Tag Archives: swinley

Harry Potter Places


Just a promote for those Potter fans out there or in your life.

Harry Potter Places http://www.harrypotterplaces.com/

A series of PDF guidebooks for fans available for a modest price that describe in detail the locations used to shoot the Potter films.

As some may know I frequent Swinley a fair bit for mountain biking and got to see some goings on there for the films, hence a few posts here about it. Result has been I was asked to provide some assistance with some local information and a photo to the author of these books and the third book has some detail on Swinley (or actually as a supplement in more detail as for people looking to check out locations it’s going to be near impossible to identify the locations unless you know the place and saw where they shot the stuff, like me).

Reading through, as a local one thing I didn’t know is very nearby to Swinley is Harry’s house (round by Martins Heron), or at least the original one. The locals asked too much to film there after that so Warner built a replica of the street on the studio backlot!

A little credit in there too. Woohoo, name in print! of sorts :). A thanks to Chas for producing these books and the impressive efforts gone into to researching it.

More filming in or near Swinley? + Surrey Hills?

Location signs up on the roads approaching Swinley recently, saying (I think) ‘DBL‘.

Haven’t seen any in Swinley or pointing into the estate, but at least directs down Nine Mile Ride towards The Look Out.

Also, the other week, there was a sign on the junction of Shere Road where the A25 turns right up the hill towards Newlands Corner that simply said ‘BASE‘, pointing towards the hills. A typical base camp sign for a location. Didn’t have time to check it out.

Update: Not sure if it’s related but further into the hills on the back roads towards Peaslake are signs up saying ‘MAYDAY‘.

This I assume – http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2113265_mayday_call_for_dorking_as_tv_thriller_filmed

Google film locations

Looking up the location of the Aldershot film location, Google has this capture from what must have been a previous set up.

And then as a frequent haunt of mine, checking out Google’s view on Swinley and seems it caught not only a plane going over but also the green screen stuff that was being built there during the Harry Potter filming back in 2009.

Potter returns to Swinley

More filming for the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows flicks in Swinley it seems.

Not much to see given the limit viewpoints around the area they have closed off, although there are better shots around the net. Essentially there’s some green screen and some sort of stone archway set.

Harry Potter filming again. Feb 2010. #4
© Copyright Tim Moore

Harry Potter filming again. Feb 2010. #5
© Copyright Tim Moore

For the mountain bikers out there, this is what’s closed off
Harry Potter filming again. Feb 2010. #2

These photos,Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. Please give credit.

Harry Potter at Swinley – Update

Looks like mostly done now at Swinley. The main site with the cranes has gone. Not sure about the green screen area off the top of Surrey Hill, although it was taped off still in the middle of the week.

They’ve already started filling in the dug out area where one of the cranes was, and the place is looking more like normal with most bike tracks open now.

Hoping that the money the Crown Estate get from this will feed back to develop some great bike tracks.

One lucky lad managed to find a discarded callsheet!

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2053856_proof_that_harry_potter_is_being_filmed_in_the_woods_

Harry Potter at Swinley

My usual spot of mountain biking in Swinley Forest has been interrupted a little recently by some “major filming” (as they put it). Discovered lots of green screen, some cranes, and lots of crew vehicles. Not to mention a lot of mess! Spotted signs marked ‘WB’ and had a guess… big effects film, Warner Brothers… Harry Potter perhaps?

Did a bit of a search on the net and found my guess was right! Apparently they’re there filming some scenes for one or both of the Deathly Hallows films (due for release in two parts in 2010 and 2011).

Anyway, these are a few photos I’ve taken. They’re here for a couple of months apparently. I’ll be there every few weeks likely as usual so I’ll keep an eye on it, though I’m just there at the weekend for the biking so there’s not much activity to see.

Potter filming in Swinley Forest (2009)
Copyright (c) Tim Moore

Harry Potter filming - On Location (2009)
Copyright (c) Tim Moore

Harry Potter filming - Access Restricted
Copyright (c) Tim Moore

Harry Potter filming - Crane #1
Copyright (c) Tim Moore

Harry Potter filming - Crane #2
Copyright (c) Tim Moore

These photos,Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. Please give credit.

Update: Possibly this is what they’re filming (not much of a spoiler, but tagged it as such anyway. Guess someone may not have read the book!)…

Spoiler: [spoiler]“We’re here in the forest, we’ve just finished the scene where Harry, Hermione and Ron are captured by the Snatchers after being chased through the woods. The Snatchers are brutal and scary but they aren’t the most intelligent of creatures.They’re trying to figure out exactly who it is they’ve caught.”(Source: LA Times)[/spoiler]