Stunning Locations in Surrey Utilised by Blockbuster Films
Surrey boasts an incredible film community partially spurred on by the regularity of major film studios coming to the county to shoot movies. This interest has not only helped to create some tourism opportunities but also gave rise to the Walton Weybridge Film Society, which would put on films like the winner of three Academy Awards, Roma, for locals to enjoy.
Even films set elsewhere in the UK have gravitated to Surrey, with The Dig being the primed example. Despite the 2021 film based on the 2007-released novel by John Preston being about the discovery of Sutton Hoo, the filming took place in Shackleford. Best of all for Surrey-based cinephiles is that all of the stunning locations, the natural areas used, and the buildings are all just around the corner. These are the great places to visit from the movies.
Bourne Wood
Found in Farnham, Bourne Wood is an incredibly popular setting for blockbuster movies. It’s only around 2.5 kilometres from the station but can send you into a whole host of instantly recognisable stories from the big screen. Ridley Scott has often come to the South West Surrey woodland, most notably for Gladiator, and Steven Spielberg picked Bourne Wood for War Horse, per Visit Surrey.
The Golden Compass also features Bourne Wood, as does Robin Hood from 2010, but easily among the biggest and most popular film series to come here is Jurassic Park. The go-to dinosaur films average $1 billion per movie, recently concluding the Jurassic World sequel trilogy with Jurassic World: Dominion with $1.004 billion. The logo and films are so iconic that developers of the slots at Betway have been able to produce five successful games, three for Jurassic Park, which includes Gold and a jackpot version, and two for Jurassic World.
Boasting huge prehistoric creatures, action, adventure, and a dose of horror, the blockbuster movie series invariably chose great locations to shoot. In the case of Bourne Wood, the area was leveraged for its beauty and tranquillity. Seen in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as a little bit of clearing with the woodland as the backdrop, Chris Pratt’s character sought refuge and started to build his own home there – which is very understandable. As The Location Guide details, the film crew came to Bourne Wood for three weeks and shot for three days.
Shere
While not a hugely revisited site for blockbuster movies, one iconic film featured Shere so heavily that it’s forever going to be associated with the British-American house-swapping flick of 2006. The Holiday saw Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz swap houses, and while Winslet went off to a particularly glamorous part of Los Angeles, Diaz got to snuggle up in the cosy village of Shere.
She could have enjoyed some luxury in the spa of the nearby Brooklands Hotel, but there was enough to enjoy about the English village. Being so distinctly British, Shere offered a memorable contrast to what Diaz was coming from, and while the cottage itself was custom-built for the movie, the famed actress still managed to get into the village.
As well as the chocolate-box cottages of Shere, the film saw Diaz go with Jude Law to the White Horse Pub in the village, and Godalming featured in some scenes in the nearby shops. They didn’t go much further, but enough was explored for Shere and Godalming to become must-visit places for rom-com fanatics.
Waverley Abbey
Not all of the great films that feature a part of Surrey hails from Hollywood. In fact, one of the best British horror films ever made dipped into the county to utilise the stunning Waverley Abbey. In 28 Days Later, the abbey thought to have originated not long after 1536 acts as an idyllic sanctuary in the middle of the film to offer a break from the manic hordes of infected chasing them. It was also in the backdrop of 1998’s Elizabeth starring Cate Blanchett, the hit comedy Hot Fuzz from 2007, and Netflix’s series Cursed – which also visited Deepcut for 40 weeks of production.
You can get a dose of the movies in as little as an hour by visiting these idyllic locations right here in Surrey!