Lancashire Set-Jetting Film Itinerary: Morecambe, Lancaster and the surrounding areas

Morecambe has risen to TV fame over the last few years thanks to the ever-increasing popularity of hit ITV show, The Bay. But it’s not the only location in the area to have had it’s time on TV and cinema screens.

We’ve pulled together a fantastic three-day road trip to explore north Lancashire and some of the filming locations found there.

Day one: Morecambe
If you’re a fan of crime drama, spend your first morning exploring some of the prominent sites from The Bay across the town of Morecambe, the police station, The Midland Hotel, the Promenade and Marine Road. You’ll also recognise from episodes, the beach café on Morecambe’s west end, the Clock Tower Café, Vista Restaurant and The Royal. The Stone Jetty in the town is also used on the credits of the show. You can find out more about all the spots filmed as part of the series here.

Morecambe’s promenade is no stranger to the bright lights of showbiz, having been used as a backdrop to many movies and television shows over the years. Most recently the Netflix adaption of Stay Close by Harlan Coben with Richard Armitage and James Nesbitt featured the promenade and a series of buildings along the seafront, including flats above the Beach Bird shop, as well as several filming locations in Blackpool.

During your morning in the town, you will also spot the former Alhambra Theatre, now home to a variety of local stores, that featured heavily in the 1960 film The Entertainer starring Laurence Olivier.

Hit the shops in the afternoon or enjoy a film at the local cinema, then head back to The Midland Hotel to spend the night. The hotel which was used for a number of episodes of the famed Poirot during the 1980s, including Double Sin, where Poirot brought Captain Hastings on a holiday to the seaside resort for a short holiday.

Day two: Rural north Lancashire
Some of the local rural areas have had their moment on the screen too, so hit the road for your second day and see some of the sights. Sunderland Point was used in the 2005 adaptation of The Ruby in The Smoke, with Billie Piper and Julie Walters, and indie werewolf movie Something Evil, Something Dangerous: New Moon Rising featured St Patrick’s Chapel ruins in Heysham in 2011.

Once you’ve spent a bit of the morning exploring the area south of Morecambe its time to head north and visit Carnforth. You will recognise the train station as the setting from A Brief Encounter from 1945. Carnforth train station features heavily throughout the film and retains many of the original features that were seen at the time of filming, making it a perfect pilgrimage for the film’s fans. The Carnforth Station Heritage Centre also includes a faithful restoration of the refreshment room where Laura and Alex meet in the film. Enjoy lunch in the Refreshment Room café on site.

After lunch go to nearby Leighton Hall which saw the spotlight in the 2002 film Possession, featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart and Lena Headey making a stroll through their gardens the perfect stop off for your itinerary before staying at Tewitfield Marina which overlooks the Lancaster Canal, which has also had its moment on screen during 2018’s Great Canal Journeys and 2015’s Barging around Britain.

Day Three: Lancaster
It’s not hard to spend a whole day exploring Lancaster, and during your visit you can see lots of great filming locations. The recent 2023 Myths and Legends with Jonathon Ross TV show featured the Castle and the infamous Pendle Witch story. Lancaster Castle was also used in the 2014 film Get Santa, starring Jim Broadbent and Warwick Davies. Once you’ve taken a tour or visited the Lancashire Police Museum in the castle, enjoy a bite to eat at Atkinsons – as its not very often you can eat lunch inside a castle owned by King Charles III.

Peaky Blinders, most of which was filmed in East Lancashire and Greater Manchester, also made amazing use of the city’s Ashton Memorial in Williamson Park during its final season in 2022. The interior of the memorial was transformed into a stunning art deco room featuring antagonist Gina Grey. The park is also the ideal place to spend the afternoon, with stunning views across the Bay and to the Lakeland Fells, a peaceful nature reserve and a beautiful butterfly house and mini zoo!