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As Seen on TV! - Scotland’s Canals Worthy of a Red Carpet

Scottish Canals - Movie and TV Locations - Filmmap

Water has long been an inspiration for creativity and, in recent times, Scotland’s canals have been worthy ‘best supporting actors’ in everything from iconic TV to box office movies. Now, British Waterways has mapped out the most iconic film and TV locations on the nation’s 2,200-mile network of canals, including five locations on the 137-mile Scottish network, and is inviting the public to discover the real-life film sets on their doorstep.

The map - which can be viewed at: www.waterscape.com/filmmap - features big budget favourites filmed around Scotland’s canals like ‘Loch Ness’, in which Nessie was discovered by Mr Cheers himself, Ted Danson.

Also represented on the map is the recently voted Scotland’s favourite TV show by a stv.tv poll, ‘Taggart’. The popular detective series has been running for an impressive 25 years and some of its most famous, memorable crime scenes were filmed on various parts of the Forth & Clyde Canal.

The Forth & Clyde was also the setting for the thriller, ‘Young Adam’ starring Scotland’s own Ewan McGregor and Nairn-based Tilda Swinton in 2003.

Most recently it has been The Highland Canals that have been stealing the limelight when ‘The Woman Who Ate Scotland’ went on her travels and visited the Great Glen in 2006. Scotland’s intrepid TV chef travelled along the Caledonian Canal sampling culinary delights including smoked trout and seaweed whilst admiring the spectacular scenery that the Great Glen has to offer.

The map also includes other film locations on the canals in England and Wales like big budget Hollywood favourites ‘28 Weeks Later’ and ‘The World is Not Enough,’ which were filmed around the imposing cityscape of London’s Docklands. It also includes British hits like ‘The Full Monty’, with its famous scene where characters are marooned on the roof of a sinking car in the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal, and ‘This is England,’ featuring scenes on the Nottingham & Beeston Canal. Also represented on the map are long-running TV classics like ‘Inspector Morse’ and ‘Coronation Street’ and more recent productions like the adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s fantasy novel ‘The Colour of Magic’ or ‘Crusoe’ starring Sean Bean.

In the last few years, ‘location vacations’ have seen a big increase in popularity, and as budgets are increasingly tightened, taking a break in the UK is becoming a preferred option. So whether you want to hunt for Nessie at Loch Ness or follow in the footsteps of the culinary adventures of Nell Nelson taking in the spectacular sights of the Caledonian Canal, there’s plenty of scope for imagination.

Richard Millar, business development manager, British Waterways Scotland says: “If you only see Scotland’s canals on screen, you might be forgiven for thinking the waterways are usually the setting for crime solving or the home of mysterious monsters - but the truth is very different.

“Our local canals are a great everyday place to escape from it all – they can be an outdoor gym, a route to work, a wildlife sanctuary or even a tranquil space to pen the next Hollywood canal blockbuster.”

Brian Robinson, communications manager for Archive & Heritage at The British Film Institute says: “Britain's rich heritage of waterways is paralleled by the richness of our film culture. This is a great project which links the two together. Both film and industrial heritage are inextricably linked and, as guardians of the BFI National Archive, we are happy to support it.”

In a recent communication he indicated that the Strategy for UK Screen Heritage sets out to: address immediate funding deficiencies in the sector, mitigating the risk of loss of key screen heritage material and thus safeguarding our heritage; re-structure support for the sector, to secure the skills and organisational infrastructure necessary to care for the heritage; reate a critical mass of digitised material and the digital infrastructure required to deliver the vision by ensuring the widest possible access for the public. - The first phase is focussed primarily on the BFI National Archive, Regional Screen Agencies (RSAs) and Regional Film Archives (RFAs).

More suggestions of places along the Scottish canal network used in film and TV shows are welcomed! People can email feedback@waterscape.com with suggestions including as much location and dating information as possible.