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Doune Castle seen across its grounds, a grey stone gatehouse and keep under a pale sky.
Doune Castle, Stirling, July 2015. Billy McCrorie · CC BY-SA 2.0

1975 · Scotland, Wales and England

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

The knights never rode: real horses were dropped for the budget, and porters trotted behind them with coconut shells. The castles and the glen were real. Pictured: Doune, 2015.

Sources

The ride

Clop

No horses. Tap the coconuts and every fourth clop carries the rider to the next real place, from the opening ride to the last scene. The kilometres are straight lines on a map.

Sources

0 clops · 1 of 7 places · 0 km ridden on no horse

The rider waits on Hampstead Heath.

Wales and England

Open grass and trees on Hampstead Heath in winter light.
Hampstead Heath from Millfield Lane, December 2019. Poliphilo · CC0

Hampstead Heath

Where Did They Film That, a fan list, puts the opening ride of Arthur and Patsy with coconuts on Hampstead Heath, filmed after the main Scottish shoot.

Wikipedia says real horses were dropped for the small budget, except one in a couple of scenes. Porters trot behind the knights banging coconut shells together.

Wikipedia says the coconut gag copies the hoof sound effects of old radio.

Open parkland, open year round, managed by the City of London Corporation. The photograph shows the Heath, not the exact camera spot.

Sources
Sources
Sources
Cadw

Kidwelly Castle

Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire

The ruin that appears in the first scene after the titles. The page lists seasonal opening hours. Pictured: Kidwelly, 2012.

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Glencoe and Highlands day tours

Glen Coe, Highland

Live marketplace results for day tours through the Pass of Glen Coe. Check which routes stop in the pass.

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One castle

Most of them are Doune

Terry Jones recalled that the crew had picked more Scottish castles, but two weeks before shooting the Scottish Department of the Environment refused permission for castles in its care, for fear of damage.

Doune Castle seen across its grounds, a grey stone gatehouse and keep under a pale sky.
Doune Castle, Stirling, July 2015. Billy McCrorie · CC BY-SA 2.0
The high stone walls and tower of Doune Castle.
Doune Castle walls, August 2013. Bill Boaden · CC BY-SA 2.0
A carved wooden seat inside the stone Great Hall at Doune Castle.
A carved seat in the Great Hall at Doune Castle, 2012. HARTLEPOOLMARINA2014 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Five parts, one stone

  • Camelot
  • The walls of Guy de Loimbard's castle
  • The wooden rabbit's entrance
  • Castle Anthrax
  • The Swamp Castle wedding
Sources

Movie-Locations.com lists Doune as Camelot, the walls of Guy de Loimbard's castle, the wooden rabbit's entrance, Castle Anthrax and the Swamp Castle wedding.

Wikipedia says most castles in the film are Doune shot from different angles, or hanging miniatures. Production designer Julian Doyle said the crew built walls in the forest near Doune.

Wikipedia says the Knights of the Round Table number was shot in the Great Hall, and the wedding Lancelot disrupts in the courtyard and Great Hall.

Wikipedia gives the film's budget as £282,035. Eric Idle tweeted in 2021 that the original budget was £175,350, from eight investors.

Sources
Historic Environment Scotland

Doune Castle

Doune, near Stirling

The castle in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, with an audio guide narrated by Terry Jones. Check the page for opening times and tickets. Pictured: Doune, 2015.

See the castle

The way home

Go and find the stone

Doune, Kidwelly and Bodiam are castles you can pay to enter. Castle Stalker opens at selected times in summer. Glen Coe and Hampstead Heath are open ground. Tomnadashan is a disused mine: look, do not enter.

Sources

Where it is now

7 places across Scotland, Wales and England.

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 castle in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. Check opening times and tickets on its page before you go.

  • Site reference · Restricted access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A disused copper mine. Do not enter the workings. Check locally for access to the track before you set out.

  1. Doune Castle seen across its grounds, a grey stone gatehouse and keep under a pale sky.
    Doune Castle, Stirling, July 2015. Billy McCrorie · CC BY-SA 2.0

    Stirling and Perthshire · Doune, near Stirling, Scotland

    Doune Castle

    Historic Environment Scotland says Doune Castle served as Castle Anthrax and other locations in the film.

    A castle in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. Check opening times and tickets on its page before you go.

    Sources
  2. Stone ruins and a dark mine opening in a hillside at Tomnadashan.
    The disused Tomnadashan copper mine, January 2024. Steven Brown · CC BY-SA 2.0

    Stirling and Perthshire · South shore of Loch Tay, Perthshire

    Tomnadashan Mine

    Wikipedia says the fight with the Rabbit of Caerbannog was filmed at the Tomnadashan mine.

    A disused copper mine. Do not enter the workings. Check locally for access to the track before you set out.

    Sources

Stay

A bed in the glen.

An inn in the Pass of Glen Coe.

Clachaig Inn

Clachaig Inn

Glen Coe, Highland

An inn in the heart of Glen Coe with 23 en suite bedrooms and 12 self-catering chalets, cottages and lodges, according to its own site. Pictured: the Pass of Glencoe, 2011.

Check rooms

Go there

Pick a castle.

Two castles in care, and Highland day tours.

Historic Environment Scotland

Doune Castle

Doune, near Stirling

The castle in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, with an audio guide narrated by Terry Jones. Check the page for opening times and tickets. Pictured: Doune, 2015.

See the castle
Cadw

Kidwelly Castle

Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire

The ruin that appears in the first scene after the titles. The page lists seasonal opening hours. Pictured: Kidwelly, 2012.

Plan a visit
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Glencoe and Highlands day tours

Glen Coe, Highland

Live marketplace results for day tours through the Pass of Glen Coe. Check which routes stop in the pass.

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.

7 of 7 places · 9 of 9 stories

  • Doune Castle

    Doune, near Stirling, Scotland

    • Castle Anthrax

      Historic Environment Scotland says Doune served as Castle Anthrax and other locations in the film.

    • The Round Table number

      The Knights of the Round Table number is shot in the Great Hall.

    • Permission refused

      Two weeks before shooting, the Scottish Department of the Environment refuses permission for castles in its care, so Doune carries most of them.

  • Castle Stalker

    Loch Laich, near Port Appin, Argyll

    • The last scene

      Castle Stalker is the location of the final scene, the castle called Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh.

  • Glen Coe

    The Pass of Glen Coe, Highland, Scotland

    • The Bridge of Death

      The Pass of Glen Coe serves as the Bridge of Death and the Gorge of Eternal Peril.

  • Tomnadashan Mine

    South shore of Loch Tay, Perthshire

    • The Rabbit of Caerbannog

      The fight with the Rabbit of Caerbannog is filmed at the Tomnadashan mine; a real white rabbit is swapped for puppets for the attacks.

  • Kidwelly Castle

    Castle Road, Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire

    • The first castle

      Kidwelly Castle appears in the first scene after the titles.

  • Bodiam Castle

    Bodiam, near Robertsbridge, East Sussex

    • Swamp Castle, from outside

      One establishing shot of Bodiam is labelled Swamp Castle.

  • Hampstead Heath

    Hampstead Heath, north London

    • The coconuts

      Porters trot behind the knights banging coconut shells together, the old radio hoof-sound gag, because real horses were dropped for the budget.

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Links go to each venue’s or organiser’s own site. Check dates, access and availability there before you go.

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Where next?

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Image credits
  • Leadenhall Market, the City of London · Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
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