On Location: The Shows Behind England On Screen

Some places feel familiar long before we arrive. We have watched their harbors at dawn, their church doors open for weddings, and their village greens fill with suspects. British television has given us a version of England that we feel we already know — and one of the great pleasures of travel is discovering that the real thing is even better.

Our England On Screen tour, new for 2027, was built around that sense of recognition. It brings together six much-loved series, from the Kent coast to the Cotswolds, the Thames Valley and London. Here is a little of the story behind each one.

Whitstable Pearl

There is no mistaking where this one is set. Created for Acorn TV and first released in 2021, Whitstable Pearl stars Kerry Godliman as Pearl Nolan, a restaurant owner turned private detective in a town where everyone seems to know everyone else’s business. Based on the novels of Julie Wassmer, the series has now run for three seasons, and much of it was filmed in Whitstable itself. With its fresh seafood, independent shops and easy coastal charm, the town is every bit as appealing in person as it is on screen.

Downton Abbey®

Few series have captured the imagination quite like Downton Abbey®. The Crawleys’ grand house is famous the world over, but the village of Downton was found in the Cotswolds — a place of old stone, quiet lanes and a historic church, where the series’ weddings, christenings and village gossip played out. Explored in the company of someone who knows its stories, it is easy to picture Lady Mary on her wedding day. Later in the tour, we also visit a lesser-known Downton Abbey® filming location in London.

Father Brown

G.K. Chesterton introduced his quiet, perceptive priest in short stories first published in 1910, but for many of us Father Brown will always be Mark Williams, who has played him for the BBC since 2013. Across thirteen series, he has solved crimes in the fictional 1950s village of Kembleford — and Kembleford is pure Cotswolds. Golden stone cottages, ancient churches and rolling hills give the series its gentle, timeless feel, and on tour we venture deeper into the Cotswolds to see the picturesque areas used in filming.

The Marlow Murder Club

The newest series on our itinerary comes from Robert Thorogood, the creator of Death in Paradise, who adapted it from his own novels. Samantha Bond stars as Judith Potts, a retired archaeologist who forms an unlikely crime-solving trio with dog-walker Suzie Harris and vicar’s wife Becks Starling.

Filmed on location in Marlow, the series returned for its second season in the United States in August 2025. An expert-led walking tour introduces you to this elegant Thames-side town, followed by time to explore on your own.

Midsomer Murders

Since 1997, few places on television have been quite as perilous — or quite as pretty — as Midsomer. The county may be fictional, but its villages and market towns are very real, and the series has returned to the Thames Valley time and again. On tour, we stop in one of its most frequently used settings, a handsome riverside town that fans will recognize at once.

Agatha Christie’s Poirot

For 70 episodes, broadcast between 1989 and 2013, David Suchet’s Hercule Poirot set the standard by which every other portrayal is measured, and by the end of the run every major Poirot novel had been adapted. Fans will recognize the elegant Art Deco building used as Whitehaven Mansions, Poirot’s fictional London home. On tour, we see it for ourselves, along with the London home where Agatha Christie herself lived and wrote.

Join us on screen and off

England On Screen departs on August 9, 2027, inviting travelers to discover the villages, country houses and coastal towns they already know from British television. Along the way, our experts bring each story to life, with stays at a fine country house hotel, visits to celebrated literary and historic homes, beautiful English gardens and a Murder Mystery evening worthy of any of the detectives above.

Discover the full itinerary here, or call us at 1.866.654.7508.