Old Gang Smelt Mill and track

On screen

How Old Gang Smelt Mill and track appears

The track from Surrender Bridge towards Old Gang is explicitly identified by Visit North Yorkshire as a filming area for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights. The industrial remains and open route form part of the real landscape used around the fictional story. These are historical industrial ruins along the filming walk; the guide makes no claim that they supplied the Earnshaw family’s domestic interiors. Walking here allows you to see the scale of the outdoor setting while keeping the film’s constructed domestic spaces separate from the surviving archaeology.

• Film (2026): Wuthering Heights

The real place

What you can visit

Old Gang is a former lead-mining landscape, with substantial ruins and tracks rather than a furnished house attraction. The interest lies in how the remains sit within the moor and beck valley. Keep to the recognised route and view masonry from stable ground; do not climb walls or enter openings in search of a camera angle. A photograph of the ruin is a photograph of industrial history, even when the film gives the surrounding landscape a new association. Take time to read the National Park route description before deciding how far to continue.

Plan the return before exploring beyond the ruins. Photograph the buildings from the route, leaving walls and mine workings alone, and avoid shortcuts across damaged ground. Boots with grip matter more than trying to reproduce the characters’ clothing. Keep dogs under control around livestock and sensitive moorland.