The REAL stars of the screen

From Bridgerton to the Avengers and Dracula, visit the real-life locations behind favourite films and TV series...

- 

ACTION-PACKED ADVENTURES: Transformers at Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorks

Take a picnic and enjoy a brisk walk or a quiet amble. While Ranger's House stands in for exteriors, Halton House, Bucks, owned by the RAF, is used for the interior scenes of the Bridgerton home, such as the grand hall, stairs, and hallways.

Old Wardour Castle, near Salisbury, Wilts, a unique hexagonal 14th century tower house, became Locksley Castle for the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner as the man in green. Built in the 1390s, it came into the ownership of the Arundell Family in the 16th century, and was partially destroyed during the English Civil War. Today the Grade I-listed building offers a glimpse into times past that will delight young and old. Climb the atmospheric stone steps of the east tower and enjoy stunning panoramic views, then picnic in the landscaped grounds surrounded by age-old trees as young adventurers use up some of their energy. Try English Heritage's new family game, Can you Keep Your Castle?, to help young visitors learn more about Old Wardour's history.

Set high on the cliffs overlooking the sea, the ruins of Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire provide one of the UK's most dramatic heritage sites and a boon to filmmakers. For more than 3,000 years, it has been a holy place. Buried beneath the soaring arches are the remains of an earlier Anglo-Saxon monastery, whose tales of saints, poets and miracles still survive. The abbey helped inspire Bram Stoker's groundbreaking 1897 gothic horror novel, Dracula, when the author visited Whitby. In the book, Count Dracula comes ashore and runs up the 199 steps to the abbey graveyard in the form of a black dog after his ship is wrecked off the coast.