Sharon Ball

Film and television fans can discover more about productions, including the forthcoming blockbuster The Duchess, that were filmed in and around Bath and North East Somerset - thanks to a brand new Movie Map being launched this week.   The map has been developed by Bath & North East Somerset Council's Film Office and Bath Tourism Plus following the recent filming of two major productions in the area - ‘The Duchess', which will be released on 5 September, and BBC's ‘Bonekickers'.  

It features almost 40 films and TV series filmed in the area since 1931 including Ghost Train (1931); The Titfield Thunderbolt (1952); The Music Lovers (1969); Remains of the Day (1993); Vanity Fair (2003) and Persuasion (2006).  Locations featured include Bath's Royal Crescent, The Circus, The Assembly Rooms and The Pump Rooms, but also many in the surrounding countryside such as Midford, Monkton Combe, Norton St. Philip and Freshford, as well as well-visited ones further afield such as Lacock, Castle Combe and Marshfield.  

The map has been designed to allow visitors to Bath undertake independent walking tours. The map will complement the Clapperboard Tours' (guided tours of Bath city centre) organised by the Council's Heritage Services team which began in July.   

The map has been put together by Jan Hull, a Blue Badge Guide who is very knowledgeable about the area, using records compiled by Bath Film Office over the years.   Movie Maps have already proven successful with tourists and locals alike in other parts of the country - for example Torquay has a Miss Marple map and the Lake District a Beatrix Potter map.   The leaflet is now available from Bath's Tourist Information Centre.

 A downloadable version will soon be available on Bath Tourism Plus' website - this will be updated as more productions are filmed in the area.