The Land of Giants, Pirates and Princesses

Rob Reiner's modern fairy tale classic "The Princess Bride", based on William Goldman's book of the same name, was filmed entirely in the UK and Ireland. Shepperton Studios provided the interiors, including Fred Savages home, and a few "exteriors", namely the setting for Westley and Inigo Montoya's epic duel atop the "Cliffs of Insanity" and the "Fire Swamp". The majority of exteriors can be found in the Peak District National Park and Burnham Beeches National Nature Reserve with a few sprinkled throughout south east of England.

Unlike my Indiana Jones location guides, I am not giving exact locations with grid references, so that some sense of exploration is maintained. With the clues given below it, should be quite possible to find them. For certain locations, I have provided no information. This was done to protect the anonymity of the site. Therefore, some detective work will be required.

For simplicity, locations have been ordered in screen order. The first location being Buttercup's farm, near the village of Birchover, Derbyshire.

 This view is taken near to the Limestone Way public right of way, located very close to Robin Hood's Stride (the location of Westley & Fezzik's fight). From the right of way the view is obscured by 31 years of Birch tree growth. I took this shot further up the hill, hence the skyline is a slightly inaccurate match.

Much has changed over the intervening 31 years (visited Autumn 2017). The stone structure has lost its roof, the walls are crumbling, and it is now a unique fixer upper opportunity surrounded by trees.

 The gateway where our young lovers stand is a public footpath. To reproduce the shot more accurately next time I visit, it will be necessary to stand further back, and zoom in, to correctly capture the back ground fields.

I would highly recommend purchasing the 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey map of the area to help find the locations. These are available book shops or online at https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk, and bing.com provides an online version for free.

Prince Humperdinck's Florin Castle is played, for the most part, by Haddon Hall, Derbyshire, England (http://www.haddonhall.co.uk/). While the castle is open to the public, please note that it is not the cheapest of attractions to visit in the UK. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is because it is still privately-owned. Far from all of it is accessible, with several key filming blocked off as part of the private residence.

"Oh, you mean this gate key?"

Also, of note is the battlement from which Humperdinck proclaims his matrimonial intentions to Buttercup. In reality this is part of the castle wall, with the tower behind Humperdinck, added by the film makers.

The added tower visible in the still from the movie is clearly no longer present.

The archway through which Buttercup emerges and meets the people of Florin.

Much like the castle itself, the area around the castle has limited public access also, subsequently it was impossible to recreate the above shot.

Whilst seeking comfort from her betrothal, Buttercup goes riding across the realm, and is confronted by three lost circus performers at Florin Chanel...

According to the Internet, this scene was shot at Blackpark Lake, near Pinewood Studios. While many productions have used this body of water (in fact, whilst I was at Blackpark Lake searching for Princess Bride locations, a production was being filmed), I could not find a single point of reference to match "The Princess Bride". The grassy knoll, topped with pines, behind the ship is not there, nor is there a single Horse Chestnut Tree to be found (leaves of which are visible top left of frame). I've looked at every lake and pond in the Shepperton area and have yet to find a match. To be discovered...

Update: As you can see from the pictures above and below I have tracked down this elusive location somewhere in southern England.

The Cliffs of Insanity

The Cliffs of Insanity are in reality The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.
"He's gaining on us..."
 To be visited

After duelling with Inigo, Westley runs to confront Fezzik at Robin Hood's Stride, near Birchover, Derbyshire.

In this shot he is actually running away from his rendezvous with Fezzik.

Westley about to confront Fezzik.

The upright stone, extreme screen left, has been added by the film makers.

 

"You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword, and we'll try and kill each other like civilised people."

The location is just a stones throw from Buttercups farm.

Triumphant, Westley makes his way to Vizzini and the Princess for the "Battle of wits". Which was filmed on private land, at Lathkill Dale in the Peak District.

After 30 years (at the time of visiting, early spring 2016) the branch from the Ash tree in this screen shot has come down.

The same Ash trees still stand in the back ground, though they are a little bigger now. The branch that Westley sits on is long gone. The rock that provides a table is a prop, while the other rocks were either placed there for filming or have been moved since shooting.

Not a great deal has changed since filming.
"You're trying to trick me into giving something away. It won't work"
"It has worked! You've given everything away! I know where the poison is!"

From Lathkill Dale Westly and the Princess cross the moors.

 

The Peak District. You'll notice the lack of peaks. The name is thought to derive from the Pecsaetan, an Anglo Saxon tribe who inhabited the area.

Swash. And buckle.

Looking towards Higgar Tor from Carl Wark, Iron Age hill fort

From the moor tops down into the entrance of the "Fire Swamp". Which can be found near Castleton, Derbyshire.

 

 

The Ash tree in the foreground has grown significantly in the 32 years since filming.

 

The angle of the valley side is impressively steep in real life, but not steep enough for Hollywood. The camera is tilted a few degrees to emphasise the dangerous tumbling.

Into The Fire Swamp

With Fire Swamp added.

The "Fire Swamp" trees are a matte painting, here clearly contrasting with the unaltered location. Once in The Fire Swamp filming switched to Shepperton Studios and a forest that wouldn't out of place in The Never Ending Story or Labyrinth.
"Well, I'm not saying I'd like to build a summer home here, but the trees are actually quite lovely".

On exiting The "Fire Swamp", Westley and Buttercup are confronted by Humperdinck & Count Rugen.

The feel of the scene, and Beech trees, suggest this was shot at Burnham Beeches, as were the majority of woodland scenes in the film. A small lake is visible in the background of the shot and there are similar sized ponds at Burnham. But, frustratingly, the topography and trees do not match. To be found...

A missed opportunity.

Haddon Hall provides the interior for Humperdinck's Chambers. Due to time pressure we did not get shot matches here. Count Rugen can be seen stood in the same place that Ben and I are standing, although the camera angle is from the other side of the room.

Whilst "The Machine" is set to fifty (Not fifty!) Westley's screams of pain can be heard across the land, including this shot of Haddon Hall.

Visited on a whim whilst in the area for work, the shot match was done from memory, so it could be improved. Also, a visit later in the year would be better when the trees are in full leaf. April 2023 has been particularly cold.

The entrance to the "Pit of Despair" can be found in Burnham Beeches.... if you look hard enough...

The above shot has been "flipped" in post-production.

To match the film shot this photo has been flipped horizontally.

 Several of the trees where built for the film, including the actual entrance with the door in it. Beech trees are relatively short lived and have deteriorated significantly since shooting 30 years previously (Visited Winter 2016).

The use of long lenses in the movie made it very hard to replicate the shot exactly.

 

 The Thieves Forest. This location is almost certainly Burnham Beeches, though with the passage of time it is almost impossible to find the exact spot. 

The exterior of the house that Fezzik finds a drunken Inigo is actually the same as that of Miracle Max's. It's not even dressed differently! The only difference is drunken Inigo. I've searched all over for the tree in the foreground (frame left), and the tree to the right of the house. However, as mentioned earlier, Beech trees are not as long lived as Oak. Adding to the search difficulty here is the fact that the south east of England was hit by "The Great Storm" the year after The Princess Bride was shot. As such, it's quite possible the trees are now long gone.

The above areas are currently not accessible at Haddon Hall.

The wedding scene was filmed in an English church, surprisingly not in the chapel at Haddon Hall.

The final confrontation between Inigo and Count Rugen is not at Haddon Hall as you might expect, but in The Great Hall of Penshurst Place (https://www.penshurstplace.com/) in Kent, England. The Place is over 200 miles from Haddon Hall, though only 50 miles from Shepperton Studios.

Inigo exacts his vengeance on the "Six Fingered Man" (aka Count Rugen), the chameleonic Christopher Guest.

Penshurst Place has a no photography rule for much of its interior. I asked permission to take pictures in the Great Hall.

Our heroes ride off into the dawn as a "wave of love swept over them"...

All locations could easily be visited within a week. In the Peak District in particular, there are many other features of interest to take in - time allowing of course. These include moorland walks and visiting neolithic sites.

Please feel free to leave comments if you have been to any locations from the film, or if you have found any that I have been unable to find.

"Have fun stormin' da castle!".