Quaint and quintessential English villages sure have had their fair share of screen-time over the years. There’s the enviably idyllic Surrey village featured in The Holiday, there’s the fictional town of Sandford in Hot Fuzz, and there’s Hambleden; a picture-perfect hamlet with possibly one of the most impressive CV’s of all.
Tucked away within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, snugly nestled between Henley-on-Thames and Marlow; Hambleden has long been a firm favourite amongst film-makers. This enchanting chocolate box village offers beauty, history, and a just little sprinkling of spookiness; a trio of characteristics that make it a pretty perfect setting for a frightening flick.
Visiting Hambleden feels like travelling back in time; it’s been perfectly preserved and looks like it belongs on the front of a postcard. Boasting little more than a pub, a tearoom, a church, and a post office; the charming village is home to a plethora of brick and flint cottages, and surrounded by the rolling hills of Buckinghamshire. It’s certainly not difficult to see why it’s been chosen to feature as the backdrop to many movies and TV shows.
Which movies have been filmed in Hambleden?
Hambleden has a rather hefty list of film credits, having featured in the likes of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Into the Woods and Nanny McPhee Returns (just to name a few). Back in 2022, Patrick Dempsey and Amy Adams were spotted filming scenes for Disney’s Disenchanted and the village was also used as the spooky setting for Tim Burton‘s make-believe town of Sleepy Hollow.
Lime Tree Valley (a location on the 4000-acre Hambleden Estate) was used as the main film set for the iconic 1999 movie, Sleepy Hollow. The production crew is said to have spent an entire month filming there with the likes of Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. Despite the storyline being set in America, the filming took place almost entirely in England. I suppose there’s nothing quite like the Great British weather to provide the gloomy greyness when you need it, hey?
Hambleden is approximately a 90-minute drive from Central London. It’s also accessible by bus from Twyford Station, which you can reach via a direct train from London Paddington.