28 Years Later - My 6 Locations

When the story first started in 2002, with Alex Garland as the writer and Danny Boyle as the director, they revolutionised the horror and zombie genres. After the release of 28 Weeks Later in 2007, the duo returned with a new narrative for a new era in filmmaking. This time, they selected the North of England to provide a stunning yet eerie setting for the story. Now, I'm going to guide you through six of the film's locations, so be sure to bring your crossbow in case we encounter any infected.

Derwent & Consett house

Visiting the abandoned house, where they find Jimmy hung up and get scared by a fox, was like stepping directly into the chilling atmosphere of the film itself. The house was located on a footpath in the middle of many rural fields, with several valleys, a few streams and many sheep. Trying to reach the house felt like I was in the film itself, thankfully I didn't have the lingering fear of an infected chasing me.

Fans of the film will recognise the boarded up and abandoned facade of the house. But being able to stand outside of it, the eerie silence and run down look really made it an incredible experience. When I was there, instead of being shocked by a screeching fox, I did manage to scare myself when stepping on a branch which sent some sheep darting.

They did utilise the downstairs of the house from the looks of things. All of the doors and windows were heavily boarded up, but I did manage to get a camera through a gap which meant I got this photo from the room where Jimmy was strung up in the bags.

If you do plan on making a trip to this house, you will feel such an immense connection to the movie, being able to feel like you're reliving the scenes filmed around the house. But a couple of tips - make sure to stick to the footpath that cuts through, be careful of all the nettles, and don't break into the house/trespass.

Rothbury & Blaeberry Hill

Blaeberry Hill is perched above the picturesque market town of Rothbury, Northumberland. They filmed a couple of scenes using the vista and natural landscape to provide a darker view of a deserted mainland. You can see when ascending the hill why Danny Boyle and the crew chose to film here, with the purple speckled Bilberry bushes and a mist laced view. With many different perspectives of the hill, whether it be close ups or distant drone shots, when you see it in person you get that connection. Whilst you're in Rothbury, make sure to pass by All Saint's Church where Danny Boyle was photographed and Jubilee Crescent where they did some filming with matted sheep.

Jubilee Hall, Newton-on-the-Moor

Visiting this hall is like stepping into that older history of Northern England. Built in 1887 the hall was constructed to commemorate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria. Now a Grade II listed building, they carefully revitalised the hall in 2024 to help preserve a beautiful fragment of the halls past.

The hall was originally chosen by the production team for the red tile roof and pale coloured stone which matched the buildings on Lindisfarne. However, the only time you will see the exterior is when Spike leaves the celebration and sees Jamie with another woman. But to create the scene they built most of the surrounding onto the back of the hall.

Moving inside, the team painstakingly made the hall darker and stuck in that early 2000's time. With a whole coat of dark brown paint, removing the electric lights for candles and covering the radiators. Whilst filming the celebration scenes, Danny Boyle chose to use real candles to heat up the hall and bringing in many extras, the heat was at a high and everyone was sweating adding an extra dimension to the scene. The reading room of the hall was also used for some school scenes on the island, with its neutral tones and old style interior.

St John the Baptist, Richmond

Moving down to North Yorkshire, there's a couple more locations that I was able to visit. The first was St John the Baptist near Richmond, which stood in for the interior of the Scottish Highlands church from the start of the film. The crew on this film made sure to use locations that are fairly remote making my setjetting travels that much harder!

With it's shadowy and eerie interior, stepping into the church was giving the intense feelings of being in the film. With such an intense history in the area, of an Iron Age fortification and several Anglo-Saxon carved stones, the church is perfect for a film and historic architecture fan. Now the church is managed by the Churches Conservation Trust who keep the church open for people to visit.

Here you can see the ornate tiled floorings, the altar where the farther is praying, and where little Jimmy was hiding. However, the stained glass window was put in for filming and seems to have been put in where the altar was with some reverse filming. Make sure to find the 28th pew whilst walking through!

Redmire Falls

As you make your way through the village of Redmire, you get to the tranquil river which courses its way through Wensleydale. The Redmire falls footpath takes you down the hill to a field next to the river, to the unassuming eye you wouldn't suspect anything but as a fan of the movie you can instantly imagine where Dr Kelson's Bone Temple stood. The meticulous work over 6 months, to bring over 250,000 replica bones and 5,500 replica skulls, film many scenes for the first two movies in the trilogy, and carefully put the field back to how it was.

Make sure to stand and admire the natural beauty of the surroundings here, from the dense woodland, to the gentle flowing river and the grazing cows. It is fairly easy to see how the temple once stood, and you will be instantly taken to the eerie and apocalyptic scene. The cinematic pilgrimage to this spot is definitely worth it!

However, be wary of the river! It looks a lot calmer than it actually is. Not only does it get deeper and have a stronger current, it also gets a lot browner which I later found out was possibly from the agricultural run off and metal pollution. When I tried to cross the river, I struggled to get across, so I would love to know how they managed to film this scene!

Lindisfarne/Holy Island

The tidal island off the coast of Northumberland is accessible only via the causeway at low tide. With the secluded sanctuary of the island, it is easy to see why they chose to base the majority of the film around this piece of history.

Once on the island, you make your way to the compact village streets and the market cross. Here you will instantly see the buildings that provided the backdrop for life on the island. With it's quiet architecture, windswept terrain and sense of community, you will be instantly feeling like you were evacuated to the island during the virus.

Back in 2024, the production crew set up camp on the island, with boom lifts parked next to ancient cottages and Danny Boyle mingling with the locals of the island. They made perfect use of the architecture and heritage of the island, bringing the whole English history into the modern cinematic story.

Before you visit the island, I should make you aware that the causeway that Spike, Jamie, Isla and the Alpha cross is not the Holy Island causeway! This was used for a couple of distant drone shots, however they filmed these scenes on the causeway for Osea Island in Essex.

Visiting all of these incredible, eerie and natural locations is really like stepping into the deserted mainland. Whether you visit the abandoned farm house in Derwent, the preserved Grade II hall in Newton on the Moor, or the historic island of Lindisfarne, it is perfect for any fan of the film! Just make sure to pack your weapons incase of any roaming infected!