The Devil’s in the detour

A short visit to Devil’s End – aka Aldbourne, a very English village with a classic Doctor Who legacy.

Authors note – I posted this back in September 2022 but WordPress somehow lost the original and reverted to an unpublished draft. So here’s the rewrite.

The end of Summer 2022 is rapidly approaching and yet I haven’t even completed my tales of location hunting last summer! August 2021 saw my husband and I head south for a bit of road trip, taking in the village of Aldbourne, Wiltshire, the city of Wells, Somerset and Winspit Quarry, Dorset. I’ve now two blog posts about the quarry as our visit came just after it was used in the Disney+ Star Wars series Andor; 1st visit here, 2nd visit here  

Aldbourne is absolutely the type of place that can easily be described as a ‘quintessential English village’. It has a prominent church, a large green surrounded by handsome cottages and a few pubs dotted about. Why did we want to visit this quaint little village? Well, back in 1971, it was used as a filming location for ‘The Daemons’, one of the best Jon Pertwee era Doctor Who stories. Visiting it 50 years later nothing much has really changed.

As a long-standing Doctor Who fan I had always wanted to visit the village ever since I discovered that ‘Devil’s End’ was a real place. ‘The Daemons’ was mainly shot on location in and around the village. It’s a strong story directed by Christopher Barry and written by Barry Letts and Robert Sloman. The cast are all on top form and it’s a fun mix of sci-fi, the occult and old English traditions. At one point the Doctor is tied to a maypole, and with the help of some expert marksmanship by Sergeant Benton and a remote-controlled car, convinces the villagers he’s a wizard.

The village often hosts Doctor Who related filming and events, so it is not unfamiliar with fans dropping by. There’s an interesting documentary made in 1993 called ‘Return to Devils End’ which saw many of the original cast return and remember their time filming there with fondness. I’ve seen another fan event is organised for June 2023 with cast and crew often in attendance – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-day-at-devils-end-2023-tickets-410599834157

Aldbourne was the first stop on our trip and after a frustrating delay dealing with a dead battery, we headed south for the roughly three and half hour drive. We had expected to have to drive down long windy country lanes, but once we came off the M5 the village is right off a main dual carriageway. On arrival we were lucky to bag one of the last parking spots on the street. Fairground stalls and rides were being set up – a summer festival was being held that weekend.

We’d booked a night in The Crown, one of two pubs in the village but the only one offering accommodation. We were quick to spot a TARDIS shaped bin nearby, and in front of the pub we were staying at was a talking Dalek bin! On checking into our room I had the oddest sense of déjà vu… I knew this room, but how? It took me a moment but I remembered I’d seen it in an episode of ‘The Hotel Inspector’. I should have realised when saw the Dalek outside as I’d remembered seeing a Dalek outside a pub in an episode – but I’d never twigged the place was Aldbourne! It was a distinctive room – with the bed and lamps in the centre. Lovely room, still very well maintained, so good job Alex Polizzi. That counts as another TV location doesn’t it?

We spent the rest of the day having a wander around village and popping into the church. Of course, we tried to recreate some scenes from Doctor Who, one always travels with a sonic screwdriver for such opportunities. I did find the sight of my husband Andy crouching down in the cemetery, pretending to be the living stone gargoyle ‘Boc’, hilarious.

The village has a fantastic little free museum, the Aldbourne Heritage Centre, and I was absolutely delighted to see Doctor Who merchandise and collectables on display. The Doctor Who filming has become as much a part of the historical timeline as its ancient barrows and role in WW2.

I learned that the village is also a place many American veterans travel over to visit due to ‘The Band of Brothers’. I had heard of ‘The Band of Brothers’ from the 2001 TV miniseries of the same name but never realised that it was based on the true story of Easy Company, an American parachute regiment that trained in Aldbourne during the Second World War. The hotel we were staying in had a blue plaque explaining it served as their HQ https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/overpaid-oversexed-and-under-aldbourne-digging-d-days-band-of-brothers.htm

After a great roast dinner at the Crown we headed over to the Blue Boar. The pub had appeared in the Doctor Who story as ‘The Cloven Hoof’. Inside there’s some related memorabilia on the walls and there is even a replica pub sign in the form of another bin, there’s a bit of trend going on here…

We ended the day seated outside the Blue Boar enjoying live music on the green. There was a small stage on the green with people seated around just enjoying the craic. We grabbed a bench outside the pub listening in the summer evening sun. The atmosphere was great, the beer sadly was not.

The next morning we enjoyed a very tasty but rather awkward breakfast as we were the only ones in the pub that morning – and with no background music it was far too quiet. We took a walk to the barrows that were used in the show as the location of the buried spaceship (spoiler…it wasn’t really the Devil). The weather was lovely and we had a very pleasant wander before we got back in the car to drive on to Wells.

Unless you’re there for an event there’s no need to spend more than one night in the village. You could visit all the sites from the Doctor Who story in a day trip – clearly one of the reasons the director had chosen the village. It was really nice though to stay the night and get a proper feel of the place (especially as we had spent some of lockdown planning such a visit).

I would highly recommend a visit to Aldbourne for any Doctor Who fan, but it’s also just a really nice place to spend an afternoon. I’m no doubt repeating myself but I love the fact that I discover lovely places like this purely because they were once used as a location.