and Batman Begins while families will love exploring sites made famous by Paddington, Mary Poppins Returns, 101 Dalmatians, 102 Dalmatians, and The BFG.

Oxford

Often called the City of Dreaming Spires, the mediaeval metropolis of Oxford revolves around its prestigious university, which was established in the 12th century. The university, with its 44 colleges, may be the city’s most defining feature, but there’s much to explore for set-jetters.

Harry Potter fans can't miss the Bodleian Library, which served as the inspiration for the Hogwarts library. The Bodley staircase, at Christ Church College, is where Professor McGonagall first meets Harry, Ron, and Hermione — and this is where the magic begins. The staircase leads to Christ Church Dining Hall, with tall ceilings, portraits lining the walls, and long benches — said to be the inspiration behind Hogwarts' Great Hall.

Duke Humfrey’s Library stood in for Hogwarts’ Library’s Restricted Section while the New College courtyard quadrangle with a gigantic oak tree is where Mad-Eye Moody turns Malfoy into a ferret!

Walk in the footsteps of the world-weary Inspector Morse, exploring Exeter College, Radcliffe Square, and pubs such as Lamb and Flag, The Bear, and The White Horse, where Morse would retreat to think — with a drink!

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass was filmed at Exeter College, Queens College, and Christ Church Meadow. X-Men: First Class fans are sure to recognise the Bridge of Sighs and the Sheldonian Theatre. Doctor Strange fans will remember that the first movie showed Exeter College Chapel being bent and twisted out of shape!

Cardiff

The capital and largest city of Wales, Cardiff is known for its castle and culture, and serves as the primary location for BBC Cymru Wales’ long-running sci-fi series, Doctor Who. Broadcast since 1963, the series—  and its many time-travelling doctors — have gained a cult following.

Begin at Cardiff Bay’s Roald Dahl Plass, which served as The Hub, the headquarters of Torchwood, a spin-off to Doctor Who.

The Millennium Centre, including the lobby, has been seen in various scenes. Other locations include National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans National Museum of History, and Mount Stuart Square. Outside Cardiff, fans typically make a beeline for St Donat’s Castle in Llantwit Major, Caerphilly Castle, and Tredegar House in Newport.

Cardiff Castle has been seen in many episodes of Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah-Jane Adventures, and Sherlock (as the castle where Moriarty stole the crown jewels).

Wolf, a six-part thriller, was filmed mainly at Merthyr Mawr, Bridgend, Roath Lake, Warren Nature Reserve, and at Cardiff's Enfys Studios. For Wolf Hall, the story of Thomas Cromwell, nearby Caerphilly Castle was one of the four Welsh castles used for filming. Numerous Doctor Who storylines and a few scenes in TV series The White Princess are also shot at Caerphilly.

The Crown used Caernarfon Castle, built by Edward I in the late 13th century and a UNESCO World Heritage site, as a location for season three.

Bath

Named for its Roman-era baths, Bath has always been a tourist favourite, but Netflix's delightfully escapist period drama Bridgerton and its prequel Queen Charlotte cemented its massive fan following.

The golden Georgian stone architecture was used to portray the streets of Regency London as the squabbling Bridgerton siblings navigated the world of regency romance and scandal. The Abbey Green stood in for a market square in the series, The Holburne Museum was where Lady Danbury lived her grand life, and No.1 Royal Crescent was the home of the Featheringtons. Apart from the buildings, the cobbled streets allow you to retrace the footsteps of the Regency-era social elite.

Bath was the home of Jane Austen from 1801 to 1806, and the historic Georgian streets were used for many period adaptations of Persuasion - Netflix's 2022 version starring Dakota Johnson and the 1995 and 2007 versions.

The Assembly Rooms and the Royal Crescent were featured in Keira Knigtley’s The Duchess and Reese Witherspoon’s Vanity Fair. The Assembly Rooms served as the setting for a grand ball in Brussels in Belgravia, a historical drama. In Les Misérables, Pulteney Bridge stood in for 19th-century Paris.

Belfast

Northern Ireland’s capital is famed as the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, but it’s better known as the home of Game of Thrones (GoT).

All seasons of the popular series were filmed at around 25 locations around Northern Ireland, with the country’s rugged coastlines, spectacular castles, and gorgeous scenery creating the perfect backdrop. No chance then that a GOT fan can possibly say, “Not today.”

In County Antrim, don’t miss Cushendun Caves, where Melisandre gave birth to her ‘shadow baby’; the Dark Hedges, an avenue of beech trees that form an atmospheric tunnel known as the King’s Road; and Castle Ward, a 16th century castle that served as the home for the Stark family.

The locations include Dunluce Castle (Pyke Castle), Murlough Bay (Slaver’s Bay), Ballintoy Harbour (Lordsport Harbour), Fair Head (Dragonstone Cliffs), Portstewart Strand (Dorne Coast), Tollymore Forest Park (The Haunted Forest), Larrybane Quarry (Renly Baratheon’s camp), Antrim plateau, and Inch Abbey.

A two-hour walking tour in Belfast takes you to the six huge stained glass windows depicting the six famous houses created by Tourism Ireland to celebrate 10 years of filming. The Game of Thrones tour at Linen Mill Studios is an immersive experience through the iconic sets, costumes, and artistry.

Derry

Creative, vibrant, and steeped in history, Derry is known for the warmth and wit of its people. It also has Ireland's only completely intact historic Walled City, with impregnable 400-year-old walls that enclose the original town and offer a walkway around the old city.

The walkable city was thrust into the limelight by Derry Girls, a rip roaring comedy set in the mid-1990s that follows the (mis)adventures of 16-year-old Erin, her friends, and her family.

The Derry Girls guided tour lets you walk in the footsteps of Ering and her gang, sighting Pump Street, Dennis’s Wee Shop, and other notable locations. The Tower Museum houses a Derry Girls Experience exhibit–check out the set of the Quinn household, and look at Erin’s diary, Aunt Sarah’s pyjama’s, and Mary’s sweater! Sister Michael fans couldn’t do better than perching on her chair and rolling their eyes disdainfully! Michelle says in the series, “Aye, fair dos. Derry is class”. And we agree!

Shetland

We all fell in love with Detective Inspector Jimmy Pérez, first in Anne Cleeves’ Shetland novels and later in a TV series of the same name. Accompanied by Detective Sergeant Alison “Tosh” Macintosh, and Detective Constable Sandy Wilson, he gets down to crime-solving in the remote islands located between Great Britain, the Faroe Islands, and Norway.

The islands’ tourism sector received a massive boost between 2013, when the BAFTA-winning BBC crime drama premiered, and 2019.

A 2019 survey by VisitScotland revealed that 38% of leisure travellers to the islands mentioned television programmes as a reason for visiting.

Of those, 87% cited Shetland. Perez may have been replaced by DI Ruth Calder in the archipelago of 300 islands, but Shetland remains as popular a destination as it was.

Lerwick, Shetland’s main town, offers many memorable locations, including Perez’s on-screen home: the much-photographed Lodberries house, with its foundations built into the sea.

Also recognisable are Bain’s Beach, adjacent to Perez’s house, Lerwick Town Hall, Lerwick Harbour, and the sheriff court, which doubles as the police station in the show.