Filming
Lights, Camera, Action
We’re a film friendly authority with a wide spectrum of fantastic, unique locations, with great facilities, for all types of productions.
Only a 20 minute train ride from Manchester and a 30 minute drive from the city or the airport mean Bolton is an easily accessible town.
Our team work closely with Creative England, and our can-do attitude and willingness to go the extra mile ensures filming is facilitated professionally and effectively.
The extra mile
We will work closely with you from initial location enquiry, throughout the planning process to implementation. Our aim is to make your journey with us as easy as possible, and we will go above and beyond to do this.
You may recognise some of our iconic architecture and outstanding countryside from productions including Peaky Blinders, Cobra, Intergalactic, Get Even, Coldfeet, The Boys, Traces, Coronation Street, Years and Years, Last Tango in Halifax and Bancroft to name just a few high profile productions!
Previous filming in Bolton
“Bolton offers the production both period and contemporary locations. Having spent the day in the town we managed to achieve period London to high-end futuristic office. All sorted by the excellent team at the council. It’s a safe pair of hands, from a Location Manager’s point of view.”
Locations
An iconic street in the heart of the town centre, built in the 1930s Le Mans Crescent with its stunning central archway is a very popular location for filming. It has doubled for London/Whitehall on many occasions and can be used as present day or period.
The Archway has been used as Marble Arch and Admiralty Arch. Shows such as Peaky Blinders, It’s a Sin, Cold Feet, Traces, Top Gear and soon to be aired Ridley Road have all filmed in recent years.
Tech parking is available right outside the location.
Former BHS Retail unit
Situated off Victoria Square opposite the town hall, this former retail unit has been used as a build space. Cobra (Sky) build a hospital interior on the ground floor and used the lower ground floor for its command centre set. The upper floor was used for make-up and wardrobe to accommodate upto 200 SAs. They occupied space for 4 months.
The production of Intergalactic constructed several set builds in the space. In early 2021 Sky production ‘Wolfe’ dressed the upper floor as a prison visiting room.
Tech parking is available right outside the location.
This Grade II listed location wraps around the crescent and like the street itself is a much sought after filming location. It compromises of 2 courtrooms, cells and custody areas, curving long corridors, plus several annex rooms each offering something different for production companies to choose from.
Since early 2019 we have seen over a dozen production use this location. The Stranger used a room as a set build for a police station interior, It’s a Sin set built a hospital ward, Traces, Cold Feet and recent Sky production ‘Wolfe’ have used the court. Ridley Road turned some of the cells into period 1960s, periodised another room and used another space as a Whitehall office.
Wolfe also used the custody area and rear elevation as a prison yard. Forthcoming productions to use the location are Traces series 2, The Ipcress File and Peaky Blinders returns to film scenes for series 6.
Tech parking is available right outside the location.
Smithills Hall
A key visitor destination in Bolton and set in its own grounds, the Hall has been used many times for filming, from ‘Most Haunted’ to ‘The English Game.’
https://www.boltonlams.co.uk/smithills-hall
Parks and Greenspace
Bolton offers many parks which can be used for filming. Most popular for filming is Queens Park on the edge of the town centre. Moses Gate is a nearby country park and Moss Bank Park is very popular with families.