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Where can I get a movie map of Britain

01:00 Mon 03rd Dec 2001 |

A.� The British Tourist Authority (BTA) has this month published an updated Movie Map of the UK, available on their website at www.visitbritain.com/moviemap.

The map was first published in 1996, but an updated version has come out to guide Harry Potter fans to locations in the film.

The BTA's Movie Map� has proved to be its most successful publication, the initial 250,000 print-run selling out immediately. Its 200 film and TV locations were taken from 60 years of British cinema and small screen history. The 1999 version included 67 films and TV programmes. The latest version was released online on November 19

Q.� What kind of places are highlighted

A.� It's long been recognised that a film can do wonders for the local tourism economy. Attractions up and down the country are hoping some of the Harry Potter magic will rub off on them in the wake of foot-and-mouth and the attacks on America. Director Chris Columbus' decision to shoot The Philosopher's Stone entirely in the UK should have the desired effect. Among the locations chosen by the crew were Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, Durham Cathedral, and Goathland Station on the North Yorks Moors Railway.

Previous UK attractions have done extremely well from the map. Broughton Castle saw its visitor numbers rise by almost 15 per cent after it appeared in the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love. Saltram House in Plymouth, Devon, had even greater success, with a 39 per cent increase in numbers after it took a starring role in the Emma Thomspon-scripted Sense and Sensibility. The Oscar-winning film also helped boost numbers turning up at Jane Austen's house, Chawton, from 26,000 a year to 58,000, in addition to the boost from the success of� the Pride and Prejudice TV series. Visitors have since levelled off at about 30,000 a year. And Pride and Prejudice sent numbers at Lyme Park in Cheshire soaring by about 178 per cent.

According to VisitScotland. 80 per cent of tourists going to the Wallace Monument just outside Stirling said their visit was prompted by Mel Gibson's Braveheart, and in 1997, a report estimated�that additional tourist income arising out of both Braveheart and Rob Roy amounted to �15 million. While most of Braveheart was actually filmed in Ireland, the makers of Rob Roy spent almost �7 million in Scotland.

The Crown Hotel in Amersham, Wiltshire, has had a surge in North Americans wanting to book a particular bedroom, explained only by its appearance in Four Weddings and a Funeral. And a spare tree had to be planted at the side of Hadrian' Wall after the original sycamore became so famous through its appearance in the Kevin Costner film, Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves.

Q.� What about TV series

A.� It's not just films which can make a difference. At least 250,000 people make the pilgrimage to Holmfirth in West Yorkshire every year, to see where the long-running series Last of the Summer WIne was shot. Monarch of the Glen has helped sell Scotland's scenery around the world, and the impact of Inspector Morse on tourism in Oxford has long been recognised.

Earlier this year, the BTA branched out to provide a Bollywood version, capitalising on the number of Indian films shot in Britain, as movie-makers saw it as an exotic location for their viewers. The Bollywood map version features locations for 22 films shot in the UK since 1990, as well as 17 classics from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

For more film and television questions and answers, click here

By Katharine MacColl

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