With its wealth of stunning landscapes and varied locations – from city to countryside, castles to coast – Cumbria is a fantastic place to film.


So from the biggest British TV dramas to major Hollywood blockbusters, it’s no surprise so many film crews have chosen to head to the county over the past 50 years.
These TV and movie productions provide a huge boost to local pride and awareness of Cumbria. Not only do they contribute massively to the local economy during filming, but they provide inspiration for new visitors who are inspired to see the places and locations featured firsthand.
Here are just a few highlights of film and TV in Cumbria over the past half century...

1974: Swallows & Amazons
Also celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024, the 1974 production of Swallows & Amazons was largely filmed in the Lake District. Shots of the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway open the film, while Coniston provided the setting for much of the movie. Additional scenes were filmed on Derwentwater including at Friar’s Crag.

1987: Withnail & I
Starring Richard E Grant and Paul McGann, the 1987 cult film Withnail and I was set and filmed almost entirely on location in the Lake District. Shap, Bampton, and Haweswater Reservoir can all be seen in the movie, while a telephone box featured in a pivotal scene is located beside Wideworth Farm Road in Bampton.

1996: Agatha Christie’s Poirot
An episode of the popular crime drama, titled ‘Dumb Witness’, was set and filmed around the Lake District in 1996, with filming locations including Windermere, Keswick and Hawkshead.

2005: Housewife, 49
Starring famed comedian Victoria Wood, Housewife, 49 was a TV movie based on the wartime diaries of Barrow-in-Furness based housewife Nella Last. Filming took place across Barrow.

2006: Miss Potter
Filming for the 2006 biographical film Miss Potter took place at several Cumbrian locations, including Loughrigg, Grasmere, Loweswater and Coniston. Yew Tree Farm played Hill Top in the film, The Rum Story in Whitehaven acted as the location of William Heelis’ offices, while the Arten Gill Viaduct is shown as Miss Potter travels away from London.

2012: Snow White & the Huntsman
A number of scenes from this Hollywood movie were filmed in the Lake District, with Cathedral Cave and Blea Tarn featuring in the 2012 fantasy starring Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart.

2014: Outlander, Season 1
Carlisle Castle featured as a key setting in the first season of Outlander, based on author Diana Gabaldon’s historic time travel books. Fans will recognise it as the courtyard where Jamie and Taran MacQuarrie stand, waiting to be hanged.

2015: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Lake District was transported to a galaxy far away, as Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite were digitally combined to create the forested planet of Takodana in Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens.

2020: Dolittle
The market town of Kirkby Lonsdale was transformed into Victorian era Britain for a chase scene in Dolittle: a fantasy film featuring Robert Downey Junior about Doctor Dolittle, who discovers he can speak to animals.

2021: Supernova
Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci take a campervan trip to the Lake District in this 2021 romantic drama. Using The Pencil Factory in Keswick as their base, the crew filmed across Cumbria at locations including Appleby, Sedbergh, Bassenthwaite and Crummock Water.

2023: Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1
The most recent blockbuster to be filmed in the Lake District, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1, sees Tom Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt flying through the Buttermere Valley.