Where is The Holiday filmed? The exact Surrey villages well worth a visit this Christmas
Here are the old-world market towns that set the scene for the heartbroken home swap
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Your support makes all the difference.A Christmas classic on the advent calendar of flicks to watch come winter, The Holiday is back on our screens – and with its honey-stone homes, exposed beams and free-standing tubs, often comes a hankering to cosy up in the British countryside.
Starring lovelorn Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet alongside Jude Law and Jack Black, the Nancy Meyers movie follows a transcontinental – and heartbroken – home swap between rural England and Hollywood.
The feel-good festive film has been a firm favourite since its 2006 debut after crews sent cameras rolling across snow-coated Surrey, the Cotswolds and sunny southern California.
From quaint country pubs to Tuscan-style mansions, here are the standout filming locations behind The Holiday.
Read more: Cosy Cotswolds cottages to live out your The Holiday dream this Christmas
Where was The Holiday filmed?
Holmbury St Mary, Surrey
Sadly, Iris’ Rosehill Cottage is not a real home. However, although interior scenes shot at Sony Pictures Studios and the stone walls were built on a London soundstage – a real-life property inspired the set.
Honeysuckle Cottage in Holmbury St Mary – complete with honey stone, a chimney and a wooden entrance gate – is the traditional bolthole behind the design. The property was previously listed on Airbnb in December 2022 for superfans to stay in a replica of Iris’ home but has since been removed.
Godalming, Surrey
After arriving at Iris’ cottage, Amanda shops for essentials – wine, spaghetti and sourdough – at the local shop in the market town of Godalming in a red Mini Cooper.
This chocolate box slice of the Surrey countryside sits 30 miles south west of central London and backdropped several scenes of Amanda finding her feet in rural England.
Shere, Surrey
The quintessential English village of Shere sets the scene for many charming landscape shots throughout the movie. Amanda runs across a footbridge over Tillingbourne Stream and it’s at Shere’s country pub, The White Horse, where the frazzled Californian and Graham enjoy a drink together.
The Grade II-listed boozer dates back to 1425, is rumoured to have been a former smugglers’ pub in the 17th century, and is still open for The Holiday fans to enjoy traditional British dishes by a roaring fire.
Wonersh, Surrey
Cameras rolled in Wonersh to capture the exterior of Graham’s festive family home at real-life property, the Mill House.
Wonersh, a civil parish in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is considered one of the wealthiest postcodes in Britain.
Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
Amanda and Graham take their lunch date to luxury Cotswolds wedding venue Cornwell Manor. The private 2,000-acre estate near Chipping Norton is sadly not open to the public but can be exclusively hired for weddings and events between June and September.
Read more: Can you visit Diddly Squat? The Clarkson’s Farm and Cotswolds farm shop location
San Marino, California
The exterior scenes of Amanda’s 10,324-square-foot Tuscan-style Californian mansion were filmed at 1883 Orlando Road in San Marino.
Built in 1928 by legendary architect Wallace Neff, the rustic seven bed seven baths property has an estimated market value of $11 million (£8.6 million). As for interior scenes, those were filmed at the Sony Studios.
Brentwood, California
Screenwriter Arthur Abbot’s glamorous old Hollywood home is located at 163 Rockingham Avenue in the Californian city of Brentwood – a good few hours away from “neighbour” Amanda’s place in San Marino.
The mansion, built in 1914, was formerly owned by American actress and comedian Phyllis Diller and, according to Zillow, sold for $9.35 million (£7.3 million) following her death in 2012.
Read more: How to spend a day in Crenshaw, LA’s modern hub of art and creativity
What can I watch The Holiday on?
Can’t make it to Surrey this Christmas? Amazon Prime Video and Now Cinema members can stream The Holiday as part of their subscriptions – from £8.99 and £9.99 per month, respectively – this festive season.
Read more: The best Christmas markets in the UK, from Bath to Edinburgh
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