The four white chimneys of Battersea Power Station against a grey sky — The chimneys of Battersea Power Station, March 2026. jacquemart · CC0

Alfonso Cuarón · 2006 · filmed in London in 2005

Children of Men

The film’s 2027 is mostly the London that was there. It added only a few things, and this page lets you count them. Above: Battersea Power Station, as it stands now.

Sources

Real London

The streets were already there

The opening attack, a ministry and a checkpoint were filmed on streets and in halls you can still reach.

London

Fleet Street

Wikipedia says the opening attack was filmed on Fleet Street about six weeks after the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

Wikipedia quotes Cuarón saying the shot of Fleet Street looking towards St Paul’s would have been impossible to film anywhere else.

A fan location list says 142 Fleet Street, the former King and Keys pub, was the film’s Café Fine, the coffee bar where Theo hears the news of Baby Diego’s death.

A public street in the City of London. Stand on the pavement and look east to St Paul’s; the old pub at 142 has had other occupants since.

Sources

A long exhibition hall with a curved roof, filled with flower displays — Lawrence Hall during a Royal Horticultural Society flower show, April 2008. Patche99z · Public domain

London

Lawrence Hall

A fan location list says Lawrence Hall, at the New Royal Horticultural Halls in Greycoat Street, stood in for the Ministry of Power where Theo works.

An events hall on Greycoat Street and Elverton Street. Seen from the pavement; inside only during public events.

Sources

London

Admiralty Arch

A fan location list says Admiralty Arch is the checkpoint Theo passes through on the way to the Ark.

The same list says Theo is driven through crowds at Great Scotland Yard, on the road between Northumberland Avenue and Whitehall.

Seen from the Mall or Trafalgar Square. The roads beneath the arch are public.

Sources

Let out the rope

What the film added

Battersea Power Station played the outside of the Ark. Let out rope, one mark at a time, to see what was put there afterwards. The marks are drawn over a photograph of the building as it is now.

Ground. Nothing added yet.

The building

Wikipedia says the scene in which the building has become an art archive was filmed at Battersea Power Station.

Sources

Inside the Ark

Tate Modern

A fan location list says the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern was used as the interior of the Ark.

Wikipedia says the art archive scene references Tate Modern and has been compared to Antonioni’s Red Desert.

A public gallery on Bankside. Tate says entry to the collection is free; check its visit page for opening hours.

Sources

Tate

Tate Modern

Bankside, London

Tate says entry to the collection is free, with the Turbine Hall on the visit page. Pictured: the Turbine Hall, 2026.

Plan a visit

Beyond the city

A slip, a wood and a platform

Away from London, the film borrowed a shipyard, a forest and a heritage station.

A huge ribbed timber shed over a slipway, with a ship in the foreground — Number 3 Covered Slip at Chatham Historic Dockyard, October 2007. Danny Robinson · CC BY-SA 2.0

Outside London

Slip 3, Historic Dockyard Chatham

The Kent Film Office says the production shot at Slip 3 in the Historic Dockyard, in the scene of the rebel safe house where Julian first asks Theo to help protect Kee.

It adds that the dockyard has also hosted Call the Midwife, Les Misérables and Sherlock Holmes.

A fan location list calls Number Three Slip the ribbed building where the Fishes hold Theo.

Part of a visitor attraction. The dockyard sells timed admission; check its opening dates before going.

Sources

Outside London

Bourne Wood

A fan location list says Bourne Wood, near Farnham, was Jasper’s hidden forest home.

The same list says the car attack by rioters was filmed on a road through the wood.

Wikipedia says the car ambush was shot in six sections at four locations over one week, joined by five digital transitions.

Public woodland near Farnham. It is also used for filming, so check for closures before travelling.

Sources

A small railway station with a platform and a canopy — Alresford Station on the Watercress Line, April 2012. Peter Trimming · CC BY-SA 2.0

Outside London

Alresford Station

A fan location list says Alresford Station in Hampshire is where Jasper meets Theo at the train station.

The Watercress Line’s station in New Alresford. Check its site for running days.

Sources

Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust

Historic Dockyard Chatham

Chatham, Kent

The visitor attraction where Slip 3 stood in for the rebel safe house. Its site lists 3 Slip among the attractions and gives opening dates. Pictured: Number 3 Covered Slip, 2007.

Plan a visit

Watercress Line

The Watercress Line at Alresford

New Alresford, Hampshire

The heritage railway runs from Alresford Station, and its site lists guided station tours on selected dates. Pictured: the station, 2012.

See the railway

Where to stand

Go and find the real ones

Every place here can be seen from a public street or entered as a visitor, except Lawrence Hall, which opens for events. Several rest only on a fan location list, and each card says so in its sources.

Sources

Where it is now

7 places to see in London, Kent, Surrey and Hampshire.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public street in the City of London. Stand on the pavement and look east to St Paul’s; the old pub at 142 has had other occupants since.
Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Seen from the Mall or Trafalgar Square. The roads beneath the arch are public.
Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Seen from the riverside and Circus Road. The building is now a destination with shops and offices; check what is open before you go.
Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public gallery on Bankside. Tate says entry to the collection is free; check its visit page for opening hours.

Fleet Street looking east to St Paul's Cathedral, September 2022. The wub · CC BY-SA 4.0
London · 142 Fleet Street, City of London EC4
Fleet Street
Wikipedia says the opening attack was filmed on Fleet Street about six weeks after the 7 July 2005 London bombings.
A public street in the City of London. Stand on the pavement and look east to St Paul’s; the old pub at 142 has had other occupants since.
Sources
Admiralty Arch seen from the Mall, June 2011. VirtuallyLondonBecky · CC0
London · Between the Mall and Trafalgar Square, Westminster SW1
Admiralty Arch
A fan location list says Admiralty Arch is the checkpoint Theo passes through on the way to the Ark.
Seen from the Mall or Trafalgar Square. The roads beneath the arch are public.
Sources
The chimneys of Battersea Power Station, March 2026. jacquemart · CC0
London · Circus Road, Battersea, on the south bank of the Thames
Battersea Power Station
Wikipedia says the scene in which the building has become an art archive was filmed at Battersea Power Station.
Seen from the riverside and Circus Road. The building is now a destination with shops and offices; check what is open before you go.
Sources
The Turbine Hall at Tate Modern, August 2026. jacquemart · CC0
London · Bankside, London SE1
Tate Modern
A fan location list says the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern was used as the interior of the Ark.
A public gallery on Bankside. Tate says entry to the collection is free; check its visit page for opening hours.
Sources

Stay

Nothing chosen.

No stay is tied to the film.

Visit Kent

Where to stay in Kent

Kent

Visit Kent’s accommodation listings, from hotels to guesthouses, for a trip to Chatham and the Historic Dockyard. Pictured: Number 3 Covered Slip, 2007.

Browse stays

Go there

Where to stand.

Places to visit and film location tours.

Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust

Historic Dockyard Chatham

Chatham, Kent

The visitor attraction where Slip 3 stood in for the rebel safe house. Its site lists 3 Slip among the attractions and gives opening dates. Pictured: Number 3 Covered Slip, 2007.

Plan a visit

Tate

Tate Modern

Bankside, London

Tate says entry to the collection is free, with the Turbine Hall on the visit page. Pictured: the Turbine Hall, 2026.

Plan a visit

Watercress Line

The Watercress Line at Alresford

New Alresford, Hampshire

The heritage railway runs from Alresford Station, and its site lists guided station tours on selected dates. Pictured: the station, 2012.

See the railway

Viator · Ad / affiliate

London film location tours

Central London

Live marketplace results for film and TV location tours in London. Check each itinerary for Fleet Street and the South Bank.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

What’s on

No dates yet.

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.

The archive

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

Search places and stories What remains Sort

8 of 8 places · 12 of 12 stories

Fleet Street
142 Fleet Street, City of London EC4
- The opening attack
  The film’s opening attack was filmed on Fleet Street, six weeks after the 2005 London bombings.
- Café Fine
  The former King and Keys pub at 142 Fleet Street plays the coffee bar where Theo hears about Baby Diego.
Lawrence Hall
New Royal Horticultural Halls, Greycoat Street, Westminster SW1
- The Ministry of Power
  A flower-show hall in Westminster stands in for the ministry where Theo works.
Admiralty Arch
Between the Mall and Trafalgar Square, Westminster SW1
- The checkpoint
  Theo is driven through Admiralty Arch on the way to the Ark.
Battersea Power Station
Circus Road, Battersea, on the south bank of the Thames
- The Ark of the Arts
  Battersea Power Station is the exterior of the Ark, with a river crossing added in post-production.
- The pig balloon
  A pig balloon, a homage to Pink Floyd’s Animals, was added to the archive scene.
- A skyline with the Shard
  The Shard, not yet built, was added digitally to the London skyline.
Tate Modern
Bankside, London SE1
- Inside the Ark
  The Turbine Hall at Tate Modern is the interior of the Ark.
Slip 3, Historic Dockyard Chatham
Historic Dockyard Chatham, Chatham, Kent
- The rebel safe house
  Slip 3 at Chatham is the empty safe house where Julian asks Theo to protect Kee.
Bourne Wood
Near Farnham, Surrey
- The car ambush
  The car attack on a forest road is shot in six sections, joined by five digital transitions.
- Jasper’s forest home
  Bourne Wood is Jasper’s hidden home.
Alresford Station
Station Road, New Alresford, Hampshire
- The platform
  Jasper meets Theo at Alresford Station.