Points Clés :
- Hotel Victoria in Robin Hood’s Bay is where Daniel Day-Lewis filmed the pivotal scene in Phantom Thread where his character first meets his muse. You can dine in that very spot today.
- Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights (2026) has sparked a 5,000% surge in searches for Yorkshire filming locations, with the Yorkshire Dales starring as the windswept moors.
- Channel 4’s A Woman of Substance (2026) brings Yorkshire back to the small screen, filmed at Broughton Hall near Skipton, Ilkley Moor and Brodsworth Hall.
- From Goathland’s Harry Potter and Heartbeat connections to Castle Howard’s role in Bridgerton, North Yorkshire is packed with movie locations UK visitors can explore.
- Hotel Victoria makes a brilliant base for discovering these movie scene locations, with many just a short drive along the coast.
Ever stood somewhere and felt a flicker of recognition? That moment when you realise the view in front of you is the same one millions of people watched on the big screen. It’s a good feeling. And if you’re a film fan who loves a bit of scenery to go with it, North Yorkshire has more of those moments than almost anywhere else in the country.
This part of England has been quietly stealing scenes for decades. Brooding moorlands, dramatic coastline, impossibly pretty fishing villages: they’ve drawn everyone from Daniel Day-Lewis to Tom Cruise, Margot Robbie to Jenna Coleman. And right now, thanks to two major new productions, Yorkshire’s having a proper moment.
Our Star Turn: Phantom Thread at Hotel Victoria
We’ll admit it. We’re proud of this one.
In 2017, our hotel played a key role in Phantom Thread, the Oscar-nominated film that marked Daniel Day-Lewis’s last role before he announced his retirement from acting. Paul Thomas Anderson directed the story of Reynolds Woodcock, a fastidious 1950s haute couture dressmaker whose life changes completely when he meets a young waitress called Alma.
And where does that first meeting happen? Right here. At Hotel Victoria.
Day-Lewis’s character walks to the hotel and finds Alma, played by Vicky Krieps, serving breakfasts. It’s the scene that sets the entire story in motion. A quiet, charged moment that changes everything for both characters. The production team replaced windows, changed wallpapers, repainted the interior and even removed radiators to get the 1950s look right.
Our staff appeared as extras, and Day-Lewis filmed here over several days. Krieps stayed for three weeks as filming moved across Yorkshire. The dining room where Day-Lewis sat at his breakfast table has since been beautifully refurbished, so if you’re hoping to spot the exact location, you’ll find it’s become the Osborne’s Restaurant and Loxley pub you can enjoy today. Quite the upgrade from a 1950s film set.
Phantom Thread earned six Academy Award nominations, winning Best Costume Design. The crew also filmed in other North Yorkshire spots: the village of Lythe, the cobbled streets of Staithes and along the clifftops near Ravenscar. If you’re staying with us, all of these make for a great day out. Staithes is about 25 minutes up the coast, and the clifftop walks towards Ravenscar start practically on our doorstep.
Wuthering Heights: Yorkshire’s Blockbuster Moment
If you’ve been anywhere near a cinema or social media in the past month, you’ll know that Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights has caused quite the stir. Margot Robbie plays Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi is Heathcliff in this bold take on Emily Brontë’s novel. It’s taken over $226 million at the box office worldwide and sent fans heading to Yorkshire in serious numbers.
The trend even has a name: set-jetting. Online searches for the film’s locations surged by 5,000% in the 30 days after release, according to booking management platform Bókun. Searches for the Yorkshire Moors alone jumped 64%.
The crew shot on location in the Yorkshire Dales, taking in Arkengarthdale, Swaledale, the village of Low Row and the wider National Park. Wider views of the Earnshaw family home were filmed at Old Gang Mill, a former lead smelting works near Langthwaite that’s now a grade II listed monument. It’s a properly atmospheric spot: crumbling stone walls, wild moorland stretching in every direction and not another soul in sight.
Influencers from across the globe have been braving the weather to capture moody photos on the moors. And honestly, we can’t blame them. There’s something about these landscapes that makes you want to throw on a flowing dress and stare into the distance. Even if it is blowing a gale.
The Yorkshire Dales are about an hour’s drive from Robin Hood’s Bay, making them a perfect day trip. Pack your walking boots and a waterproof (this is Yorkshire, after all) and you can trace Cathy and Heathcliff’s footsteps across some of the finest countryside in England.
A Woman of Substance: Yorkshire on the Small Screen
As if one Yorkshire production wasn’t enough, Channel 4 launched its new adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s A Woman of Substance on 11 March 2026. It’s packed with gorgeous Yorkshire locations.
Brenda Blethyn and Jessica Reynolds star as Emma Harte: a penniless Yorkshire maid who builds a global retail empire. Broughton Hall in North Yorkshire doubles as Fairley Hall, the grand house where Emma’s story begins. The grade I listed Georgian mansion sits within 3,000 acres of Yorkshire Dales land. And here’s a nice detail: it’s the same location the original 1984 adaptation used. Some places just suit a role.
The crew also filmed at Ilkley Moor, Barnsley Town Hall and Brodsworth Hall and Gardens in Doncaster. Jessica Reynolds spoke warmly about her time in Yorkshire, saying the locations were breathtaking and that the landscape became inseparable from her character’s happiest moments.
Feeling inspired? Broughton Hall is near Skipton, roughly an hour from Robin Hood’s Bay through some lovely Dales countryside.
Goathland: Where Harry Potter Meets Heartbeat
Just a 20-minute drive from us through the North York Moors, Goathland has one of the most impressive screen CVs in Yorkshire.
Goathland Station, on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway heritage line, featured in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as Hogsmeade Station. It’s where the Hogwarts Express pulls in and Hagrid greets the first years. Got little ones? Or big ones who grew up with the books? It’s a must. The station looks almost exactly as it did on screen, and you can ride the steam train along the heritage line between Pickering and Whitby for the full experience.
ITV also filmed 18 series of the 1960s police drama Heartbeat here, with Goathland playing the fictional village of Aidensfield. At its peak, 14 million people tuned in on a Sunday night. You can still spot Heartbeat memorabilia around the village today.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway: Hollywood’s Favourite Train Line
The heritage railway has become a proper magnet for big productions. It runs through the North York Moors National Park, covering 24 miles between Pickering and Whitby with stops at well-preserved stations along the way.
Tom Cruise filmed scenes here for Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One. Harrison Ford used the railway for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Pickering station even doubled as London’s King’s Cross in the Downton Abbey film. Not bad for a heritage line in North Yorkshire.
The railway runs between Pickering and Whitby, so you can hop on at the Whitby end and enjoy a ride through the moors. Steam billowing past the windows, heather stretching to the horizon. It’s one of those experiences that genuinely feels like stepping back in time.
Castle Howard: From Brideshead to Bridgerton
About an hour from Robin Hood’s Bay, Castle Howard is one of Yorkshire’s grandest stately homes. It sits 15 miles north of York and has been in front of the cameras for decades.
Castle Howard starred in both the original 1981 television adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited and the 2008 film remake. More recently, it took on the role of Clyvedon Castle in Netflix’s Bridgerton. One of the series’ most recognisable scenes was filmed at the Temple of the Four Winds, with views across the Howardian Hills that are worth the visit alone.
The house and gardens are open to visitors, and they now run guided filming location tours. Combine it with a stroll through the grounds and you’ve got yourself a great day out.
Whitby: Count Dracula’s Seaside Town
No roundup of North Yorkshire’s screen connections would be complete without Whitby. The ruins of Whitby Abbey are famously linked to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Stoker arrived in the town in July 1890 and drew heavily on its atmosphere for the novel. Various adaptations have returned to film here, including the BBC’s 2020 version by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat.
Whitby is just 6 miles from Robin Hood’s Bay. Climb the famous 199 steps to the abbey ruins, wander through the old town and grab some fish and chips on the harbour. ITV’s Victoria also filmed along Whitby’s west pier, so keep an eye out if you’re a fan.
Scarborough and Staithes: Worth the Detour
Head further along the coast in either direction and you’ll find more movie scene locations worth exploring.
Scarborough is the setting for the 1998 film Little Voice, starring Jane Horrocks and Michael Caine. It’s since appeared in everything from The Royal to the psychological horror Saint Maud. Staithes, with its narrow streets and cottages tumbling down to the harbour, featured in Phantom Thread alongside our hotel. It was also the setting for the children’s TV series Old Jack’s Boat, starring the late Bernard Cribbins.
Both are easy to reach from Robin Hood’s Bay:
- Scarborough is about 25 minutes south by car
- Staithes is a similar distance heading north along the coast
Your Turn
What we love about North Yorkshire’s filming connections is that these aren’t roped-off locations you can only admire from a distance. You can walk the same coastal paths Day-Lewis strode along. You can look out across the same moorland Robbie and Elordi brought to life on screen. You can sit in the very hotel where Daniel Day-Lewis filmed the role that led to his retirement from acting.
We’re right in the middle of it all. Whether you want to ride the steam train through Harry Potter country, chase Heathcliff across the Dales or simply enjoy the coastal views that keep drawing filmmakers back, it all starts here in Robin Hood’s Bay.
And who knows? With Yorkshire’s profile continuing to grow, you might bump into a film crew on your morning walk. It wouldn’t be the first time.
