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Barbie and Fairytale Tour of London
I must admit, prior to lockdown I was never a massive film fan. I always found myself gravitating towards the easy-to-watch series that you’d stick on in the background.
However, with all the free time I had over the past year I thought it may be time to delve into the world of film. Over the past few months, I have found a new obsession with the Marvel films and have now watched them all. It is safe to say I may have spent a bit too much time on the sofa… But it was definitely worth it.
As restrictions lifted, Lucy and I thought we’d go and try something new: A London Film Locations Walking Tour! I was excited to learn where some of the most famous movies were filmed.
We met our friendly tour guide George just outside London Bridge Station. After introducing ourselves, George began walking us over to our first film location, which was Bridget Jones’ house! This was actually only a few minutes away from our meeting point. I’ve actually never seen Bridget Jones, but Lucy is a big fan so I let have her fan girl moment.
The building it was filmed in has actually now been renovated on the outside, so it doesn’t look the same as it does in the movie. George said this was a bad move, as this is a major tourist attraction for Jones fans! Her house was located right by Borough Market, which George told us has been running for over 1000 years! There is a lot of history in that market, but that’s not what we were here for…
We then made our way across London Bridge, we stopped half way to learn a bit more about the bridge itself. Did you know people used to live on London Bridge in the 15th century? This is hard to imagine now, as the bridge is full of people commuting around the city! This is actually the bridge that Bridget crosses on her way to work. George pointed out that she actually walks the wrong way across the bridge, as the view of London’s sky scrapers looks far more impressive than the other side.
As we walked to our next location, we came across the Fire of London Monument. George told us this was built in 1677 as a symbol of the great fire of London that burnt down 436 acres of the city. He also told us that you could actually go inside the monument to have a look out over London! Unfortunately, we did not have time to venture up there, but the cloudy skies would have ruined our view anyway.
This next location was particularly exciting for me, as this was where the Leaky Cauldron Pub from Harry Potter was located! I am a big Harry Potter fan so now it was time for my fan girl moment. The Leaky Cauldron Pub is located at Leadenhall market which has been around since 1881! The actual building that was used for the pub was painted black in the film to add to the mysterious wizardry theme… you would never have guessed this was the Leaky Cauldron Pub if you weren’t told.
After walking further along the streets of London, we arrived at the location where the final scene of Bridget Jones’s Diary, in which Bridget runs through the snow, was filmed. George told us that this scene lasted for 3 minutes, but in reality the distance she ran should have taken at least 20 minutes! All part of the movie magic right?
The streets around this area were beautiful and had a very traditional London feel. We walked past the Royal Exchange, which was a magnificent building that reminded me of the Pantheon in Rome. George told us that this building was actually used as the Bank of England in the new Mary Poppins film. Unfortunately, me and Lucy had not seen the new one yet but we have added it to our list of must-see films.
Of course, George had some interesting facts about the original Mary Poppins film as well. The backdrop of the famous bird lady scene was actually just a painting of the St Paul’s Cathedral, as this was much cheaper than filming at the actual location! I’ve actually never realised this when watching the film, but I will definitely keep an eye out for it next time.
If you have seen Skyfall you’ll know the famous scene where James Bond drives down into their secret underground MI6 headquarters. I was very surprised to find out this was filmed at Smithfield’s Market car park! I think it’s incredible to see what filmmakers can do, turning an ordinary space into a realistic-looking spy headquarters. This has made me find a newfound respect for the film industry as they quite literally make magic happen.
Thanks for Reading!
I really enjoyed this Walking Film Location Tour of London, it really opened my eyes to how much work actually goes into creating these famous blockbuster films! Not only did we get to learn more about these classic films, we got to explore parts of London that I would have never gone to on my own and learnt some historic facts as we walked through the streets of London. George was very knowledgeable and was on hand to answer any questions we may have had.
