Detectorists is one of our comfort shows. It’s something you can always put on if you don’t know what to watch and want something gentle and heart-warming. Perhaps naturally for a show about metal detectorists, the English countryside has a starring role and the filming always makes it look absolutely stunning.
So, aside from the badgers, proximity to London and the relatively last minute availability, part of our logic in choosing to go glamping at Coppins Farm in Suffolk was that we could do a day trip to see some of the filming locations from Detectorists.
The show is primarily filmed in and around Framlingham, about an hour and a quarter from Coppins Farm, although some of the locations are slightly further away.
Luckily, when it came to actually finding where filming took place, the hardest part was done for us. Someone has created a Detectorists fansite which also has a Google map for lots of the filming locations (including stills from the show which is really great). It’s handily broken down by season so you can filter to what you want to see.
For us the main things on our list were the Saxon round tower church from season 2 (not in Framlingham) and the sites in and around Framlingham town centre.
Located between Coppins Farm and Framlingham, around a 30 minute drive from our base, the Saxon round tower church was first stop on our mini-tour. Located just outside Hadleigh and up a little dead-end road that you’d never go up unless you knew what was there, is the church. And you actually pass the Mayor’s house from the show on the way (no photos taken of that because it looked like a private home but it’s very picturesque)! Follow the road to the end and around the corner, you’ll find the church. We parked up just outside the gate to the churchyard to explore.
The external door to the church was open when we visited (but not the door to the interior of the church), and inside amongst various information pamphlets for parishioners and the like, they actually had a little stack of booklets for visiting Detectorists fans (I think a £3 donation was requested) explaining a little bit about how filming there came about and what the experience was like for the locals.
We had a little wander around on the public footpaths to see the church from various angles, before heading on to Framlingham (about an hour away from the Saxon round tower church).
For a small place, Framlingham really is the beating heart of Detectorists and there are so many filming locations within metres of each other. Our first stop was the Co-op where we purchased not fresias, Ferrero Rocher and Fahrenheit but instead a little pre-prandial in the form of a Crunchie ice cream each, which we ate as we wandered up into town.
There we came across Mags’ shop, right in the centre of town. Instead of Crystal Encounters, it is Panorama. And instead of a ‘spiritual lucky dip’ or something to cleanse your chakras, you’re more likely to pick up a Jellycat, but it’s full of stuff and you can very easily imagine yourself being in Mags’ shop.
Just a short stroll away is the restaurant where Lance meets Kate. At the time it was the Lemon Tree but it’s now Watson and Walpole. We considered eating there but at the time the menu didn’t offer loads for my pescatarian but non-shellfish eating husband. Instead we had a lovely lunch just a few doors down at The Crown.
Just across the way is the churchyard from which Andy spies on Lance and Kate and which Sophie and Peter walk through.
Just across from there is Mr Chan’s Chinese takeaway which features most notably between Lance and Toni when discussing Lance’s issues with visiting Toni’s boat. Just around the corner and actually where Lance heads as they part (on screen geography mimicking real life geography for once) is Lance’s flat. I didn’t take pictures because it’s someone’s real life home but it is just as it appears on screen.
Probably the biggest star of the series, other than the beautiful countryside was the old Scout Hall where the DMDC meetings took place. I knew that the original building that was used for filming was no longer there as a few years ago it was replaced. They held a Detectorists auction at the time to help raise funds and I actually bid on one of the lots – a stay in Framlingham with a metal detecting experience, but I was outbid.
The new Castle Community Rooms building copies the line of the original and so, whilst not the original with its squeaky doors, it retains something of the spirit of the old building. While we were there there was an art exhibition on so we got to venture inside. As we were browsing we heard someone ask if this was the building where they filmed Detectorists, so clearly we were not the only fans there that day.
Pub? Go on then…
The Castle Inn, conveniently just one minute up the road from the Castle Community Rooms, served as the exterior (but not the interior) for the Two Brewers in various scenes. Our intention had been to head home via the The Crown Inn in Little Glemham to see the interior but I hadn’t checked opening times and it was closed for a few hours before lunch and dinner on the day we were there. Must plan better in future.
We headed back to the car park checking out the location for the White Horse on the way. It’s now blue and a private home so no pictures of that.
If you’re a Detectorists fan and anywhere near Suffolk, I highly recommend you put your coil to the soil and pay a visit to Framlingham.
