Sunday · first light · TC 00:00:00
London was empty for about two minutes at a time. The crew had roughly 45 minutes after dawn, volunteer marshals held the traffic, and the whole bridge scene had to be finished in one morning.
Hold the road
The crew closed London streets for about 90 seconds to two minutes at a time. Close each road, cut before the two minutes are up, and see what was filmed there. The clock here runs twenty times faster than the real one.
0 of 5 takes in the can · 0 released too late
Pick a road, close it, and cut before the traffic comes back.
Westminster Bridge
The road is open. Close it, then cut in time to see what happened here.
Westminster, London
Live marketplace results for walks around Westminster. Check which routes pass the bridge, Whitehall and Horse Guards.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursOut of London
Away from the city the pace changes. Most of the film is shot on small Canon XL1 digital video cameras; the rural ending is on 35mm.
Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey
Wikipedia says the ruins were used for the idyllic interlude on the journey to Manchester.
English Heritage says the abbey was the first Cistercian monastery in Britain, founded in 1128 by French monks beside the River Wey.
Free to enter in daylight hours. The ruins are about 350 metres from the car park across a field; cattle may graze there and adders live on the site.
Near Downton, south-east of Salisbury, Wiltshire
Wikipedia says the mansion stood in for Major West’s fortified country house.
The house was built in 1733 for Sir Peter Vandeput, designed by John James, according to Wikipedia.
A private country house, closed to the public. It is not pinned; the picture is a 19th-century engraving.
Ennerdale, Cumbria, Lake District
Wikipedia says the final rural cottage sequence was shot at Ennerdale, Cumbria, and that the rural ending was filmed on 35mm.
movie-locations.com places the ending on Forestry Commission land between Cockermouth and Egremont.
A lake in the western Lake District with no public road up the valley. The Coast to Coast Walk passes through.
Farnham, Surrey
The ruins in the countryside interlude, free to enter in daylight hours. Pictured: the ruins, 2011.
Plan a visitLake District, Cumbria
Live marketplace results for Lake District days out. Check which stops include Ennerdale.
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Compare toursGo
The bridge, Whitehall, Horse Guards, Piccadilly Circus, Waverley Abbey and Ennerdale Water can be visited. The supermarket on Tottenham Court Road is gone, and Trafalgar Park is a private house; neither is pinned.
6 places you can visit in London, Surrey and Cumbria, plus a lost supermarket and a private house named by area.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
Site reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public road bridge with pavements on both sides, open to walkers at any hour. The photograph shows it on a busy day in 2005.
Area reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public street in Westminster. The photograph shows the entrance to Downing Street from Whitehall.
Site reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The east side is normally open from Whitehall through the arches of Horse Guards. The south side is restricted.
Area reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public junction and pedestrian space, with a Tube station beneath. The photograph shows it in 2016.
Central London · Westminster Bridge, London SE1
Location manager Alex Gladstone said the crew shot the bridge scene on a weekend and had to finish within one morning.
A public road bridge with pavements on both sides, open to walkers at any hour. The photograph shows it on a busy day in 2005.
Central London · Whitehall, by Downing Street, London SW1A
Wikipedia says the crew placed an overturned double-decker bus in the Downing Street area for the scene where Jim walks past it.
A public street in Westminster. The photograph shows the entrance to Downing Street from Whitehall.
Central London · Horse Guards Parade, off Whitehall, London SW1A
Wikipedia lists Horse Guards Parade among the opening London locations of the film.
The east side is normally open from Whitehall through the arches of Horse Guards. The south side is restricted.
Central London · Piccadilly Circus, London W1J
Wikipedia lists Piccadilly Circus among the opening London locations.
A public junction and pedestrian space, with a Tube station beneath. The photograph shows it in 2016.
Stay
A village inn at Ennerdale Bridge.
Ennerdale Bridge, Cumbria
A pub in the village at the lake’s western end with three en-suite letting rooms, according to its own site. Pictured: Ennerdale Water, 2012.
See the innGo there
The abbey, walks of Westminster and days out in the Lake District.
Farnham, Surrey
The ruins in the countryside interlude, free to enter in daylight hours. Pictured: the ruins, 2011.
Plan a visitWestminster, London
Live marketplace results for walks around Westminster. Check which routes pass the bridge, Whitehall and Horse Guards.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursLake District, Cumbria
Live marketplace results for Lake District days out. Check which stops include Ennerdale.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
Nothing dated for the film is listed at these places now.
No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.
Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
8 of 8 places · 12 of 12 stories
Westminster Bridge, London SE1
Jim walks out of St Thomas’ onto an emptied Westminster Bridge, shot in a single weekend morning.
Cillian Murphy said in 2019 that people were asked to stop walking and the art department dressed the street very quickly.
Most of the film is shot on Canon XL1 digital video cameras, light enough to work in the short windows.
Whitehall, by Downing Street, London SW1A
London streets are closed for about 90 seconds to two minutes at a time, held by volunteer marshals.
An overturned double-decker is placed at 4am without permission and removed within about 15 to 20 minutes.
Horse Guards Parade, off Whitehall, London SW1A
Horse Guards Parade appears empty in the opening London sequence.
Piccadilly Circus, London W1J
Crews get roughly 45 minutes after dawn, mostly on Sunday mornings, to film Piccadilly Circus and other streets without people or traffic.
The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain is boarded up and covered in messages.
145 Tottenham Court Road, London W1
The survivors stock up in a Budgens on Tottenham Court Road, shot overnight under its own lights.
Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey
A calm countryside pause on the journey to Manchester is shot among the ruins of Waverley Abbey.
Near Downton, south-east of Salisbury, Wiltshire
A Georgian mansion in Wiltshire stands in for Major West’s army base.
Ennerdale, Cumbria, Lake District
The final rural sequence is filmed around Ennerdale in Cumbria, on 35mm.
Places to stay
A notable hotel in London.
London · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
The Strand hotel built by Richard D’Oyly Carte, whose Savoy Theatre made Gilbert and Sullivan.
105-109 Strand, Covent Garden, City of Westminster, WC2R 0AA · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
Piccadilly’s Ritz, named for its Palm Court tea and used on screen for decades.
150 Piccadilly, Mayfair, City of Westminster, W1J 9BR · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
What’s on
Playhouse Theatre · 400 m from Horse Guards Parade
Garrick Theatre · 600 m from Horse Guards Parade
Garrick Theatre · 600 m from Horse Guards Parade
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Links go to each venue’s or organiser’s own site. Check dates, access and availability there before you go.
Every place in 28 Days Later leads somewhere else.
