British farms offer beautiful countryside surroundings that just cannot be replicated in a film studio. Whether your shoot requires ancient woodlands, lakes, orchards, oak-beamed barns or cosy farmhouses, you can find all these features and more on farms across the UK.
But how easy is it to film on a farm? Well, it's simple when you know where to look. That's why we’ve compiled a list of ten picturesque British farm spaces, all available to hire for film and TV productions. There are options from rustic old English farms to elaborate country estates, plus farms that cater to small productions looking for low budget film locations as well as large production budgets.
1,200-acre Castle Farm is located in Kent which is less than an hour's drive from London. The gorgeous lavender fields have hosted many productions, but that's not the only stunning backdrop you'll find. The farm also offers traditional arable crops, floral and wildflower fields, rolling hills, sunflowers, hop gardens, and apple orchards.
Filming facilities include an under-cover production base on site, crew toilets and farm props.
Cogges is a unique historic farm with 17 acres of open space in the heart of Witney. Farm filming locations include the beautiful Manor House, 18th century barns, a walled garden and an orchard, all ideal for period dramas and historical films. In fact the house and grounds were turned into Yew Tree Farm for Downton Abbey.
Visit the website to take a virtual tour of the entire property.
Home Farm features a colonial style weather-boarded house set in 5 acres of meadows surrounded by woodland. The house is filled with reclaimed Victorian fittings throughout, including roll-top baths, cast iron radiators and Bakelite switches. This location is perfect if you're looking to create an American countryside film setting or are just searching for something a little different.
The outdoor space includes a derelict Victorian greenhouse next to the house, a large buttercup meadow or prairie, a campfire area, woodlands, beehives, an orchard, plus several old barns and outbuildings.
Furzedown Farm has a variety of natural filming backdrops including 25 acres of mixed woodland with lakes, glades and dark wooded areas, a beekeeping area with 9 working beehives as well as a natural stream running through the woodland.
There is also a wildflower meadow adjoining the farm surrounded by mature trees where there are additional beehives. The owners note that the bees are a particularly calm strain suitable for filming purposes.
Interior filming options include some derelict buildings, a 1970s open-fronted barn with a mezzanine floor and a large commercial greenhouse containing a wild assortment of flowers and plants.
Lockley Farm is a traditional British farm for hire that gives you the option to shoot among rolling hills or idyllic fields. The property boasts a range of arable crops including wheat, barley and oats, 17th century barns, cottages and an isolated lodge.
As experienced production hosts there are plenty of film-friendly facilities. The farm has water and electricity supplies, there are concrete pads and other hard surfaces for crew to shoot on, there is the option for on-site accommodation for cast and crew as well as good access to the farm from the A1M and M25.
SuperScout is your own private location library – upload locations in minutes, tag them with ai in seconds, then search and share with your team
Cowdray is an expansive estate that welcomes film crews all year round, big and small. They have an experienced and dedicated in-house team to help facilitate your shoot so everything runs smoothly.
The large number of private filming locations includes the stunning Cowdray House and grounds, Cocking Quarry, Cowdray Ruins and walled garden, farm buildings and industrial units as well as countryside landscapes. Many of the locations have easy access for large vehicles, as well as space for unit bases on-site.
The team at Warren Farm have over 30 years of filming experience with productions such as Robin of Sherwood, Casualty, Famous Five, Aquila, the BBC adaptation of Birdsong, Poldark and The Winter King.
The farm hosts various countryside landscapes and features for filming as well as various buildings from traditional stone to modern.
With ample parking and accommodation options, the farm can accommodate large-budget features as well as smaller productions. There is plenty of privacy with large areas available away from public access and a hard track runs through the farmland so larger vehicles can gain access to nearly anywhere without fear of getting stuck.
If you're looking for a more manicured style, Painshill is one of England's most impressive 18th century landscape gardens and operates a professional location hire service.
Feature films such as Suffragette and 101 Dalmatians have been filmed here, as well as Netflix Original shows Black Mirror and Bridgerton and music videos for Ellie Goulding, Florence & The Machine and Jessie Ware.
Painshill boasts an incredible variety of different locations and backdrops over 158 acres, with unique features like the beautiful serpentine lake surrounded by follies and bridges.
The estate has acres of woodland, wildflower meadows and grass banks and there are plenty of seasonal opportunities with displays of spring flowers and autumn colours. It is also home to a 2 acre vineyard which has been used previously to represent the south of France.
Architectural features include the Gothic Temple with stunning views, the lake boathouse with industrial waterwheel and pumphouse, the Temple of Bacchus, the Ruined Abbey, the Hermitage and an extraordinary Crystal Grotto.
Painhill is located in Cobham, Surrey just off the A3 and is easily reached by car or train from central London.
Butser Ancient Farm is nestled in the wooded Hampshire downland and boasts extraordinary replica buildings from the Stone Age, Iron Age, Roman and Saxon periods, making it perfect for historical pieces. But that's not all, it's also a real working farm and can offer shots of prehistoric livestock, cereals and other plants.
The farm has a large network of re-enactors, traditional craftspeople and archaeologists available for filming projects, plus the team can provide professional B-roll footage and drone shots of the farm. Facilities and amenities include power, WiFi and hot and cold drinks and snacks for sale.
The team at Butser have worked with many film and TV crews and the location has been used for productions like Horrible Histories the Movie, Sky Atlantic’s Brittania, Channel 4’s Time Team, BBC Countryfile and Escape to the Country.
Deepdale Farm is 650 acres of arable farmland with marshes, woodland, undulating hills and views of the beautiful north Norfolk coast. Approximately 120 miles from central London, this diversified farm offers a wide range of film location spots including three types of farming land, various crops, woodland, a campsite, farm workshops and traditional cottages.
The production team on the James Bond film, Die Another Day, even transformed the farm to look like rice paddies in South Korea.
You can also hire any of the farm equipment, including tractors, ploughs, cultivators, sprayers, fertiliser spreaders, rolls, combine, trailers, and forklifts as well as a team of skilled agricultural staff who can operate these for you.
We hope this list of countryside locations for hire will inspire you to film on a farm and provide you with options to add to your scouting portfolio.
As you can see from this list, farm locations make top filming locations because they're so versatile, offering interiors from old English farmhouses to grand estates and traditional huts and lodges, as well as natural landscapes of course.
And we can't forget to mention the experienced teams working on these farms who are ready to share their expertise and are dedicated to providing you with the best shooting experience.
SuperScout is your own private location library – upload locations in minutes, tag them with ai in seconds, then search and share with your team
