There’s an organic feel to every aspect of Georgia Oakley’s forthcoming Sense and Sensibility, from the hand-sewn costumes which Daisy Edgar-Jones’s Elinor Dashwood wears to chop wood in the wilderness, to the decision to shoot on film, which lends every sequence a kind of painterly romanticism. So, it was, of course, crucial to the production team to maintain this sense of authenticity when it came to the film’s sets, too. As a result, studios were eschewed in favour of real historical locations – a sort of country house tour of Britain which took the cast from windswept Dartmoor to the palaces of Oxfordshire and a handful of grand London institutions. Here are 10 filming locations you can actually visit, ahead of the movie’s impending release.
While the interiors for Norland, home to the Dashwood sisters before the death of their father, were captured at Kingston Russell House in Dorset, a mansion which is sadly not open to the public, its magical lake, where Elinor and Edward Ferrars skip rocks together, can be found at the nearby Parnham Park. A 16th-century country pile set within 139 acres of woodland, it provides endless rambling walks and quiet romantic corners. Book out the sumptuous West Wing of Parnham House, complete with lavish four-poster beds and copper baths, for a weekend, for the full experience.
On the way to their new life at the more modest Barton Cottage, the Dashwoods pass Nun’s Cross Farm, a picturesque landmark in the heart of Dartmoor National Park. A trek through these blustery plains will also bring you past Ditsworthy Warren Farm, the Grade II-listed house which you might recognise from Steven Spielberg’s 2011 adaptation of , which here stands in for the sisters’ new home.
Drive on down to the coast and you’ll arrive at south Devon’s Mothecombe Beach, a wild stretch of sand where the Dashwood sisters frolic upon their move to Barton. Take a dip, followed by a piping hot cuppa from the tea room and a picnic on the grassy hills.
To find Barton Park, the home of the Middletons, who rent Barton Cottage to the Dashwoods, you’ll have to travel up to Oxfordshire’s stately 14th-century manor house Broughton Castle. Stroll past the moat, gatehouse and battlements, gape at the splendour of the Great Hall, admire the 16th-century family portraits in the gallery, and end your visit in the glorious walled garden.
Further south, beyond the bustle of London, is Penshurst Place, a 14th-century Kentish wonder whose cavernous, candlelit medieval hall hosts a raucous dance in Sense and Sensibility. Once a hunting lodge for King Henry VIII and the birthplace of Elizabethan poets Mary and Philip Sidney, the historic house also boasts an atmospheric wood-panelled tapestry room, vaulted crypt and grand, oak-beamed dining room.
When the girls are dispatched to London, you’ll find them at Rainham Hall, the Georgian townhouse on the eastern edges of the capital. Entering the 18th-century home, you’ll feel as if you’ve stepped back in time – the extraordinary trompe-l’œil frescoes, intricately tiled fireplaces and dark-wood, corkscrew-bannistered staircases are all stunning to behold.
For the site of the opulent London ball the sisters attend, head west from the capital to West Wycombe Park, an extravagant Palladian Buckinghamshire pile, featuring extensive woodlands, Doric temples and swan-filled lakes. Inside the 18th-century estate, you’ll find eight state rooms which are sure to make your head spin with their elaborately painted ceilings, marble walls and gilded fireplaces; a thrilling collision of Baroque, Rococo and classical styles, awash with giant Flemish tapestries, carved doorways, landscape paintings and various souvenirs from Italian Grand Tours. Incredible.
When Elinor and Edward step out to peruse paintings together, we see them at the National Gallery, still one of London’s most beloved attractions. It would take a lifetime to fully appreciate its wondrous permanent collection, but it’s worth beginning with the Da Vincis, Botticellis, Caravaggios and Vermeers, before progressing to the swoon-worthy landscapes of Turner and Constable.
Also featured in Sense and Sensibility is Knebworth House, the 15th-century Hertfordshire stately home adjacent to the legendary music venue. Even if you’re not there to see Oasis, there’s plenty to explore, from the Jacobean banqueting hall and marble bust-filled library to the family mausoleum.
You’ll catch a glimpse of the bridges of Oxfordshire’s Blenheim Palace in Sense and Sensibility, but, naturally, any trip to this 18th-century marvel requires a full day. The palace state rooms, with their cathedral-like proportions, glittering chandeliers, ornate furniture and riot of textiles, are dazzling, as is the tranquil secret garden.
Sense and Sensibility will be in cinemas from 25 September.