Britain’s grand homes and romantic castles have long provided beautiful backdrops to period dramas, from Jane Austen adaptations to iconic TV series like Bridgerton and Game of Thrones, and their popularity shows no sign of waning.
We're jumping on the set-jetting trend as we step behind the red rope and take a good look around to see how the other half live.
Click or scroll to tour our favourite British stately homes and castles that have starred on screen...
The English country house of Castle Howard is one of the earliest examples of a stately home, stealing the show in a TV adaptation.
When it appeared as the eponymous house in Brideshead Revisited in the 1981 TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s classic book, audiences seemed just as taken with the setting as with the rather dashing cast.
Interestingly, it revived its role as Brideshead in the 2008 film, and lately it has also had a notable appearance as the Duke of Hastings' family estate in Bridgerton. The castle also featured in ITV's Victoria, and the BBC's Death Comes to Pemberley in 2013, among others.
If there is one TV show that really demonstrated the power of screen tourism, it’s Highclere Castle, which was reimagined into the home of the Crawleys in Julian Fellowes' smash hit, Downton Abbey.
Ever since owners Lord and Lady Carnarvon opened their home up to fans of the show, the house has seen its visitor numbers soar, opening the eyes of other stately home owners in the process, no doubt.
Another show that became bigger than anyone could have imagined and opened a whole new tourism industry in Scotland was the Highland fantasy drama Outlander.
Fans of this time-travelling show, which has now filmed its eighth and final series, can't get enough of the real-life Scottish locations, such as Hopetoun House (pictured). It was a key setting in series one to four, which represented many different places, including the Duke of Sandringham's home of Bellhurst Manor.
Following on from the show's success, Hopetoun now runs tours of the house and grounds for Outlander fans, including a visit to this 16th-century tower house.
Midhope Castle is the real-life inspiration for Lallybroch, leading man Jamie Fraser's ancestral home. While it is just about possible to view from the gate, it's much better to get a closer look from inside the grounds.
Looked after by the National Trust, the medieval abbey of Lacock and the timber-framed houses in the village that surrounds it have drawn many a director.
Most notably, the village starred in Downton Abbey twice – once in the series as the setting for a 1920s livestock show and a second time in the first film, whereby its streets were lined with people awaiting a visit from the king and queen.
It's also had bit parts in the Harry Potter franchise and a starring role in the BBC drama Wolf Hall, with the abbey standing in for the series’ namesake and seat of the Seymour family.
Yet another show from recent years that has built up an army of followers is Bridgerton – a light-hearted Regency-era romance series based on Julia Quinn's best-selling novels.
While a lot of the Netflix series' locations can be found in London, there are several in Bath thanks to its gorgeous Georgian architecture. In real life, No.1 Royal Crescent is an award-winning museum, but in Bridgerton, its grand façade becomes the outside of the Featherington's townhouse in – rather confusingly – London.
A large part of Bridgerton's action is set around Regency balls, which offer characters the chance to flirt outrageously with one another while sharing society gossip.
In series one, the ball at which Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke of Hastings meet is shot within Bath Assembly Rooms, and the chandeliers were supposedly lowered for more dramatic effect. You will have to wait a little while to recreate the scene, however, as the rooms are currently closed for restoration and are due to reopen in 2027.
In 2022, the North Gallery at this smart stately home was also used in scenes for Bridgerton, but it's far from its only moment in the spotlight. Maleficent, Rebecca, and Elizabeth: The Golden Age were all filmed here, and more recently, the house and its grounds featured on the big screen in Ridley Scott's 2023 film Napoleon.
The opulent interiors of Petworth served the film well, featuring in several scenes, not least at the Victim's Ball, where Napoleon meets Josephine.
This 17th-century house, which stands at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Maritime Greenwich, is not only a faithful film location but also offers some of the best views of London.
In terms of starring roles, it's been in Bridgerton, Netflix's royal drama The Crown, Apple TV's spy thriller Slow Horses, and more. You can learn about these productions – plus some of the other blockbusters that make Greenwich the number one filming location in Britain – on one of the Old Royal Naval College's new film tours.
Famous for being the real-life setting for that scene from 1995’s TV drama Pride and Prejudice, the magnificent estate of Lyme on the edge of the Peak District is the epitome of Regency resplendence.
And while we can't promise you'll bump into your own Colin Firth lookalike while wandering the grounds of Lyme, a trip to this country pile in Cheshire will make you feel like the star of your own period drama.
Also appearing in the iconic 1995 series of Pride and Prejudice, this time doubling as Lady Catherine de Bourgh's home of Rosings, where Mr Darcy writes to Elizabeth after she has turned down his proposal.
An epic example of a Carolean-style house – a variation of English Baroque – Belton House was built in the 17th century and was renowned at the time for including the modern invention of sash windows.
Today, most visitors probably recognise it best as the main residence in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
It's hard to believe this exquisite country house once wore the hallmarks of severe wartime damage, as it has been so sensitively restored. In 1952, Lord and Lady IIiffe restored Basildon Park and later gifted it to the National Trust.
The work done was so sympathetic that it is regularly used as a setting for Regency-era dramas, from Pride & Prejudice (the 2005 Keira Knightley version this time) as well as scenes from Bridgerton. Eagle-eyed viewers may also recognise it as Grantham House, the Crawley family’s London residence in series five of Downton Abbey.
So much more than just the birthplace of Winston Churchill, Blenheim Palace, set in a Lancelot 'Capability' Brown landscape, is also popular with film scouts.
From the house's grand façade that has proved an irresistible canvas for Gulliver's Travels and James Bond's Spectre, to the rich interiors, which transport viewers into the past through series like Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story and movies like Napoleon.
The Duke of Devonshire's sprawling 350-acre (141.6ha) estate is one of the nation's favourites. However, long before it starred as Mr Darcy's home of Pemberley in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, it had already drawn the attention of the book's author, Jane Austen.
Austen wrote the book while staying just a few miles away in Bakewell, and rumour has it that this is the Pemberley of the book – it even gets a brief mention as somewhere that Elizabeth Bennet has visited on her way to Pemberley.
If the ornate interiors of the National Trust-owned property Claydon House seem familiar, it's because it stars in series three of Bridgerton.
The house provides the location for a previously unseen room in the Featherington's home in series three, when it is the setting for Penelope and Colin's wedding breakfast.
Luckily, other than putting some protective mats down on the floor, the crew didn't need to change an awful lot about Claydon to fit with the Featheringtons' aesthetic, as the walls were already brightly coloured and featured ornate carvings.
Once described as the 'palace of palaces', while Osterley Park is presented today much as it would have looked in the late 18th century, its film credentials far from limit it to this era.
Sure, it's played its part in Bridgerton – as the setting for the Full Moon Ball – but it's also appeared as Wayne Manor in The Dark Knight Rises, in Miss Potter, and The Secret Garden as well as TV series Dr Thorne and the 2018 adaptation of Vanity Fair, so we suggest a visit to see what all the fuss is about.
Moving back in time, to the Elizabethan era, a visit to Montacute House, which was ahead of its time – not least for the extensive use of glass, a real extravagance at the time – makes for a glorious day out in the English countryside.
Several shows and films have been shot here over the years, including the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility starring Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson. But it was the property's starring role in Wolf Hall as Henry VIII's main London residence, Greenwich Palace, that really thrust it into the spotlight.
Way back in the early 1990s – before Pride & Prejudice had stirred our passion for period dramas – there was Remains of the Day, with a stellar cast including Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.
Exterior shots of the house at the centre of the 1993 film, Darlington Hall, were filmed at Dyrham Park just a few miles from Bath, while interiors were shot at Badminton House and Powderham Castle.
The 17th-century mansion also provided the location for the Warleggans' townhouse in the BBC drama series Poldark.
Another grand house that has attracted filmmakers is Ham House in Richmond. It was the setting for the 2012 film version of Anna Karenina, starring Keira Knightley and Jude Law, with the red-brick house overlooking the River Thames repurposed into Count Vronsky's lavish apartments for the film.
The Baroque interiors, with their gold-gilded oak panelling, parquet flooring, and oil paintings, meant it was easy enough for the producers to convince viewers this was indeed 19th-century St Petersburg.
Visitors to the Georgian estate of Stowe in Buckinghamshire can satisfy their set-jetting interest by strolling the grounds where landscape design features such as the Palladian Bridge (pictured) have featured on screen several times, including in the 2015 film Pan and the 2020 movie adaptation of Emma.
However, younger visitors may be more interested in the exterior of the house itself, which starred as the School for Gifted Youngsters in X-Men: First Class.
Another Elizabethan house known for its liberal use of glass and intended to show off vast wealth is Hardwick Hall, once home to the Countess of Shrewsbury, a prominent figure in 16th-century society.
Remarkably, the house remains spectacularly grand centuries later, so much so that it stood in for Hampton Court Palace in the 2018 film Mary Queen of Scots, while Harry Potter fans might recognise it as Malfoy Manor in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
As his real-life family home, it was very fitting that Sir Winston Churchill's country retreat of Chartwell, Kent should appear as itself in both the 2017 Churchill film Darkest Hour and the 2016 film Churchill's Secret. It also made a much earlier appearance in the 1972 film Young Winston.
Visitors to the house can immerse themselves in the former British Prime Minister's world, as he spent more than 40 years here, and the rooms have been left much as they were in his time. The visitors' book also makes for an intriguing read.
Though lots of the real-life Harry Potter locations – Glenfinnan Viaduct and King's Cross Station, for instance – couldn't really be classed as a stately home, this one sure can.
Alnwick Castle, the seat of the Duke of Northumberland, appears in the first two films as outdoor areas of Hogwarts: the Outer Bailey is where Harry can be seen mastering the sport of Quidditch, while the Inner Bailey and courtyards are used for several scenes, most memorably where Ron crashes the Weasley family ‘flying’ car.
The Northumberland castle also doubles as Brancaster Castle in Downton Abbey.
Another oldie but goodie, the Scottish baronial manor house of Ardverikie helped inspire a host of family trips to the Highlands when it starred as the fictional Glen Bogle estate in the BBC series Monarch of the Glen. It also featured in the 1997 movie Mrs. Brown, starring Dame Judy Dench as Queen Victoria.
Though the main house is a private property, guests staying in one of the traditional cottages on the estate can not only enjoy a quintessentially Scottish escape surrounded by wildlife, but they can also take a private tour of some of the house's main reception rooms for a real 'behind-the-scenes' experience.
This historic castle – built for one of medieval Scotland's most prominent figures, the notorious Duke of Albany – is situated roughly equidistant between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Younger viewers may know it from Game of Thrones or Outlander, but many of those making the film pilgrimage here come in search of stories of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The connection with the absurd comedy film is so strong that the audio guide for those taking a history tour of the castle is voiced by Terry Jones (an original Monty Python member).
Though Doune Castle stood in for Winterfell in the pilot of Game of Thrones, for most of the series, it is Castle Ward in Northern Ireland that will look familiar to fans, with the 18th-century farmyard playing a recurring role.
In addition, other scenes for the show were shot elsewhere on the estate, including sequences from the Whispering Wood. Leaning into its film location status, Castle Ward now offers tours and even gives visitors the chance to dress up in Game of Thrones-style costumes.
Eilean Donan Castle, which is found near Kyle of Lochalsh, shortly before you take the bridge over to the Isle of Skye, is the undisputed shortbread-tin icon of Scotland.
Though much of the building you see today is a lot younger than it may appear (it was restored at great cost in the early 20th century), it hasn’t deterred filmmakers. Many movies have been shot here, including the 1986 time-travelling action film Highlander and the James Bond blockbuster The World is Not Enough.
And finally, when it came to showing scenes set at Windsor Castle, producers of The Crown couldn't very well boot the royal family off the estate for a couple of weeks, and so an alternative was found.
With its numerous towers and turrets, Belvoir Castle certainly looks the part, and on a tour of its state rooms you can follow in the footsteps of some real-life former royal guests, from King James I to Queen Victoria.
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