Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone @ Alnwick Castle, Northumberland

The most well known one of this list, and one on which Alnwick Castle has cemented itself firmly into global consciousness. The outside of Alnwick Castle Bailey and the lawns is the location for the famous “flying lesson” scene in the first Harry Potter movie when Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) discovers his talents on a broomstick, and the hapless Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) loses control of his broom and comes back to earth with a bump. The scene also included favourite characters such as Hermione (Emma Watson), Ron (Rupert Grint), Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), Professor McGonagall (the late, great, Maggie Smith) and Madam Hooch (Zoe Wannamaker).

If you want to experience some of the magic for yourself, you can take broomstick lessons at Alnwick Castle, where you’ll learn how to hold your broom, accelerate, brake, and turn around corners. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, the flying charm has been removed from visitor’s brooms.

This isn’t the only time that Alnwick Castle was used in the first two movies. The grounds around the Castle were used for exterior shots (notably when Harry and Ron crash into the Whomping Willow in the second film), and the Lion Gate was used an entrance/exit for Hogwarts Students on their way to and from the grounds and the path down to Hagrid’s Hut.

The Witcher @ Fountains Abbey, N. yorks

The Abbey was a major filming location for Season Two of the Netflix show, The Witcher. According to the abbey website, more than 250 crew members moved in for two months(!) in order to film the scenes for the high fantasy show. The nave was used for a dramatic night ritual scene, followed by a horseback rescue; a scene which involved a lot of fire. Many safety precautions and tricky filming tactics were needed, both to protect the cast and crew, but also to protect the UNESCO world heritage site. On a calmer side, the Georgian water gardens were used as palace grounds for members of the court to walk and scheme along the way.

Game of Thrones @ Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland

Game of Thrones didn’t just use Hadrian’s Wall as a filming location because it fit the books, the location was in fact the inspiration for what appeared in the books. George R. R. Martin writes about a land divided by a wall of ice, guarded by a hardy and dwindling band of sworn soldiers. “Civilisation” (or so they think) is found south of the wall, whilst North of the Wall is full of untold dangers and wild people beyond the law. Sound familiar?

As such, it was a total no-brainer when it came to using Hadrian’s Wall as the location for The North in Game of Thrones, and the location where the viewer is first introduced to Eddard Stark (Sean Bean), Robb Stark (Richard Madden), and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) in Episode one of Season One.

Game of Thrones was one of those TV Shows that made me wonder how one gets into location scouting for a production company or film shoot. Seems like a wonderful job to me…

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Peaky Blinders @ Ashton Memorial, Lancashire

My home town was all abuzz when we learned that Peaky Blinders, the TV show sensation predominately filmed at the Black Country Museum, was coming to film in one of the most famous buildings in Lancaster.

The production moved in for a week or so, and used the iconic Ashton Memorial as the location for an evening soiree that quickly descends into chaos due to the presence of Oswald Mosley’s fascist Black Shirts.

Outlander @ Carlisle Castle, Cumbria & Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland

The exteriors of both Carlisle Castle and Bamburgh Castle were used as locations for the notorious Wentworth Prison in Season One of the historical fantasy Outlander. Both of these castles provided the backdrop for Black Jack Randall’s lair in the Scottish Highlands, from which he terrorises the surrounding area and nurses his obsession of Jamie Fraser.

Regardless of the fact that neither of these castles ever had major prisons in them (outside of the dank dungeons favoured by medieval lords who liked shoving hapless people in them from time to time), they both certainly provide a foreboding and intimidating backdrop for the show.