Derbyshire locations in new film The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry starring Oscar winner Jim Broadbent

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry is the story of a man who walks the length of England from his seaside home in Devon to Berwick-upon-Tweed near the Scottish border after hearing that a friend is dying.

Scenes were shot in Ripley, Alfreton, Clay Cross, Chesterfield and Dronfield after filming began in 2021. The crew and cast, headed by Jim Broadbent in the role of Harold Fry, didn’t walk the entire 500-mile route.

In the film Harold picks up a motley crew of followers during his journey. He meets Mick the blogger in Stretton and is joined by Wilf the kleptomaniac in Chesterfield. The rest of the scenes with the pilgrims growing in numbers take place in various locations in and around Sheffield.

Directed by BAFTA winner Hettie Macdonald (Howard’s End, Normal People), the film also stars Penelope Wilton as Harold’s wife Maureen. It opens in cinemas on Friday, April 28, 2023.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry is inspired by Rachel Joyce’s book which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, won the UK National Book Award for the New Writer of the Year and was the UK’s bestselling book from a new novelist in 2021. It has sold more than six million copies worldwide.

Jim Broadbent has shot a number of films in Derbyshire including the 2009 release The Damned United in which Chesterfield FC’s ground at Saltergate doubled for Wembley Stadium and other notable football grounds. He filmed scenes for And When Did You Last See Your Father at Burbage Bridge in 2007.

Multi award-winning Jim scooped an Oscar for his supporting role of John Bayley in the 2001 film Iris which starred Judi Dench as the writer Iris Murdoch who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s shortly after marriage.