location

 

[our garden in Dungeness: could be any Western]

I've often thought the job of a location scout must be brilliant. I wouldn't be interested in the nitty-gritty nightmare of actually booking, hiring, and using a location, but the idea of travelling around, cataloguing scenery, buildings, interiors and atmospheres for future reference and use is very appealing. My car (definitely an old Morris Minor) would be full of OS maps, Shell and Rough Guides, Pevsner, Betjeman and Piper, and I would never drive anywhere in a straight line, but would make detours to look at anything that caught my eye.

 

[Eleventh century church graveyard: could be gothic murder mystery/Hammer House of Horrors]
 

In fact, apart from the Morris Minor (which would break down all the time anyway), this is pretty much how we do drive around (or 'tour' as they used to say) when on holiday. We used to be able to do it with the children in the back, but teenagers aren't that keen on detours to look at old railway stations, writers' houses, pretty gardens, ancient churches, and settings for famous paintings. So they stay put while we rediscover the pleasures of location scouting just for the fun of it.

 

[Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway: could be Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?]

We found some excellent locations in Romney Marsh. In fact, many of them really have been in films, and others ought to be.

 

[St Clement's Church, Old Romney: actual Dr Syn]

 

[interior of St Clement's: 18C pews, painted pink by Disney and left that way after filming]

 

[Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway: star of its own DVD, could be in a child's version of The Great Train Robbery]

 

 

[rain and Dungeness power station: could be the Kent version of It Always Rains on Sunday]

 

[Simon: could be The Lone Ranger]

And, of course, Derek Jarman's garden featured in several of his films.

 

[Prospect Cottage/garden: star of The Garden]

The joy of a British holiday: location, location, location.