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I think I posted this on the LMO 1.0, but we lost it in the Great Data Loss of 2022. Basically, I was able to visit the filming locations of Hot Fuzz, one of the best comedies ever made.
Hot Fuzz was filmed in Wells, Somerset, about 40 minutes up the road from me. I had to film a video for someone at Wells Cathedral, and while I was there, I had the chance to wander around the city. It’s not a town, as it has a cathedral, which classifies it as a city. #TheMoreYouKnow
There are sites online that give you the exact locations of where movie scenes were filmed. So, with camera in hand, I tried to take photos of where some of Hot Fuzz was filmed.
The photos aren’t in any order of the movie, but in order of the locations. I’ve tried to line them up as best I could.
The Church Fete
First up, the church fete, where they had a charity fete to raise money for the church roof. As they filmed Hot Fuzz, they must have taken over the entire churchyard.
When the local newspaper reporter, Tim Messenger, has some information for Sargent Angle (deliberately spelt wrong here), Tim is murdered. This isn’t the exact location, but it was pretty close.
The City Centre
The city is very cute and rural, as it still has some very old structures. Again, not perfectly lined up, but here is the town centre, with Nicholas and Danny in their car, eating a cornetto.
Here they are discussing which movies Nicholas hasn’t seen.
Looking down the main high street, this is where Nicholas turned up for the final shoot-out. The whole shoot-out was shot in the city centre. I tried to recreate the scene, but the local police were not happy.
Shops and Pubs
Nicholas wasn’t a big drinker in Hot Fuzz, but leaving the pub, Nicholas was sober, but Danny had had a skinful. The inside of the pub was filmed somewhere else; I can’t find the details again now.
This is the location newsagent, which again, is a real shop, just down the main high street.
When Nicholas first turns up in Sandford, he stays at the Swan Hotel, which is a real place. I didn’t get the chance to go in, so I don’t know if the interiors were at the same location.
Nicholas, Danny and the rest of the Sandford Police make a run on the local supermarket, Somerfield. This is the back of the shop, which is real, but now a clothed shop, as I remember.
Other Locations
Some of the locations for Hot Fuzz in Wells are National Trust properties, which are preserved areas that the public can visit. There is a place called The Bishop’s Palace, which has a grand entrance, where a couple of the scenes were shot.
The other hidden location was the scene where Nicholas was stabbed by a man dressed as Santa. The actual location is not perfect, but it’s believed to be somewhere in the local area.
Interesting fact, the man dressed as Santa is Peter ‘Lord of the Rings’ Jackson.
Most of the area hasn’t changed all that much since the filming of Hot Fuzz, so you can still visit it today and do the same type of photos. If you do, give me a shout. I know a couple of great pubs in the area.
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