Peaky Blinders Road Trip: North West Filming Locations Loop + Map 🚗
There’s something about Peaky Blinders that makes the North feel bigger, louder, and a little bit dangerous in the best way. This road trip stitches together the show’s greatest backdrops into one easy loop, from steam-kissed platforms in Haworth to red-brick alleys in Manchester, from the dunes at Formby to the hulking warehouses of Liverpool. You’ll chase viaduct shadows, tiled halls, and tidy model-village streets that switch the mood from grit to grace in minutes. It’s a simple 1–2 day circuit packed with photo stops, brew breaks, and plenty of “that’s the one” moments. Bring comfy shoes, a warm layer, and a touch of Shelby swagger, then let the canal reflections, quarry skylines, and sea wind do the rest. Be kind around residential streets, keep interiors for scheduled open days, and enjoy the ride.
Peaky Blinders Road Trip
🚗 Quick Trip Facts
- Total distance: ~120 miles point to point
- Suggested length: 1–2 days
- Start/End: Haworth → Port Sunlight (or start in Manchester to simplify)
- Driving style: A-roads, city streets, tunnels, coastal stretches
- Best time: April–October for longer light
- Maps to have: Offline map + a parking app
- Parking vibe: City multi-storeys, village car parks, carry coins and a card
🔹 Tinker’s Tip: Many spots are residential or private; keep it respectful
🚗 Recommended Car Rental: DiscoverCars
🗺️ Itinerary
Stop 1 — Haworth: Steam scenes on a storybook railway 🚂
Heritage platforms, soot-dusted ironwork and vintage carriages set the tone straight away.
📸 What to spot (Peaky Blinders):
- Period railway ambience used for 1920s travel sequences
- Goods yard details and station furniture that read perfectly on camera
- Steam shots with carriages that sell the Shelby-era timeline
📍 Things to do nearby:
- Brontë Parsonage and a cobbled Main Street wander
- Quick moor loop at Penistone Hill Country Park
- Coffee-and-cake dash before you hit the road
🔹 Tinker’s Tip: If steam is running, be 15–20 minutes early for whistle-and-steam platform shots.
Stop 2 — Bacup: Lee Quarry’s gritty skyline 🚲
Raw, windswept, cinematic. Big drama with minimal effort.
📸 What to spot (Peaky Blinders):
- Bleak moorland vistas used for clandestine meets and standoffs
- Quarry walls as a natural “set” for tense exteriors
- Long telephoto ridgelines that feel instantly period
📍 Things to do nearby:
- Short moor loop towards Cragg Quarry
- Stubbylee Park for a softer leg-stretch
- Rooley Moor Road drive for big-sky views
👉 Good to know: It’s exposed. Pack a windproof.
Stop 3 — Manchester’s Northern Quarter: Urban backlot streets 🎞️
Red brick, faded signage, tight alleys – a ready-made period street grid.
📸 What to spot (Peaky Blinders):
- Dale Street–Back Piccadilly lanes doubling as Small Heath backstreets
- Fake shopfronts and temporary signage sometimes used during shoots
- Fire escapes and alley canyons for chase cutaways
📍 Things to do nearby:
- Street art around Stevenson Square
- Indie rummage at Afflecks
- Breakfast at a local roastery
🔹 Tinker’s Tip: Arrive early for clean frames before the café rush.
Stop 4 — Castlefield: Viaducts, canals, shadowy cut-throughs 🏙️
Cast-iron, cobbles and water — layered industrial texture in a tight radius.
📸 What to spot (Peaky Blinders):
- Under-viaduct walkways for clandestine meetings
- Towpath angles used for moody transitions
- Iron lattice and bridges that frame classic “Peaky” shots
📍 Things to do nearby:
- Roman fort remains and canal basin
- Science and Industry Museum area (exteriors)
- Slow canal wander toward Deansgate
👉 Good to know: Towpaths are narrow – keep tripods stowed.
Stop 5 — Victoria Baths: Green tiles and grand echoes 🛁
Edwardian showpiece with big character even from the outside.
📸 What to spot (Peaky Blinders):
- Tiled halls and balconies used for interiors and event scenes
- The Turkish Baths corridor with period-perfect detail
- Spaces associated with the horse-fair sequence
📍 Things to do nearby:
- Whitworth Park and Art Gallery area
- Graze the Curry Mile
- University red-brick photo sweep
🔹 Tinker’s Tip: Open days and tours vary – check in advance if you want inside shots.
🗺️ Must-Read: 20+ Unmissable Day Trips From Manchester by Car + Map 🚗
Recommended Tours and Tickets From Get Your Guide
Powered by GetYourGuide
Stop 6 — Arley Hall, Cheshire: Tommy’s world, room by room 🏰
Stately home swagger with instantly recognisable interiors.
📸 What to spot (Peaky Blinders):
- The Library as Tommy’s office
- Gallery and Drawing Room for family-power scenes
- Gravel sweep and front steps for arrival shots
📍 Things to do nearby:
- Walled garden wander
- Detour to Great Budworth for postcard lanes
- Anderton Boat Lift viewpoint for industrial heritage
👉 Good to know: If the house is shut, the grounds still deliver.
Stop 7 — Formby Beach: Dunes, sea, showdown energy 🌊
Wide sands and rolling dunes built for cinematic confrontations.
📸 What to spot (Peaky Blinders):
- Dune lines and beach ridge used for the Tommy–Alfie face-off vibe
- Pine fringe and dune slacks for low-angle drama
- Long horizons that sell isolation
📍 Things to do nearby:
- Red squirrel spotting in the pines
- Barefoot dune wander if conditions are kind
- Fish and chips in Formby village
🔹 Tinker’s Tip: Bring lens wipes — sand and sea breeze get everywhere.
Stop 8 — Stanley Dock, Liverpool: Tobacco Warehouse brickwork 🧱
Monumental brick canyons and water reflections do the heavy lifting.
📸 What to spot (Peaky Blinders):
- Tobacco Warehouse and dock edge for dockland dealings
- Cobbled service roads perfect for convoy scenes
- Repeating windows and ironwork for graphic frames
📍 Things to do nearby:
- Royal Albert Dock circuit
- Ten Streets for warehouse texture and street art
- Warm-up coffee by the Titanic Hotel courtyard
👉 Good to know: Parts are hotel or private — keep it polite.
Stop 9 — Powis Street, Liverpool (Welsh Streets): Watery Lane energy 🚶♂️
Victorian terraces that read instantly as the Shelbys’ home turf.
📸 What to spot (Peaky Blinders):
- Rows used to stand in for Watery Lane/Small Heath
- Junction sightlines down long, regular terraces
- Doorways and ginnels as domestic exteriors
📍 Things to do nearby:
- Georgian Quarter saunter
- Sefton Park and the Palm House
- Baltic Triangle for creative spaces and street food
🔹Tinker’s Tip: Quiet voices and quick photos — people live here.
Stop 10 — Port Sunlight, Wirral: Polly’s polished world 🌼
Arts-and-Crafts neatness and manicured greens as the refined counterpoint.
📸 What to spot (Peaky Blinders):
- Model-village façades used for Polly’s later-life settings
- Civic buildings and garden squares for transitional scenes
- Elegant streets that sell “new money” respectability
📍 Things to do nearby:
- Lady Lever Art Gallery highlights
- Port Sunlight Museum and The Dell
- Riverside walk toward the Mersey
👉 Good to know: Free parking pockets exist; mind local signs.
Access to the map
No sign up required and totally FREE. Literally just using Google Maps to plot your route! Saves you messing! We don't gatekeep here! Enjoy.
Map will be located under "YOU" and then under "MAPS".
ℹ️ Add the map to your Google Maps app.
After opening Google maps, click YOU and then scroll down to MAPS. It should be located there. Any issues, just get it touch, it’s no problem!
🛑 Pit Stops & Side Detours
- Salford Lads’ Club for music-history photos
- Tatton Park or Dunham Massey if you want deer and grand avenues
- Sefton Park Palm House for a lush glasshouse breather
- Royal Albert Dock circuit if you want extra waterfront shots
- Great Budworth village for a classic Cheshire chocolate-box pause
🍽️ Local Eats Worth Chasing
Keep it hearty and local.
- Manchester: breakfast at a Northern Quarter café, lunch graze at Mackie Mayor
- Liverpool: Baltic Market for an easy all-in-one street-food stop
- Haworth and the moors: pies, parkin, and a brew that stands a spoon
- Formby: seaside fish-and-chips with dunes for dessert
🔹 Tinker’s Tip: Pack snacks and a flask for quarry and beach stops. Services are thin on the ground out there.
🎶 Road Trip Playlist
North West grit with a cinematic edge:
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds • Arctic Monkeys • Doves • The Coral • Richard Hawley • The Last Shadow Puppets • PJ Harvey • Elbow • The Smiths • The Stone Roses
🔹 Tinker’s Tip: Download offline – signal can drop out.
🎙️ Podcasts to Queue Up
- The Rest Is History episodes on the Industrial Revolution and interwar Britain
- You’re Dead To Me for brisk history with humour
- Film Stories for set-piece chat on British productions
- Rule of Three if you want laughs between dark, moody stops
🎒 Road Trip Essentials
- Layers, waterproof, and comfy shoes
- Compact umbrella
- Reusable cup and water bottle
- Portable charger
- Microfibre cloths for lenses
- Coins and a card for parking
- Offline maps
- Respect for residents and private sites
Rent a Car
Access to the map
No sign up required and totally FREE. Literally just using Google Maps to plot your route! Saves you messing! We don't gatekeep here! Enjoy.
What to know How to Plan or Save for a Trip? Here are our best:
FAQs
Is this doable in one day?
Yes if you keep filming stops to quick photo bursts. For interiors and galleries, go 2 days.
Are interiors accessible?
Sometimes. Arley Hall and Victoria Baths have specific open days. Check schedules if you want to go inside.
How do I get the FREE map?
The free map is available via Google Maps with no signup required. After clicking the “View Map” link, go to “Your Places” > “Maps” in the Google Maps app to find the route. Save it for offline use, especially in areas with spotty signal.
Where should I base overnight?
Manchester for a central hub and night shots. Liverpool if you want dockland sunrise and Port Sunlight first thing.
Can I swap the order?
Absolutely. Starting in Manchester trims the cross-country legs and keeps city parking to one burst.
Travel Planning Resources
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Travel Insurance: Never travel without insurance. Here are our top recommendations:
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- Use AirHelp for compensation claims against flight delays etc.
Book Your Activities: Discover walking tours, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more on Get Your Guide. They have a vast selection of activities to enhance your trip. There is also Tiqets.com for instant mobile tickets.
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Nick Harvey
Hi, I am Nick! Thank you for reading! The Travel Tinker is a resource designed to help you navigate the beauty of travel! Tinkering your plans as you browse!
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