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Rivals, an outrageous, raunchy adaptation of the Jilly Cooper novel, dives headfirst into the lives of the upper-class elite – and viewers have been captivated by the countryside ever since the debauchery debuted on Disney+ in October.
Set in the charming fictional county of Rutshire in 1986 and centred on the cutthroat television world of Corinium TV, the steamy eight-part series is backdropped by the best of South West England’s scenery.
Based across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire – England’s largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – crews sent cameras rolling in the Cotswolds during spring 2023 to capture the countryside romp.
With boozy garden parties, naked tennis and hunting on the itineraries for excessively wealthy characters, these old-world landscapes of rural England are far more than sleepy.
From country estates to five-star Spanish hotels, here are the lavish locations behind the hit “bonkbuster”.
Read more: Why East Anglia has become a surprise holiday destination in 2025
Tetbury, Gloucestershire
Tetbury set the scene for the fictional village of 1980s Cotchester with its replaced signage and reimagined storefronts for a quintessentially English back-in-time backdrop that included banners welcoming of-the-era PM Margaret Thatcher. The Cotswolds civil parish is not far from Highgrove House – previously the family residence of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Chavenage House, Tetbury
Journalist Declan O’Hara moves wife Maud and daughters Taggie and Caitlin into their new home of classic Cotswolds stone – Chavenage House. The Elizabethan estate, built in 1576, has previously been seen on screen in Poldark and is open for visitors via reservation for £12 per person.
Berkeley House, Tetbury
Cameron Cook’s house ‘Hamilton Terrace’ was filmed at Grade II-listed luxury holiday rental Berkeley House, 16 the Chipping, in Tetbury. The three-storey Georgian townhouse boasts a frequently featured large front drawing room, cellar and landscaped gardens.
Neston Park, Wiltshire
The Grade II listed home of David Tennant’s character, Lord Tony Baddingham, dates back to around 1790 and ‘The Falconry’ is the host of garden parties, helicopter landings and punch-ups across the series. The estate in Neston is not currently open for public access.
Corsham, Wiltshire
The fictional village of Cotchester was also staged in Wiltshire’s Corsham, a stone market town of historic buildings, peacocks and quaint coffee shops.
Battleaxes at Wraxall
According to actor Aiden Turner, the cameras rolled in Battleaxes at Wraxall, a Grade II-listed Tudor-style gastropub in place of a fictional Rutshire restaurant. Sadly, the 1882 watering hole has not been open for an 80s-priced pint since 2020, although plans have been submitted to turn the 19th-century Wraxall pub into new offices, homes and a business hub.
Cranmore Station, Somerset
Cranmore, the main railway station of the preserved East Somerset Railway, is where underdog love affair Freddie and Lizzie (Danny Dyer and Katherine Parkinson) filmed their railside encounter. Families visiting Somerset can take steam trains with Santa or ride and dine on festive high teas from the station throughout December.
Bristol, England
From the South West countryside to a South West city, Bristol backdrops several scenes in Rivals with the Castlewood office in Clevedon featured as the Corinium TV headquarters.
Aeronautical and space technology museum Aerospace in Filton hosts the set of the Concorde for interior scenes and that opening romp, while Corn Street cosplayed the capital for London street shots of the Harbour Hotel and club scenes at The Cosy Club.
Rivals was also the first project to make use of TBY2 at Bristol’s The Bottle Yard Studios including the replica 80s TV studios for Declan O’Hara’s chat show.
Much of episode six of the steamy series takes place in Spain, where Cameron and Rupert wind up staying in the same hotel…
It’s at the five-star Las Dunas Grand Luxury Hotel in Estepona where the star-crossed lovers first exchange gazes across their Andalusian-style balconies.
Elsewhere during their Spanish rendevous, the unlikely couple take a walk through the ornate Calle San Agustin, the Plaza del Obispo and drink on the terrace of Casa de los Bates Restaurant in the historic centre of Malaga.
All episodes of ‘Rivals’ are streaming now on Disney+.
Read more: Why you should explore the Cotswolds by bike
This post was originally published on here
