To mark the opening of our luxurious Cinema Room for Scalesceugh homeowners, we look at 10 films you may not realise were shot in our beautiful county of Cumbria.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The long-awaited seventh Star Wars film, set 30 years after the defeat of Darth Vader and the Empire. Rey (Daisy Ridley), a scavenger from the planet Jakku, finds a BB-8 droid that knows the whereabouts of long lost Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammil).
Derwentwater was used as an aerial backdrop for fight scenes involving the Millennium Falcon.
2. Withnail and I
This cult classic starring Richard E Grant and Paul McGann was filmed around Penrith and Shap.
Set in 1969, two unemployed actors, Withnail and Marwood, leave their squalid Camden flat for an idyllic holiday in the countryside. When they get there, it rains non-stop, they have no food, and their survival skills are limited. Seriously, life in Cumbria is far more glamorous than this!
3. Brief Encounter
An all-time classic filmed at the end of World War II. At a café on a railway station, housewife Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) meets Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard). Although they are both already married, they gradually fall in love with each other.
The bridge scene was filmed at Middle Fell Bridge over Langdale Beck in The Lake District.
4. Swallows and Amazons
The original and remake were both filmed on and around Coniston and Derwentwater.
Four children (the Swallows), on holiday in the Lake District, sail on their own to an island and start a war with rival children (the Amazons). Meanwhile, a mysterious man on a houseboat accuses them of a crime they didn't commit.
5. Miss Potter
The story of famous Lake District children's books author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, and her struggle for love, happiness, and success, was filmed in and around the very places Beatrix lived and worked.
Starring Renee Zellwegger as Beatrix Potter, the author's best-selling book remains The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which leads us nicely on to the next film...
6. Peter Rabbit
Beatrix’s main character got his own movie in 2018 and a star-studded cast. Peter Rabbit (James Corden;) his three sisters: Flopsy (Margot Robbie,) Mopsy (Elizabeth Debicki) and Cotton Tail (Daisy Ridley) and their cousin Benjamin (Colin Moody) get involved with plenty of thrills and spills with a new Mr McGregor. Parts of the movie were filmed around Ambleside.
7. Without A Clue
Screen legends Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley filmed a Sherlock Holmes story with a difference in The Lake District. Dr Watson is the top detective and has been using a drunken actor to play the part of Holmes.
8. Supernova
Heartbreaker released last year, filmed in The Lake District and starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci.
Sam and Tusker are partners of 20 years, but Tusker was diagnosed with early-onset dementia two years previous. Now they are traveling across England in their old RV, visiting friends, family and places from their past.
9. Snow White and the Huntsman
An all-star cast filmed in the Langdale area, including Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart and Eddie Izzard.
Snow White, imprisoned daughter of the late king, escapes just as the Magic Mirror declares her the source of the Evil Queen's immortality - you know the story.
The Queen sends her men, led by a local huntsman, to bring her back.
10. 28 Days Later
Animal activists invade a laboratory with the intention of releasing chimpanzees that are undergoing experimentation, infected by a virus that causes rage. The activists ignore the pleas of a scientist to keep the cages locked, with disastrous results.
The cult zombie movie used Ennerdale in its closing scenes.
Come and see our new Cinema Room
Scalesceugh Hall & Villas homeowners now have their own private, plush and comfortable Cinema Room, within easy access in the main hall.
You can see the Cinema Room, the new Communal Lounge, the remaining Luxury Apartments and much more, including our gardens and forthcoming spa, at our Open Day on Saturday 24th July. Book your place here.