Stalking Indiana Jones – UK edition. Part 1 – Bamburgh Castle

When it was announced, way back in 2016, that there was going to be a new Indiana Jones film I don’t think I ever imagined that I’d have to wait until the summer of 2023 to finally see it! I distinctly remember it being the subject of conversation on my first date with my then boyfriend, now husband, Andy. The fact that we’ve been married nearly five years now clearly demonstrates how much time has passed.  

I’ve written a previous blog post about other Indiana Jones locations I’ve visited over the years in Italy, Morocco and Jordan. It was quite exciting when, in June 2021, photographs began to be emerge of filming at British locations; Glasgow, Bamburgh Castle and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Already familiar with Glasgow – having been there several times before, including not long after the filming took place, the other places were instantly added to the ever growing list of new locations to visit. We planned to wait until the film finally came out before we went though

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”, the fifth and final instalment in the Indiana Jones series arrived in cinemas the June of 2023. It was a good solid film that entertained and felt like a proper farewell to the character and the franchise. Did we need another Indy film? Probably not, but it was great to see Harrison Ford bow out on his terms. Phoebe Waller Bridge brought energy to the film and Mads Mikkelsen was the perfect bad guy.

The following September my husband and I took a short break to the village of Bamburgh to explore the castle, adding on an extra night near Whitby on the way home so we could visit the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. We were also able to bag a Marvel Avengers location too – see my last blog post here .

Bamburgh Castle is stunning – it’s location right on the North East coast, along with its sheer size, make it a truly impressive and very photogenic attraction. It’s obvious why it’s no stranger to the film industry, check out this list of appearances on IMDb . This sign, on display near the gift shop, was already out of date by the time of our visit.

The castle is also one of the historical settings for the Netflix series ‘The Last Kingdom’ based on the books by Bernard Cornwell. https://www.bernardcornwell.net/series/the-last-kingdom-series/ . Even though no actual filming of the TV series took place at the castle it hasn’t stopped Netflix promoting it there with an exhibition of costumes and props. The main hall had a small display of props and costumes and a screen used throne as a photo opportunity. Having only seen one episode it was very odd to be on the other side of fandom and not have any emotional response to the display. There were certainly some fans of the series there, I spotted a young couple walking around studying the exhibition intently, the boyfriend had long hair and a bit of a Viking look, and was clearly having a fanboy moment. The exhibition is returning for 2024 along with a themed guided tour https://www.bamburghcastle.com/events/the-last-kingdom-props-and-costumes-display-2024/

Back to Indiana Jones though… in the new film the castle doubles as an unnamed French castle being looted by the Nazis during the World War Two era opening sequence of the film. Scenes were shot both inside and outside and there’s quite a few videos on YouTube where people on holiday accidentally stumbled across the production as it was setting up for filming. There were some additional sections built onto the castle and some enhancement with CGI but you can clearly recognise many original parts of the structure in the final film.

The scenes where Indy is tied up to a chair and interrogated were filmed in the main hall. We tried to take photos that matched with screenshots, which was difficult as part of the area is roped off, but we did get a few decent comparisons.

I spotted a couple of ‘Easter eggs’ that the castle team had sneaked in around the building for the benefit of film geeks. One was a wide brimmed hat that was resting on a chair in the main hall, a nice subtle nod to Indy’s iconic fedora.

There was another in the first room you’re welcomed into. Amongst a display about the history of the castle is a large-scale model of the castle and on a panel behind it hangs a satchel similar to Indy’s bag. I recognised it as I have the same bag, which was originally used for carrying gas masks during World War Two – it’s really useful!

Exploring the castle was great fun and brought back memories of my childhood holidays running around castle ruins in North Wales. My husband did visit Bamburgh Castle as a little boy and he has a lovely photo of him and his family there in the mid-70s. He’s sat on a very large cannon, so of course we wanted to recreate the photo! We asked permission from a castle attendant who very kindly obliged us.

You could easily visit the village and castle in one day but we enjoyed taking the time to explore a part of the country we hadn’t visited together before. The three nights we stayed allowed us to sample every pub in the village, there’s only a handful. We got to see the castle at night and look up at the stars, my husband nearly squashing an unsuspecting toad on the pavement in the process. We were also able to take the time in the afternoon, after seeing the castle, to walk the 5 kilometres along the beach to the nearby town of Seahouses. We rehydrated there with a pint in a quaint old pub and then walked back again. A geeky adventure but also a proper British seaside holiday too.

Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed this post, then look out for ‘Stalking Indiana Jones – UK edition Part 2’ where I’ll be writing about my visit to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and tracking down the steam train Indy escapes on…