Where was Poldark filmed?

Poldark's Cornwall, and the counties that doubled for it

Mammoth Screen made Poldark for BBC One between 2014 and 2019, adapting Winston Graham's novels about Ross Poldark, a soldier who comes home to a ruined estate and a family mine. The production split its time between real Cornish coast and the Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol, where the Nampara and Trenwith interiors, the Red Lion and even a House of Commons chamber were built as sets. Outdoor filming leaned on the far west of Cornwall, where the National Trust looks after much of the mining coast, and on country houses within easy reach of Bristol.

Ross's mines are the show's signature images. Wheal Leisure, Grambler and Wheal Grace were filmed among the engine houses at Botallack, chiefly Wheal Owles and the Crowns, with temporary buildings added for the cameras. Levant, the next mine along the cliff, played Tressiders Rolling Mill. Later in the run the National Trust's Wheal Coates near St Agnes stood in for a derelict Wheal Leisure, so not every mine shot comes from one place. The underground scenes were not filmed in Cornwall at all: Redcliffe Caves in Bristol and studio sets supplied the tunnels.

Fictional places rarely map onto one real spot. Nampara is a patchwork of Porthcurno's beach, the clifftops at St Agnes Head and moorland near Minions on Bodmin Moor. Truro is two towns: Charlestown's Georgian harbour for the quaysides and Corsham High Street in Wiltshire for the streets. Penberth Cove played the fishing village of Sawle, Holywell Bay the Warleggan beach, and Gunwalloe Church Cove the beach where the wreck is plundered. Away from Cornwall, Chavenage House is Trenwith, Great Chalfield Manor is Killewarren, Dyrham Park is the Warleggan town house, Bowood's lake doubled for Hyde Park and the Serpentine, and Berkeley Castle stood in for Roscoff.

The best way to visit is by car, one area at a time. Penwith, the Lizard and the St Agnes coast each make a full day, with parking at National Trust or village car parks and short walks along the South West Coast Path. Levant's beam engine runs on pre-booked tours, and Chavenage takes visitors by reservation only, so book both before you set off. Bristol's locations are close together in the old city and harbourside and work well on foot, while the Wiltshire and Gloucestershire houses suit a separate day from Bath, Corsham or Tetbury.

Some places in the story cannot be visited. The farmhouse used for Nampara's exterior and the cottage used as Dwight Enys's clifftop home are private, so this guide gives no directions to them. Redcliffe Caves open only for occasional special events, and Leigh Court is a private events venue. Everywhere on the coast, the same rules apply: keep to signed paths, stay well back from cliff edges and mine shafts, and check the tide before you walk onto a beach.