Close to where I spent a recent holiday are three locations used in films or TV series.
First is The Cobb, Lyme Regis harbour used in 1981 film "The French Lieutenant's Woman" starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons. The main characters Sarah Woodruff (Streep) and Simon Smithson (Irons) first meet each other on The Cobb, the massive sea wall of Lyme Regis harbour. Woodruff (Streep), abandoned by her lover, a French ships officer Varguennes who has returned to France and married, often stands at the end of The Cobb staring out to sea, possibly hoping to see her lover return.
Lyme Regis harbour; low tide. The Cobb extends out to sea behind the buildings and it is on that part of The Cobb that Woodruff (Streep) stands in the iconic image used to publicise the film. During stormy weather the waves crash against The Cobb sending spray high into the air.
Next, two TV series can be included for this location. First will be the 1970's BBC series "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin" starring Leonard Rossiter as the eponymous Perrin. A man so disillusioned with his mundane life that he fakes his own suicide. As each episode began, behind the credits the viewer saw Reggie run down the beach to the water's edge, stripping off his clothes, and jumping into the sea. The characteristic cliffs of the Bridport Sands formation (Jurassic) give the location away, West Bay, the coastal village just south of Bridport, Dorset.
West Bay, photo taken from the west at Eype's Mouth. Reginald Perrin ran down the beach between the two yellow sandstone cliffs in the distance. The groyne protecting the entrance to West Bay harbour from westerly winds and seas can be seen in the centre of the picture.
The same location and surrounding area was used in the "Broadchurch" TV series starring Olivia Coleman and David Tenant. Other scenes were shot at Clevedon in Somerset, the two locations being combined in the final cut, thus confusing the geography. Many scenes were shot on the West Bay beach, again the characteristic Jurassic Bridport Sand cliffs showing the viewer (if like me with a B.Sc in geology) the precise location.
The cabin where the Broadchurch murder took place. It is on the cliff top at Eype's Mouth, just to the left and out of shot in the seascape photo.
Two years ago I was surveying the insect fauna along this part of the coast and often visited West Bay village - it was infested with film crews, areas cordoned off to prevent public entering, all accommodation booked by film crew, actors and extras . . . and many "Broadchurch" fans attracted to the village in the hope of seeing some of the actors or simply to watch the filming. The character of this normally sleepy quiet seaside village was dramatically changed by the filming . . .but it soon recovered to its laid-back normality after the film crews left.