When Dad’s Army came to Bridlington

Hands up if you remember the TV series, Dad’s Army? If you were a fan, you may be aware that a film version is going to be released in 2016, with a whole host of stars including Toby Jones (Captain Mainwaring), Bill Nighy (Sergeant Wilson), Catherine Zeta Jones (a reporter) and Tom Courtenay (Corporal Jones). They have also cast The Inbetweeners actor, Blake Harrison, to play the part of Pike which I think is a perfect match.

But did you know that filming took place late last year, not on the Kent coast, but in the Old Town in Bridlington and other locations on the Yorkshire coast?

I can see why they chose Bridlington to be the fictional Walmington-on-Sea. Away from the bright and brash sea front with its amusement arcades and fish and chip shops, lies an altogether more peaceful historic quarter. The quaint 17th century High Street, with its period architecture, has changed little over the years and is reputed to be the most complete Georgian street in the UK. It’s little wonder it was the ideal choice to represent a 1940s street in this new film.

Jones the Butcher…?

What surprised us on our visit over Easter was that some of the businesses in the street still retained parts of their Dad’s Army makeover. No longer offering sausages and meat pies, the owners of the business behind this window are obviously loathe to lose their link with the film so have kept the lettering.

A few steps further on, The Georgian Rooms, where we had a tasty simple lunch, served on mismatched vintage crockery, before we climbed the stairs to the antique centre above to rummage through jewellery and pottery. We also wandered into the gardens beyond where a number of outbuildings housed even more treasures.

Conscious that I often forget to buy a souvenir from our trips, I spotted a very sweet, tiny teddy bear, sitting in a glass case and obviously needing a new home. He has no connection to Yorkshire, other than the fact that the evening before we had all been watching a programme about a man who collected Steiff bears (do other people watch random TV programmes when they are on holiday or is that just us?) I bought the little bear and christened him Bridlington Bertie.

As if that wasn’t enough miniatures for one day, it was the choice of Rory’s girlfriend, Juliana, to spend some time in Bondville Model Village, a magical little kingdom on the top of Sewerby cliffs where we had dined on sublime fish and chips the previous day. Set in an acre of pretty gardens, Bondville’s houses, shops and castle are all hand-crafted and very, very small. With an hour to go before it closed, we had a lovely time choosing our favourite house or shop, watching the tiny figures on the green playing cricket and the train tootling round the village. Other families were trying to spot things for the free quiz trail. We decided to just sit on the benches by the teeny harbour, and reflect on another very happy day on the East Yorkshire Coast.

Gulliver in Lilliput or Burgess in Bondville

The detail inside a bakery in Bondville.