There is so much to unpack following a recent trip my partner and I made to some of the filming locations of the hit-BBC comedy series This Country.
After a long weekend away from Cambridgeshire in Oxford, we discovered that we were less than half an hour away from the small market town of Northleach.
I had remembered hearing Daisy May Cooper, who plays Kerry Mucklowe in the BBC Three series, reveal that the quiet Cotswolds town was where a majority of my favourite scenes were filmed.
Located around two hours from our home in East Anglia, it was a road trip I wasn’t prepared to make until now – we were close after all.
After finding a Google Maps pin for ‘The Country house’, we arrived in the Gloucestershire town with the iconic house, complete its blue door, in sight.
You could almost hear ‘KERRRRYYYYYY’ in the distance as we pulled up outside one of the more well-known filming locations – it looked exactly how it does on-screen.
We snapped a few photographs and selfies before quickly moving on, some people tend to forget that despite being a fictional show, this is actually someone's home.
We’d parked the car so decided to take a walk to see if we could spot any more locations featured in the frankly hilarious three-series TV programme.
After walking for around 60 seconds, I instantly recognised a tree and rusted ‘No Ball Games’ sign from one of my favourite scenes.
I could hear it in my head and could almost see Mandy, played by the hilarious Ashley McGuire, her wild dog Tyson, Kerry and Kurtan – played by Charlie Cooper.
Real life brother and sister, Daisy May and Charlie play cousins in This Country and are joined by co-star Paul Cooper, who is the comedy duo’s real father.
The siblings’ real life uncle, Trevor Cooper, plays local man and antagonist Len Clifton.
We ventured into Northleach High Street where we found the bus shelter used in the opening scene of series one episode one – I of course grabbed a picture.
The High Street was quiet, you could hear a pin drop... we couldn’t find any sign of the TV show which is loved by millions of people worldwide.
I remember reading the locals weren't best pleased with the production of the programme and feared it would present them in a negative light.
Residents almost rolled their eyes as we snapped photos of some more well-known filming locations, including the town’s ‘village hall’.
We created some of the moments seen on-screen and once again felt very unwelcome by the reactions from locals – I am sure, however, that they’ve seen it all before.
We walked into a pub to grab some food before we headed back to some city comforts in Cambridgeshire, but it appeared staff were busy gathered around a TV watching a movie.
No one noticed us enter and no one noticed us leaving, it was almost as if they were used to having no footfall and zero customers, which was extremely odd.
A short stroll from the pub, sadly not branded ‘The Keepers Arms’, found us at the vicar’s church.
Played by Paul Chahidi, who ‘liked’ pictures of our visit on Twitter, the vicar is often seen outside his church and, once again, I re-created one of the TV moments.
In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed myself in Northleach – the quiet town centre almost made me feel like I was in the show and it was really quite funny.
I am sure that locals have seen hundreds, if not thousands, descend on their place they call home, it was just bizarre to see no recognition of those who truly put them on the map.
We finished the trip with a quick search for the elusive Rob Robinson, but much like Kurtan, left feeling disappointed – we would however love to return for the annual scarecrow competition – if it really exists that is.
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