Set-jetting in England: Peaky Blinders and Wicked locations

The geography behind the images

Set-jetting means choosing a trip based on a film or TV series. The first decision often comes down to looking at a map: where is the place that attracts you actually located? Peaky Blinders tells a story set in Birmingham, but its filming locations are spread across several cities. To find a scene, you need to distinguish between the story's location and the camera's location. This affects your hotel, your travel plans and sometimes the ticket you need to book.

The news in 2026 gives you a reason to revisit that map: Netflix released Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man on March 20. The Liverpool tours presented here cover locations from the series; booking one does not constitute a documented tour of all the film's sets. In Dudley, the Black Country Living Museum describes in detail its links to all six seasons and the areas visitors can explore.

Wicked raises a different question. A shot can combine outdoor filming with a construction made in a studio. NBCUniversal explains how Seven Sisters Country Park was used for the approach to Shiz University, which was combined with constructed sets. You can walk through the English landscape and understand how it was used in the film; the university buildings are part of the film's set design.

These three stops suit different interests. Liverpool is a good fit for fans of anecdotes and urban facades; Dudley offers access to a preserved industrial environment; Sussex makes for a day outdoors. For a short trip, it's better to choose one base than to try to connect all three regions at any cost.

Liverpool, the Shelbys' locations

Liverpool is a practical base for spending half a day at Peaky Blinders locations and keeping the rest of your trip for the city. The tours bring together buildings, streets and the scenes filmed there. This guided interpretation is particularly useful when lighting, costumes and framing have transformed a place you might otherwise walk past without recognising.

The group tour we selected starts in front of the main entrance to the Town Hall, on Water Street. The listing asks participants to arrive at least ten minutes before departure. The advertised route covers several seasons, with stops including major buildings in the city centre and the Anglican Cathedral. If you're still catching up on the series, expect to hear about important plot points: the commentary is what makes the stops meaningful.

Despite being described as a “walking tour,” the package also includes travel on the Liverpool Explorer. Its two-day pass can be used beyond the guided tour. The stated duration is four hours: set aside a proper half-day in your schedule, with some extra time to reach the departure point and continue exploring after the tour ends. The guide provides commentary in English.

This is our pick for a first trip as a couple or solo, without a car. You get a narrative thread and included transport around the city, then you can return on your own to any neighbourhood that caught your interest. A centrally located hotel makes the morning easier to plan; it doesn't need to be a filming location itself.

The inclusion of a stop in the itinerary does not mean that admission to every monument you see is included. If there's an interior you'd like to explore in more depth separately, check the venue's visitor information and any ticketing requirements. The tour explains how the buildings were used by the series; afterwards, you can spend time exploring their architecture and history in their own right.

Liverpool on a private tour

The four-hour private tour meets a different need: visiting as a pre-formed group with a driver-guide, including places spread out across the area. The operator specifically mentions Port Sunlight and Cains Brewery in its description. A vehicle is most useful when you want to go beyond the city centre and bring together, in one outing, places that would otherwise require several independent journeys.

Pick-up in central Liverpool is arranged with the operator. If you arrive by train, the listing also suggests meeting near the Adelphi Hotel. Have the chosen location confirmed in your booking, and allow some time between your train’s arrival and the tour departure. The guide works in English; a sales listing in French does not change the language of the commentary.

Choose this option if your group places great importance on the locations from the series and wants to stay together while travelling between them. Compare the total price for your group, including any extra transfers, rather than relying on an isolated headline price. The cards provide the available commercial information without setting a budget for every date.

The shared and private tours are two alternatives for this half-day. You can use the time saved for another Liverpool visit rather than automatically booking both. If you still want to combine them, ask which stops are actually planned so you can see what the second tour will add to the first. A precise list of places is more useful than a promise of “behind the scenes” with no itinerary.

Dudley and Charlie’s Yard

The Black Country Living Museum is in Dudley, in the West Midlands. For Peaky Blinders fans, its appeal lies in locations used on screen and identified by the museum itself. Charlie’s Yard is the boat basin and anchor forge. The site says this setting appears in all six seasons, starting with the first episode.

The towpath and Canal Street bridge are also part of this landscape. On site, the industrial history gives the images another layer: the workshops, water and metal structures have a purpose that the series reinterprets. A map of filming locations helps you place them within a broader visit to the museum.

There are two ways to organise your visit. On a general visit, you can explore the museum at your own pace using the map. The official filming locations tour adds explanations from a costumed guide. It lasts between seventy-five and ninety minutes and includes museum admission for the day. Advance booking is essential for this specific option.

Allow several hours on site if you want to enjoy the museum after the guided tour: that is a recommendation for planning your day, beyond the stated duration of the themed tour. Check the museum calendar before arranging transport. Closure days or seasonal hours may affect whether an overnight stay nearby makes sense.

The museum recommends the themed tour for people aged sixteen and over because of its content. Several historic areas along the route are difficult to access by wheelchair. If you have a specific need, contact the site in advance to distinguish the accessible areas of the museum from those on the guided tour. General admission, a filming locations tour and a special evening event are different products.

Museum tickets are sold directly by the museum. Neither of the two Viator Liverpool offers featured in this article includes Dudley. Meet-and-greets with actors are not part of the official tour announced by the museum.

Wicked and the Cuckmere Valley

For Wicked, the most fitting trip in this selection leads to the landscape of Seven Sisters Country Park in East Sussex. Production notes reported by NBCUniversal associate the area with the arrival at Shiz. The park includes Cuckmere Haven, a river valley and chalk grassland, close to the white cliffs along the coast.

The appeal of the walk is seeing how a landscape becomes a passage into an imaginary world. The valley’s contours, water and landforms provide visual material; the editing combines them with structures built elsewhere. You can experience this open-air landscape with the day’s changing light and weather. Do not expect a university façade at the end of the trail.

Plan your outing around the visitor centre and open paths, choosing a distance that suits your group. The park authority publishes information on transport, accessible routes and safety. If travelling by public transport, plan the final leg to the park as well as the return journey. Staying somewhere in Sussex lets you decide whether to take the walk based on conditions, rather than adding a long round trip from another region.

Cuckmere Haven, Birling Gap and the various viewpoints at the Seven Sisters are not the same entrance. Identify your starting point before following a photograph you found online. Our illustration shows the cottages and cliffs around Cuckmere Haven; it documents the landscape without claiming to reproduce the film’s exact framing.

Chalk is fragile. The National Trust advises visitors to stay away from the edge and base of the cliffs, which can collapse without warning. To photograph the landscape, choose a safe spot on an authorised path. Avoid an exposed viewpoint if wind, visibility or ground conditions make the approach uncomfortable. Allow enough time for this outing to change your plans if necessary.

Studios and constructed sets

The making of Wicked involved sound stages and large outdoor sets. NBCUniversal describes, in particular, the use of Elstree and Leavesden Studios, as well as sets built for filming. This information explains the film; it is not enough to establish that a particular set is now open to visitors.

If a studio visit is part of your plans, check exactly what the ticket includes: the world being presented, the areas you can access, the address and any specific dates. A venue associated with several productions may offer the public an exhibition dedicated to just one of them. A studio’s involvement in Wicked does not mean it has announced a Wicked-themed tour of its sets.

The same care applies to the village built for Munchkinland and the tulips planted for filming. A production photograph shows what a set looked like at a particular time. Before booking a stay around a garden, field or installation, look for a current opening announcement from its operator. Here, we focus on the accessible landscapes of Sussex, whose appeal does not depend on whether the film’s constructions remain in place.

To identify a location, prepare a few reference points before you leave: the episode or sequence, the building identified and the source of the attribution. This makes it easier to understand changes to the location once you are there. A guide can explain the camera position or how the same building was used in different ways; a museum can show what belongs to the industrial heritage. This enriches the visit without requiring the real world to look like the edited image at all times.

Your stay, based on its duration

For two nights, Liverpool is our simplest recommendation. Set aside half a day for one of the Peaky Blinders tours and divide the rest between exploring the city centre, taking a walk and choosing other visits once you are there. If possible, schedule the tour midway through your stay: a delayed arrival is less likely to affect your booking, and you can revisit a place after hearing the guide’s comments.

For three or four nights focused on Peaky Blinders, you can combine Liverpool and the West Midlands, setting aside a day for the Black Country Living Museum. Travelling between the two bases will take up part of your stay; check train times and the last connection to Dudley before choosing your nights. Let the museum’s opening day determine the order of your stops.

For Wicked and a nature outing, choose a base in Sussex instead. Spend a day around Cuckmere and keep another option for a walk or visit in case coastal conditions deteriorate. This also works well for a group whose members do not all know the film: the scenery and walking are enough to make a day out.

These durations are editorial suggestions, not part of a package for sale. Combining Liverpool, Dudley and Sussex involves more travel and accommodation changes. For a weekend, choose according to your priority: a guide’s explanations, preserved industrial sites or coastal scenery. You will have more time to explore the areas around the scenes you are looking for.

Budget and bookings

Build your budget around the certain expenses: international transport, travel within the UK, accommodation, meals and your main activity. Then add the journeys to the meeting point or museum. A cheaper hotel farther away may require more transport; in Liverpool, staying near the city centre is especially useful for getting to the tour and continuing your day independently.

For the group tour, take the included Explorer pass into account before buying another sightseeing pass that covers the same travel. For a private tour, compare the total price for your group and the pickup arrangements. In Dudley, check the option that includes the filming-location tour and all-day admission so you do not buy two tickets for the same entry.

Prices and reviews for the affiliate offers are shown in their cards. The final amount depends on the date, number of participants and options actually selected. Also check the payment currency and cancellation terms. A half-day tour does not include travel from your accommodation if you are staying elsewhere.

Before making non-refundable purchases, check the UK entry requirements on GOV.UK. Depending on your nationality and circumstances, you may need a visa or an Electronic Travel Authorisation. An ETA is a separate requirement from booking transport. Also check which documents are required for children and each member of your group.

Season and places where people live

Liverpool and the museum in Dudley can be part of a trip at different times of year, subject to their schedules. Much of the experience is outdoors: bring rain-appropriate clothing and comfortable shoes. In Sussex, daylight hours and the weather matter as much as hotel availability. In the colder months, shorten your walk so you can return before dark.

Spring and early autumn are good options for combining sightseeing and walking, though fine weather is never guaranteed. In summer, book ahead and allow extra time for travel. The colour of the sky or the lighting in a film scene does not tell you what conditions you will encounter when you arrive.

Some filming locations are homes, businesses or workplaces. Take photos from permitted areas without crossing fences or blocking entrances. In a museum, follow the accessible route; on the coast, stay on the paths and follow the guidance about animals. The pleasure of recognising a scene goes hand in hand with respecting how the place is used every day.