January 19, 2025
Guest writer Thomas Duke, the creator behind Stepping Through Film, shares his experiences exploring some of the real-life locations of the Whoniverse...
Thomas Duke is a Photographer and Content Creator who posts about his love for film and TV on his channel, Stepping Through Film. It’s here where Tom celebrates the behind-the-scenes aspects of how movies/shows are created in our real world. From real locations to set-based magic. Doctor Who has become a highlight for Tom to ‘step through’ over the years, having grown up with the show since 2005 and having most of the locations just a train ride away. The possibilities of locations are truly endless!
Stepping Through Doctor Who! Exploring the world of TV and film has been an absolute pleasure to do over the years. I’ve been “stepping through film” for over a decade now and not a day goes by where it doesn’t shock or surprise me to see the amount of work that goes into all of these incredible productions – on both the big and small screen. Doctor Who is certainly one of those productions that showcases the talent of the behind-the-scenes teams who help bring other worlds down to planet Earth and inside our living rooms.

I’m always interested to see a scene from a film or television show in reality. What does it actually look like if you walk through it? What’s there? Does it look the same as it did on screen? Are there any props left behind? Is the location even still standing after filming? These are just some of the questions I ask myself. And there’s only one way to find out the answers: go and visit the location!
I grew up with David Tennant as ‘my’ Doctor. That was my era, and those episodes really got me into the timey-wimey world of travelling through time and space. So, as you’d expect, the first locations I visited from Doctor Who were from Tenth Doctor episodes. This, of course, evolved into visiting locations from every era but Tennant will always be where I began my ‘stepping through Who’ journey.
And with that, let's explore a little!

Many of you will be aware that the world of New Who originated in Wales – its capital city, Cardiff, being where you’ll find most locations from the show. There is an abundance of scenes to explore here just from walking up and down every street! I love that so much. I quickly realised that it would be impossible to visit every single spot in just a few visits - so now, every time I go back to Cardiff, I always seek out at least one scene to snap. It’s like a little tradition!
A few highlights stick in my head from my time exploring Doctor Who locations, and these are usually based on the emotional impact those scenes had on me. Below you will find three such locations - these remain my favourite from the show, because they’re all such interesting and beautiful spots.
Doomsday

I still remember the day I saw this episode! The final scene where the Doctor and Rose say goodbye to each other in Dårlig Ulv Stranden (aka Bad Wolf Bay) remains etched on my heart. The emotions were so strong! It felt like a true farewell to a special bond and the way it was put together was really magical.
The real location is Dunraven Bay, Southerndown Beach in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It’s a beach that stretches out quite far and is instantly recognisable if you’re a fan. The jagged rocks to one side map out the same position as they were seen in the episode. As it’s a bit of a trek to get there, I took a taxi from Cardiff but it was worth every minute to relive the trauma… trust me.

It’s strange finally visiting places I’ve seen on screen so many times. I was about eight years old when I first watched Doomsday and so to then visit the beach fifteen years later… well, it was quite bittersweet.
The Eleventh Hour

What a fantastic opener for Matt Smith. I absolutely adore this location and episode and it’s such a fun introduction to the Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory. Set in the fictional English village of Leadworth, the episode was actually filmed in the beautiful Cathedral City of Llandaff – about a forty-five-minute walk from Cardiff City centre. It’s specifically wonderful walking over here during autumn, such lovely scenery!
When you arrive, the locations for each scene are instantly obvious; in the village square where the Doctor freeze frames through his mind as the Atraxi are about to attack, the duckless duck pond, and the cathedral. The same cathedral was also used in Vincent and the Doctor where it stood in for 1890s France. I find it amazing how the production team utilise everything at their disposal to make settings become anything they like.

This location is smaller than you’d expect but I just love that so much. The amount of story packed in right there is incredible! The field is quite small compared to the screen as is the general feel of the place; it makes you realise the power of set design and the incredible talents of the actors bringing these scenes to life in such ordinary places.
Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead

Now, this is my favourite Doctor Who location, without a doubt!
Not only is this place home to the most fascinating timey-wimey revelations (in my opinion) but it also tells a powerful story. It truly feels like it was filmed on another planet. But it was not. It was shot here on Earth – Swansea, in fact. And, to be precise, the Swansea College of Art (just a ten-minute walk from Swansea train station).
This domed library room was used as the hunting ground for the Vashta Nerada in the two-parter and it looks exactly as it does on screen! In real life, it is actually used as a library and an exam space for the College – how wild is that?! Some students got in touch with me to tell me how they sat their exams in this very space! I still can’t believe it, really. Even the episode’s director, Euros Lyn, sat an exam here as a student in the same space where the Vashta Nerada would strike years later. Magic!
It looks like an ordinary building from the outside. I had to triple check I was in the right place but then the lovely staff let me inside. Please note: permission is needed before visiting, it is not a public space.

The best bit about this location, for me? Some of the props are STILL THERE! If you walk around and study every shelf (even on the second floor) you’ll find hundreds of empty binders with printed stickers on the spines created by the production team for the episode - each one still showing the decorations as seen in the episode! Still blows my mind.
Of course, this is merely scratching the surface of Doctor Who locations to visit. There are thousands out there to explore and all worth a look. Seeing Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson begin their travels in the TARDIS has been so much fun that it makes me very excited to go and visit some of their adventures too! I can’t wait to see where else the Fifteenth Doctor may travel to… I’m thinking Cardiff for at least one spot!
Take a look at some more below to see where you might like to step through next…





See more of Thomas Duke’s location adventures at @steppingthroughfilm.