Star in the very best screen scenes by the sea

From The Rum Story on the Cumbrian coast to the stunning Durham settings of tv’s Vera series, track down some of our most beautiful locations through a cinematic lens.

The stunning Cumbrian Coastal Route offers a heady mix of secluded beaches, majestic castles, hidden lakes and towering mountains all the way from the Solway Firth in the north to Morecambe in the south – a film-maker’s dream. 

Little wonder then that these scenes were the inspiration for Beatrix Potter who made the Lake District her home, thereby becoming the setting for the 2006 biopic Miss Potter, starring Renée Zellweger. Set on the Cumbrian coast, Whitehaven’s The Rum Story was the location for William Heelis’ offices, played by Lloyd Owen. Discover the stories of Blackbeard’s piracy, smugglers and the infamous punch houses, the Jazz Age and the renowned Jefferson family. While you’re here, don’t forget to buy a bottle of Extra Fine Dark Rum!  

On the north east coast, Durham’s Heritage Coast, and in particular Seaham, Nose’s Point Nature Reserve and Blast Beach, have been a magnet for film producers for decades.  

As a former mining town, Seaham’s terraced streets featured in Billy Elliot, the story of a coal miner’s son whose life is transformed when he stumbles on a ballet class. Scenes from the brooding period drama Lady Macbeth, starring Oscar-nominated Florence Pugh, were filmed on the town’s clifftops and beach in this 2017 chilling period drama about a discontented young bride. 

Fans of TV series Vera will recognise Seaham’s coastal charm and atmospheric backdrops from several episodes. This British crime drama series is based on the Vera Stanhope novels by Ann Cleeves, starring Brenda Blethyn as the brilliant but dishevelled Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. 

The series has showcased numerous Durham locations, walk in the Inspector’s footsteps along the riverbanks at Durham City, Citrone Cafe in Front Street, Chester-Le-Street, Peterlee’s Apollo Pavilion and Blast Beach, Seaham. 

Blast Beach was also transformed into an eerie Alien Planet in the third instalment of the Alien franchise. The film was nominated for a Visual Effects Academy Award, but since the making of the movie the Durham Heritage Coast has won awards for its own visual effects, including The Last Kingdom when the beach was used as a stand in for an Icelandic seafront during the second season of the hit historical Netflix drama. 

A slave traders camp was built on the beach; scenes shot there include the dramatic chase as Uhtred and his Viking friends try to escape their slave captors. Retrace actors’ steps exploring Seaham’s vibrant town centre, hunt for sea glass on the beach and soak up the cinematic views and why not indulge in a stay at the five-star Seaham Hall Hotel and Spa while you’re here? 

The iconic 1970 crime drama, Get Carter set the standard for British crime films. Showcasing the grit of the North East, the sinister story tracks gangster Jack Carter (Michael Caine) on his quest to uncover the truth behind his brother’s seemingly accidental death.  Its bleak ending was filmed at Blackhall Rocks Beach but Durham locations also include Dryderdale Hall near Hamsterley Forest, used for the home of gangster Cyril Kinnear.

If you’re a movie buff and in the area, don’t miss a visit to Durham Cathedral which featured in the first two Harry Potter blockbusters and Avengers Endgame or to the huge open air Beamish Museum which appears in both the Downton Abbey tv series and two feature films.  Discover more here. 

Love stories, wizardry, chilling Goth horror, the Yorkshire coastline has set the scene for some of our biggest grossing screen hits, plan your own film trail 

Tees Valley’s Redcar Beach became the setting for the romantic war tragedy Atonement in 2006, starring Keira Knightley and James AcAvoy, young lovers torn apart by a lie. Teessiders had the chance to star as extras on the silver screen when Hollywood transformed the beach into wartime Dunkirk. The film went on to gross $129m worldwide, winning a BAFTA, Golden Globe and an Oscar. 

The extraordinary story of a man who fakes his own death came to life in Hartlepool and specifically at Seaton Carew and The Headland in the ITV drama The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe.  While the Horrible Histories film Bill, focusing on the lost years of a young William Shakespeare, was filmed in Marske-by-the-Sea alongside other Yorkshire settings. 

The cobbled streets, narrow alleyways and harbour in the North Yorkshire village of Staithes starred in Old Jack’s Boat, a children’s tv series featuring Bernard Cribbins who played a retired fisherman regaling tall stories from his time at sea.  Explore this pretty village for yourself, discovering its art galleries, top quality seafood and sandy beach. Book accommodation in the very heart of the village to soak up the seaside atmosphere. 

It's little surprise that the enchanting North Yorkshire Moors Railway has a string of screen credits on the big screen.

The heritage station of Goathland has featured as Hogsmeade in Harry Potter but also in no less than Downton Abbey, Mission Impossible and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Steaming its way between Pickering and Whitby, ride this heritage diesel train through stunning moorland, forests and valleys. Take a single trip or buy a Day Rover and hop-on-hop-off at will. 

Still on the Yorkshire coast, why not sink your teeth into an adventure at Whitby? Thought to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the ruins of Whitby Abbey have been the setting for countless chilling Dracula films and tv adaptations and the basis for Whitby Goth Weekends and Festivals. 

Whitby also appeared in the 2017 film Phantom Thread starring Daniel Day Lewis and Lesley Manville set in 1950s London. Still a working fishing port, Whitby makes a great escape, explore the cafes and quirky shops in its narrow streets, scale the 199 steps to the Abbey and strong along the West Cliff Beach. Fresh, local seafood rightly dominates menus, from Whitby lobster and crab to straight-off-the-boat fish with crispy chips. 

Further south on the East Yorkshire coast, any fan of Captain Mainwaring or Private Pike trace the Dad’s Army Film Trail based on the 2016 film caper starring Toby Jones, Bill Nighy and Catherine Zeta Jones. 

The rugged cliffs and coastal landscape are dramatically captured at Danes Dyke, while the magnificent Sewerby Hall morphed into mission central for the Home Guard’s chaotic activities, its gardens lending a touch of refinement.  Flamborough Head and Bempton Cliffs provided breathtaking coastal views while Bridlington Old Town became the fictional Walmington-on-Sea, its cobbled streets, traditional shops and period architecture making the perfect 1940s setting.