THE INDEPENDENT EFFORTS of three Survivors fans have together confirmed the locations used to stage the classic opening sequences from Genesis, in which Greg Preston returns home from continental Europe in the immediate aftermath of the plague to find a country almost devoid of human life.

Location trip organiser Adrian Hulme explains: "Chris Barker took a wrong turn out of Wales in early August and spotted the big building clearly visible in the opening sequences of Genesis."

"The building is a pumping station at Sudbrook, right next door to the new Severn road bridge. The shot of the helicopter flying over the rooftops of an empty street is in Sudbrook itself. Right next to the end of the street is the electricity pylon that Greg also flies past."

Once you get there... take care underfoot, as the whole place is rather sludgy!

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Adrian Hulme

"The very first shot of the episode is of the estuary is at Black Rock, about two minutes from Sudbrook. Once you get there, park at the picnic site and walk out onto the rocks, and you can position yourself in the exact camera location used in 1975. Just behind you will be the sea wall that Greg flies over — despite the on-screen appearance, it is not a cliff, but a man-made brick structure. Take care underfoot, as the whole place is rather sludgy!"

"Guy Hawley spotted the place independently of Chris in August 2005, and was the first fan to visit the site. Colin Wilks also identified the spot after a careful study of local Ordnance Survey maps, although he waited until the September 2005 'Reunion' location tour to visit the area. It's typical: you wait 10 years to find these locations, and then three fans find them in the space of three weeks!"

The whereabouts of other locations used in the scenes involving Greg's helicopter — the "motorway" bridge where the sheep are startled into the roadway and Greg's own home, where he finally lands — were not confirmed until December 2008. It always seemed likely that both are to be found very close to the other Sudbrook sites. Adrian reports that on the 'Reunion', fans scrutinised the location of "dozens of houses in the locality that look like Greg's, but we couldn't make one fit exactly. We also drove along all of the dual roads and motorway in the area but were not able to find the road bridge used in Genesis."

You wait 10 years to find these locations, and then three fans find them in the space of three weeks

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Adrian Hulme

On 14 December 2008, David D Miller confirmed that the location of the 'motorway' bridge was the B4233 bridge on the A465 Abergavenney Bypass, close to Llanarth Court (the location of Peter Grant's school).

[ Many thanks to Adrian Hulme for the use of his Sudbrook photos. ]

One other lesser-known location from Genesis, confirmed by fans several years ago but less frequently-visited, is the street setting where Jenny encounters Tom Price for a second time and later passes out just after meeting Greg. These sequences were all filmed in the main street of Lydney in the Forest of Dean, only a few miles from Sudbrook.

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