Walks on the Big Screen: Step Into the Story

There is something special about stepping into a landscape that already feels familiar. Perhaps it is because these hills, coastlines and valleys have carried the weight of history for centuries. Or perhaps it is because we have already seen them, cast in the glow of cinema or on the sweeping scale of television. When you arrive at these places on foot, they stir something inside you. It is not simply a walk, but a journey into a story that has already been told yet somehow becomes your own.

This autumn, we invite you to explore some of the most iconic walking trails in the British Isles and Ireland, all of which have played their part on the big screen. These are routes that filmmakers have chosen not simply for their beauty but for their power to transport us into another world. From the rugged Cornish cliffs of Poldark to the brooding glens of James Bond, each walk offers the chance to connect the silver screen with the very real crunch of gravel beneath your boots. So, imagine the lights dimming and the screen flickering, as we delve into six unforgettable walks, where the drama of cinema and the grandeur of the natural world combine to create a story you can walk into.

Pembrokeshire Coast Path, Wales

When the cast and crew of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows arrived at Freshwater West, they could hardly have chosen a more fitting setting for Shell Cottage. Here, in the shelter of the dunes, the Weasley family sought refuge in the final chapters of J K Rowling’s tale. It was also here, on this windswept shore, that the faithful house elf Dobby met his end, his grave marked simply with the words, “Here lies Dobby, a free elf.”

Walking this section of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, you cannot help but feel the same atmosphere. The wide Atlantic stretches before you, with rolling waves breaking on golden sand. Behind the beach, the dunes rise and fall like a natural fortress, shaped by centuries of shifting winds. It is wild and untamed, a coastline that seems to breathe with its own spirit.

Freshwater West is just one of many jewels along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Stretching for 186 miles, the route passes through bays that glow with turquoise waters, cliff tops alive with seabirds and fishing villages that feel as though they have stepped out of another time. The drama of the landscape is balanced by moments of quiet beauty, when the only sound is the call of the gulls and the hush of the tide.

For walkers who grew up reading Harry Potter alongside their children or grandchildren, there is a particular delight in visiting this cinematic location. Standing on the sands where the story reached one of its most poignant moments, you will find yourself part of a narrative that has touched millions, while also writing your own chapter in the salt air of the Welsh coast.

Northumberland Coast and Castles, England

If there is one landscape that already feels like a film set, it is the Northumberland coastline. Here, ancient castles rise above wide sandy beaches and rugged cliffs. Walking the Northumberland Coast and Castles Trail, you move through a land where history and imagination intertwine.

Bamburgh Castle, perched high above the shore, has dominated this coast for over 1400 years. To modern audiences, it may be instantly recognisable from Transformers: The Last Knight. Hollywood heavyweights Mark Wahlberg and Sir Anthony Hopkins filmed here, their action sequences unfolding against the backdrop of Northumberland’s stormy skies. Long before that, the castle was featured in films such as Elizabeth and Macbeth, its vast stone walls lending themselves to epic storytelling.

Further along the trail lies Alnwick Castle, best known to many as Hogwarts in the early Harry Potter films. For Transformers, the grounds were filled with thousands of plastic daffodils, creating an artificial spring bloom that delighted cinemagoers. Yet when you arrive in person, you find that the natural beauty of Northumberland needs no embellishment.

The walking here is varied and rewarding. One moment you are on a clifftop, gazing out over the North Sea. The next, you are strolling across a broad beach where the sand stretches into the horizon. Villages tucked along the way invite you to pause for a pot of tea or a pint in a welcoming pub. It is a landscape that allows time to slow, even while it sparks the imagination with its cinematic echoes. For walkers, the Northumberland Coast offers something particularly satisfying. It combines a sense of stepping into the past with a chance to touch the magic of modern cinema.

Causeway Coast Way, Northern Ireland

Few places in the world feel as mythic as the Causeway Coast. Walking the Causeway Coast Way, you encounter basalt cliffs that rise in dramatic columns, hidden bays where waves crash in endless rhythm, and views that stretch into legend. It is little wonder that the makers of Game of Thrones returned to this coastline again and again.

Ballintoy Harbouris one of the most recognisable filming spots, transformed on screen into Lordsport Harbour on the Iron Islands. Fans will remember Theon Greyjoy being baptised here, reaffirming his loyalty to the old gods of his people. In person, the harbour is a place of quiet beauty, where fishing boats bob gently in the tide and the air smells of salt and seaweed.

Further along the route lies Portstewart Strand, a sweeping beach backed by dunes. On screen, it became the sands of Dorne, where Jaime Lannister and Bronn clashed with Dornish soldiers. Off screen, it is a place where walkers can wander for miles and watch seabirds wheel overhead.

Of course, no visit to this part of the coast would be complete without standing on the stones of the Giant’s Causeway itself. The interlocking basalt columns, formed millions of years ago by volcanic activity, seem almost otherworldly. According to Irish legend, they were built by the giant Finn McCool as a bridge to Scotland. Standing here, you feel the blend of myth, geology and cinematic grandeur come together.

The Causeway Coast Way is not only for Game of Thrones enthusiasts. It is a walk that offers history, folklore, wildlife and some of the most breathtaking views in the British Isles. Yet for those who have watched the series, there is an extra layer of magic. As you climb from one cove to the next, you are walking through a landscape that millions have seen on screen, and yet which feels entirely your own once your boots touch the path.

West Highland Way, Scotland

There are few places in Scotland as dramatic as Glencoe, and few walks that capture the spirit of the Highlands quite like the West Highland Way. Stretching for 96 miles, this iconic route passes through some of the most remarkable landscapes in the country. Among them, the valley of Glencoe has appeared on screen in both Outlander and James Bond’s Skyfall.

In Skyfall, Daniel Craig’s 007 is seen against the shadow of Buachaille Etive Mor, one of Scotland’s most famous Munros. The filmmakers chose the glen for its sweeping valleys and craggy peaks, a natural stage for the drama of espionage and action. Yet when you arrive in person, the scale of the landscape dwarfs anything you have seen in the cinema.

From Kingshouse, walkers are greeted with a panorama that seems almost too vast to take in at once. To your left lies Glen Etive, a place of lochs and waterfalls. To your right, the great glen stretches onwards, its peaks etched against the sky. The mountains rise like guardians, their slopes marked by centuries of weather and history.

Walking here is an experience that resonates deeply. For many hikers, there is a sense of perspective in walking through such an ancient landscape. The glen seems to remind us of our place in something larger, just as it does when it appears on film. It is beautiful, dramatic and grounding all at once.

The West Highland Way offers moments of companionship too, whether you are sharing a pint with fellow walkers at a pub along the way or pausing together to watch the clouds roll across the hills. It is a walk that carries with it both the solitude of the mountains and the warmth of shared experience.

Kerry and Dingle Way, Ireland

When the Star Wars crew arrived in Ireland, they could hardly believe their luck. Skellig Michael, the rocky island rising from the Atlantic, provided one of the most iconic settings in the modern saga. It was here, on its ancient stone steps, that Luke Skywalker returned to the story in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Walking the Kerry Way, you can take a ferry to Skellig Michael itself, and walk the coast that frames it. Ceann Sibéal in Ballyferriter doubled as part of the Jedi temple, close by to The Dingle Way, while the cliffs of West Kerry became the backdrop for scenes of galactic significance. Yet beyond the cinematic connection, these landscapes are simply extraordinary.

The Kerry and Dingle Way takes you through a mixture of rugged hills, cliff-top paths and quiet Irish villages. One moment you are passing fields edged with stone walls, the next you are looking out to sea where gannets dive in flashes of white. In the evenings, traditional pubs offer music and conversation, the perfect counterpoint to the day’s walking.

For those who grew up with the original Star Wars films and shared the newer ones with their children, there is something particularly moving about walking these trails. The saga’s themes of family, legacy and adventure echo through the Irish landscape. You may not carry a lightsaber, but you carry the same sense of discovery as you follow the paths that inspired the galaxy far, far away.

South West Coast Path, Cornwall

Cornwall’s coastline has always inspired artists, but in recent years it became synonymous with the brooding romance of Poldark. Walking the South West Coast Path, you encounter the same windswept clifftops, hidden coves and fishing villages that set the stage for Ross and Demelza’s story.

At Botallack Mine, ruined engine houses perch precariously above the Atlantic. In Poldark, these became the family mines of Wheal Leisure and Grambler, symbols of struggle and survival. In reality, they are reminders of Cornwall’s mining heritage, a time when tin and copper were drawn from the earth at great human cost. Walking among them, you feel the weight of history alongside the echo of the television drama.

Further along lies Porthcurno, where white sand meets turquoise sea. In Poldark it stood in for Nampara Cove, the fictional home of the Poldark family. On a summer day, with sunlight pouring onto the waves, it is easy to see why the filmmakers chose it. Yet it is just as powerful in quieter moments, when the tide pulls back to reveal patterns in the sand and the cliffs cast long shadows across the beach.

Earlier this year the film The Salt Path came into cinemas bringing even more attention to this remarkable trail. Based on Raynor Winn’s bestselling memoir it tells the true story of Raynor and her husband Moth, who after losing their home and coping with a health diagnosis set out to walk the South West Coast Path. The appeal of The Salt Path is powerful, because it is not simply a film about walking It is a film about loss, survival, resilience and the healing power of landscape. The characters are older than many film protagonists and their journey is not glamorous, but very real. Many people in this age group have experienced change, periods of upheaval, or the need to re-evaluate. What Raynor and Moth do is take the despair of sudden loss and turn it into a journey; showing that even when life shifts dramatically through hardship, there is still beauty to be found, strength to be drawn upon and resilience to be discovered if one simply keeps going.

The South West Coast Path is the longest national trail in England, stretching over 600 miles. But even walking a section of it gives you a sense of Cornwall’s character. Fishing boats return to harbour, wildflowers bloom along the path, and the sea changes colour with the shifting light. For those who love Poldark and The Salt Path, the connection is a bonus. For all walkers, the coast itself is the true star.

Walking into the Story

Film and television have the power to bring landscapes to life in our imagination. Yet when you lace up your boots and step onto the trail, you find that these places are even richer than the screen can show. They carry history, legend and the rhythm of the natural world, all woven together with the stories we tell.

For walkers, the experience of stepping into these landscapes are particularly meaningful. You may have shared these films and series with family or watched them as milestones of your own life. To walk the paths where they were filmed is to blend memory, imagination and the present moment. It is a reminder that every story, even the grandest, is grounded in the earth beneath our feet.

So whether it is the beaches of Pembrokeshire or the castles of Northumberland, these walks invite you to step into the story. And once there, to write a story of your own.