Highclere Castle, the main filming location for Downton Abbey.

Literature, film and TV

Many of our famous writers have been inspired by the drama of the landscape. Wordsworth loved the light on a Cumbrian lake. The wildness of the Yorkshire Moors compelled Emily Bronte to write Wuthering Heights. The misty marshlands of Kent feature in many of Charles Dickens’ novels, and the rural idylls of Dorset were beloved by Thomas Hardy. But if writing a great English novel is not on your agenda, visit one of the many stately homes which are regularly used for film locations and TV locations. Make your own costume drama at houses like Highclere Castle, the setting of the fictional Downton Abbey.

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Visit Derby's three National Trust treasures

Derby has a trio of National Trust treasures all within a 10 mile radius, so use the city as your base to explore Calke, Sudbury and Kedleston.

Location: Derby, Derbyshire

 

Explore the ruins of Ashby Castle

Sir Walter Scott’s classic novel of 1819, Ivanhoe featured Ashby Castle as the backdrop to the famous jousting scenes.

Location: Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire

 

Be inspired by the grand Malvern Hills

Enjoy great views on top of the Worcestershire Beacon and follow in the footsteps of writers and composers including Sir Edward Elgar and C.S Lewis.

Location: Malvern, Worcestershire

 

Take a 'Christmas Carol’ Guided Tour

Join a Christmas Carol guided tour to see some of the film’s most memorable locations.

Location: Shrewsbury, Shropshire

 

Take a tour round Stokesay Court

Stokesay Court was the setting for the mansions scenes in the film version of Ian McEwan's best selling novel, “Atonement”.

Location: Craven Arms, Shropshire

 

Visit Shrewsbury Abbey, fictional home of Brother Cadfael

Visit Shrewsbury Abbey and follow in the footsteps of Cadfael, the monastic sleuth, where the books and TV series were set.

Location: Shrewsbury, Shropshire

 

Explore Hawkstone Park Follies fantasy land

Spend the day exploring an historic woodland fantasy with cliffs, crags, caves, deep woods and towers built hundreds of years ago.

Location: Weston under Redcastle, Shropshire

 

Discover DH Lawrence country

Discover DH Lawrence country on the edge of Nottingham and follow in the footsteps of the county's most controversial literary hero.

Location: Eastwood, Nottinghamshire

 

Find Byron's Nottinghamshire on the Byron Trail

Lord Byron was famous during his lifetime as a figure who could inspire love, romance, political change and liberation through his powerful works.

Location: Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

 

Lose yourself in Neverland at Nottingham Arboretum

The Arboretum just outside Nottingham’s city centre is said to be the inspiration behind J.M. Barrie’s classic children’s tale ‘Peter Pan’.

Location: Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

 

Visit the real Wayne Manor in Nottingham

Wollaton Hall took on a very special role in when it appeared as ‘Wayne Manor’ in The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Location: Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

 
Stratford Literary Festival

Add Stratford Literary Festival to your list of things to do in April

Be in the company of celebrity authors and best-selling writers at this lively literary event in the UK.

Location: Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire

 

Spend the day playing at Lyme Park, House and Garden

Get transported back to Edwardian times, at the mansion and extensive grounds of Lyme Park.

Location: Disley, Cheshire

 

Step into the magical world of JRR Tolkien

Celebrate this great literary mind by exploring his childhood haunts, the inspiration for literary classics Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Location: Birmingham, West Midlands

 

Woo your true love in Stratford-upon-Avon

Relax by the river, recite a romantic sonnet, indulge yourself in Shakespeare’s England. It is a heavenly break for you and your true love.

Location: Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Be inspired in Shakespeare's Schoolroom

Explore the historic building where William Shakespeare spent his schooldays and discovered theatre for the first time; an ideal thing to do when it rains.

Location: Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

 

Visit New Place, Shakepeare's final home

Walk in Shakespeare's footsteps in the site of his final home, New Place.

Location: Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

 

Discover Lord Tennyson’s Somersby

Visit Somersby House, Tennyson’s birthplace, and the village’s "silent woody places" that featured in much of the Victorian poet’s work.

Location: Somersby, Lincolnshire

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