Following in the Pitkin Armchair film and TV locations series,
Midsomer Murders Location Guide highlights the real-life locations
behind the fictional Midsomer County--the pubs, churches, and villages
that make it such an international success.
Midsomer Murders turns twenty-five in 2022, and to celebrate a
quarter-century of Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby unraveling the
murderous deeds of rural folk, Pitkin is launching a guide that
pinpoints the most popular locations used for filming the series.
The first episode, "The Killing at Badger's Drift," was an immediate
ratings success in 1997 when John Nettles returned to television as DCI
Barnaby after ten years of playing Sergeant Jim Bergerac. Nettles went
on to star in eighty-one episodes of Midsomer Murders before retiring
in 2010 and handing the reins to his cousin, John Barnaby. The series is
sold around the world and is known as Barnaby in Europe, so it needed
a DCI Barnaby at the helm. Actor Neil Dudgeon, who appeared as an
amorous gardener in the series four episode "Garden of Death," took the
part.
The location guide highlights some of the familiar pubs, churches,
villages, and countryside that can be visited. The Lions of Bledlow has
been five different pubs in its Midsomer lifetime, while the Crown Inn
at Sydenham can claim at least three. Villages clustered around the
Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire border--Turville, Hambleden, Fingest,
Haddenham, and Long Crendon--are favorite backdrops.
While many of the grand country houses are private residences, a few,
such as Mapledurham and Greys Court, are administered by the National
Trust. Plus, there are many ancient churches to admire, quite often the
scene of grisly goings-on in the vestry. Ask Mark Gatiss about the Sword
of Guillaume!
With all 128 episodes available on BritBox, fans of the show can watch
old episodes with Midsomer Murders Location Guide in hand and spot
exactly where DCI Barnaby brings the sometimes unlikely villains to
book.
