Entertainment and culture - Romantic film locations

England’s countryside and cities have provided an array of enchanting and romantic backdrops for numerous film productions over the years.

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Launching Hugh Grant's star, Four Weddings... had a floppy haired Grant paired with Andie MacDowell's Texan belle in Richard Curtis's hit film. Shot predominantly in England's Home Counties, the settings move between St Michaels in Betchworth, Surrey (wedding no.1), Royal Naval College Chapel, Greenwich, London (wedding no.2) to Albury Park in Surrey (wedding no.3). You might also like to visit the Crown Hotel in Amersham, the interior of which was where Grant and MacDowell first get together.

Pride & Prejudice

Thanks to the enduring popularity of Pride & Prejudice, many parts of the East Midlands are etched indelibly on the minds of big-screen and small-screen viewers alike. In the recent blockbuster movie starring Keira Knightley, Derbyshire's Chatsworth House (www.chatsworth.org/) becomes Pemberley, and Burghley House (www.burghley.co.uk) in Lincolnshire becomes Rosings, while the Peak District provides some of the movie's most spectacular back-drops.

The Duchess

Starring Keira Knighley and Ralph Fiennes, The Duchess takes advantage of England in all its period piece splendour, using a variety of National Trust properties. Kedleston Hall appears both as the Spencer family home and also a rented villa in Bath, while the scene of Lady Melbourne's ball is Osterly House in London. Various dining scenes from the film were also shot on location at Basildon Park in Oxfordshire and Clandon Park in Surrey.

Notting Hill

She was just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her. Yeah, sure she was, but Richard Curtis struck box office gold once again with this eponymous rom com set in West London. Hugh Grant ummed and ahhed his way around the capital in pursuit of Julia Roberts and so there are plenty of key locations to visit. The Travel Bookshop (actually located in Notting Hill) is the inspiration for the bookshop William Thacker (Hugh Grant) owns, whose romantic intentions are thwarted first at the The Ritz and then at Kenwood House, situated on Hampstead Heath, as Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) films a Henry James period piece.

Atonement

Based on Ian McEwan's wartime novel and starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, the story revolves around the complications of love seen from different perspectives. Much of Atonement is set at the Victorian estate of Stokesay Court in Shropshire and visitors to Stokesay can book a guided tour and see for thhemselves the billiard room where the infamous "library scene" was shot.

Brief Encounter

All the train shots and many of the platform scenes of this classic David Lean film were filmed at Carnforth station near Lancaster, Starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard, Brief Encounter is pitch perfect in its depiction of England's repressed middle class in the 1940s. Carbforth Station now has a superb visitor centre which is well worth paying a visit to.

Sense & Sensibility

In his 1995 film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel, Ang Lee made full use of some of England's most stunning locations as his backdrops with his all star cast of Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant and  Kate Winslet. Montacute House in Somerset saw Kate Winslet taking a walk in the rain, while Mompesson House in Salisbury became a stand in for London as the town home of Mrs. Jennings and her parrot, Pooter. Barton Park is actually Trafalgar Park in Salisbury and Marianne (Elinor's sister) and Wilton House, also situated near Salisbury with its unique Single cube room became the setting for the London Ball scene. The final scenes of Marianne (Elinor's sister) and Brandon's wedding were filmed at Berry Pomeroy Church, Berry Pomeroy in Devon.

Brideshead Revisited

For six weeks in the summer of 2007, Castle Howard played host to filming of the new movie, Brideshead Revisited. As in the 1981 ITV production of the same name, Castle Howard featured as Brideshead Castle, home to the aristocratic Marchmain family. Castle Howard also houses an excellent exhibition "Brideshead Restored" which gives visitors a chance to look behind the scenes at the making of the film, and see the sets up close, including the four-poster bed so central to the climax of the story of Brideshead Revisited.

The Remains Of The Day

One of Merchant & Ivory film's most moving pictures, The Remains of the Day starred Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in this compelling tale which portrays the dynamics of the ruling  and serving classes. Numerous properties were used to create in the interiors and exteriors of the film's Darlington Hall. Dyrham Park, near Bath, was used as driveway and outside shots of Darlington; while Powderham Castle in Devon was used for many of the interior shots, such as the Victorian kitchen and music room.

The Young Victoria

From Arundel Castle to Blenheim Palace, The Young Victoria tells the story of our most iconic monarch. Discover the locations which provided such a stunning backdrop to The Young Victoria and find out what the cast and crew had to say about working on the film. Find out more

Shakespeare in Love

Gentle classic inspiration can be found at Holkham (www.visiteastofengland.com/things-to-do/thedms.aspx?dms=13&venue=0014157) in Norfolk, where scenes for Shakespeare in Love were filmed. The beautiful beach at Holkham was used for the scene when heroine Gwyneth Paltrow is cast ashore on a desert island, and the nearby lake at Holkham Hall is the backdrop for the scene where Viola declares her love for Will.