One of my favourite locations – the infamous shop featured in possibly the best episode of Doctor Who, Blink. The shop itself specialises in vinyl records rather than DVDs as shown in the episode. The owner of the shop was a delight to talk to. He gave me access to all areas where the episode was filmed and regaled me with stories of what happened during filming. They proudly have a signed photo of the cast displayed.
The cafe where Sally Sparrow reads the letter from her friend. It has changed hands twice since the episode was filmed but once again, the people in Newport were more than happy to let me take my pictures. And I can highly recommend the latte.
As this is just opposite the DVD shop from the episode, all the cast and crew used this coffee shop during the filming.
I didn’t realise at first, but this is very close to the back of Marks and Spencers on Skinner Street as seen in Rose. Whilst the car park here is private, the shots were taken on the road leading up to it so is available to the public.
My first stop in Newport. What I didn’t realise from the episode is that the street is actually quite a steep hill! It was good to see the purple triangle still in the window of the shop.
A quick shot from the end of the episode
Again, many thanks to the staff at The Riverfront who allowed me access to the higher floors to get some of these shots.
When I reached the cafe, it was closed. So I rang them up and was told that they only open at weekends as it ceased being a cafe and has become a bar/nightclub. However when I told them of my mission, they very graciously invited me in to take my photos, so many thanks to the owners.
Also, I must thank Seren Group who are in the tall building opposite who allowed me into their kitchen on the top floor to get the photos looking down.
Some gardening work has clearly been done since the filming, but I managed to eventually find the location. Belle Vue Park is very big!
This is the back entrance of Marks and Spencers in Newport. Used in the pilot episode “Rose”
Tuesday 13th March 2012
This is the block of flats used in Night Terrors. It is council owned and although there is public access to the communal ground area, the upper levels are private. Many thanks to Mike the caretaker who kindly showed me around and gave me access to all areas.
There is some debate about whether the lift I found is correct. If it was, then the shot in the episode was reversed.
The railings around the park were added some time after the filming of the episode.
