SURVIVORS FANS OLD and new gathered in the heart of Herefordshire on 11-14 April 2025, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the show's first series.

Marking fifty years since the programme first appeared on BBC screens, this most recent joint tour of much-loved Survivors filming locations was given an extraordinary frisson by a remarkable innovation - as fans touring sites across Herefordshire were joined by two series one cast members - Richard Heffer (who played the dashing adventurer Jimmy Garland) and Julie Neubert (who played the ill-fated young survivor Wendy).

The fiftieth anniversary event was organised by locations supremo Steve Clutterbuck, who had put together an action-packed schedule across three full days, and secured special permission for fans to access several filming locations not normally accessible.

He also shared with participants a new slimline self-published Survivors location guide for the county of Herefordshire, listing the exact whereabouts of all known sites using both postcodes and the newer what3words protocol.

Richard and Julie were active and engaged participants in the tour, revisiting locations where they recorded their scenes — places that they had not returned to in decades — and gamely joining in reenactments of classic moments from Garland’s War, Starvation and A Beginning.

Both actors were also interviewed on camera about their memories of the on-location recording of the first series fifty years earlier - Richard outside Brockhampton Court (Waterhouse) and Julie in the grounds of Hampton Court (The Grange).

 Centre of operations

Fans gathered in the Herefordshire town of Leominster on Friday 11 April, which was to act as the ‘centre of operations’ throughout the weekend. More than one member of the group called in at some Survivors filming locations not on the weekend itinerary on their way to the rendezvous — including Highley Station (Bridgehead) and Clenchers Mill Ford (Genesis).

Gathered around a long table in The Duke’s Head pub, fans enjoyed their first of many meals together and were regaled with stories and anecdotes by Richard Heffer.

Setting off in convoy on Saturday morning (12 April), the first location of the weekend was the ‘Grant family home’ in the village of Little Comberton, the exteriors of which are seen in the opening and closing sequences of The Fourth Horseman.

The property’s owners, who were in residence at the time the BBC film crew were on site in January 1975, had graciously agreed to allow fans to photograph the front and rear of the house and its gardens, and to play a few games of tennis (with varying degrees of skills) on the tennis court - the location of the episode’s opening scene.

In the bright and warm Spring weather, it would have been easy to spend many hours in these quiet, verdant and evocative surroundings, but it was soon time to move on.

Arriving at the nearby village of Elmley Castle, fans visited the churchyard where Abby pleads not to be ‘the only one’, the church interiors, and the main village street along which Abby wanders. With the agreement of the current residents, fans were able to take some close-up shots of the porch and doorway of ‘Dr Gordon’s’ house, where Abby finds the dead body of the physician being guarded by his faithful dog.

 Way to Waterhouse

A longer drive saw the convoy arrive at Brockhampton Court - the ‘Waterhouse estate’ of Garland’s War. Accommodating staff at what is now a nursing home allowed fans to visit the main foyer and central staircase (neither of which were used for filming purposes back in 1975), but the real interest was to be found outside.

Consulting the screenshots provided by Adrian Hulme, Richard Heffer was keen to identify the exact locations in the grounds where Garland prosecuted his campaign against the usurper Knox, and to be photographed in-situ. Richard also provided a short video interview, framed by the front-entrance doors of Garland’s ancestral home.

Reluctantly moving on again, the convoy called in at the layby close to the River Wye used to stage the closing scene of Garland’s War, where Garland tells a crestfallen Abby that he will not be joining their group, but continuing his war to reclaim his estate. Once again, Richard Heffer was eager to support fans in recreating the scene’s exact staging.

The first full-day concluded with what’s long since become an unmissable location for Survivors fans touring the area - the Hole-in-the-Wall bridge at which Abby suffers a ‘crisis of confidence’ in the events of Gone Away. Although a good proportion of the bridge’s original timber deck boards have recently been replaced, it has not affected the place’s singular atmosphere.

As always, it was a delightful place to linger and reflect on the passage of fifty years since the BBC crew was on site, before heading back to Leominster, for some rest, refreshments and the challenging, but always entertaining, Survivors pub quiz.

Julie Neubert had joined fans in The Duke’s Head that evening, and the touring group was enlarged with ‘new arrivals’ the following morning (Sunday 13 April) as everyone gathered in the car park of Hampton Court (‘The Grange’).

 Changes at Hampton Court

Days earlier, the owners of Hampton Court had announced their surprise decision to end visitor tours of the Castle interiors, meaning that - in future - access will be restricted to the grounds and gardens of the estate alone.

Undeterred, fans visited all accessible locations in the walled gardens and in the grassland at the rear of the house, and enjoyed refreshments in the Orangery Cafe. Richard and Julie shared their memories of being on location in 1975, and Julie took part in a video interview, sitting on the grass and with the house as an impressive sunlit backdrop.

With the Castle’s owners now focusing exclusively on their wedding venue business, a newly planted hedge line, running from the cafe, away from the house, and cutting the lawn in two, will soon heavily obscure views of the back of the house (in order to offer privacy to wedding parties).

Fans were able to secure a one-off exemption, allowing the entire Survivors party a brief opportunity to cross the new barrier and take photos closer to the house, including some marvellous shots of Richard and Julie.

Another exemption, arranged by a helpful member of the ground crew, gave the group brief access to the inner courtyard, where Julie Neubert reenacted hanging out washing (on an invisible line) just outside the kitchen windows.

With some fans needing to make their way home, a smaller group headed off to a nearby private house used to film the ‘stole my fish’ scenes (and several others) from Starvation. Julie recreated Wendy’s discovery of the hapless Tom Price, and some spirited reenactments then followed. The owners, who had agreed to host the visit in advance, were now unable to be on site, but graciously allowed the visit to go ahead in their absence.

The fact that only the visiting Survivors group was present in the extensive grounds of the property added to the isolated, bucolic atmosphere.

Heading on, the convoy arrived at The Vauld - the location of Jimmy Garland’s ‘sister’s cottage’ (A Beginning) and the Cohen family weekend getaway (Starvation). The owners of The Vauld B&B gave the group an extensive tour of the reconfigured interiors (where several scenes from A Beginning were filmed), before fans photographed the many nearby exterior locations also used in the episode.

Moving just down the road, fans arrived at the cottage where Emma Cohen and Wendy are living at the start of Starvation, recreating moments from the episode with Julie’s enthusiastic participation. With one of the current residents giving permission, the group were able to enter the front garden to take many more photos and re-enact Tom Price’s capture in the van.

After another relaxing evening at The Duke’s Head, Julie and Richard were dropped off at the train station, both reporting that they had thoroughly enjoyed the weekend - and with a range of follow-up Survivors-related activities already agreed.

 Calling at Callow Hill

The third full day of the trip (Monday 14 April) began with a drive to Callow Hill (‘Whitecross’), where Bob Meade and Sheila had arranged for the group to have self-directed access to the countless exterior locations used on Survivors’ second series. Over the course of several hours, fans visited and photographed locations across the estate.

Several likely new locations were identified (subject to some post-visit comparisons with episode footage), including the position of Mina’s (now demolished and replaced) house from The Witch, and the area where the sniper menacing the settlement flees her makeshift camp (A Friend in Need) and where Agnes Carlsson makes her way on foot to the settlement (A Beginning).

It was especially enjoyable that this visit to Callow Hill could unfold over such an extended period, and without the need to trouble a resident to act as a guide.

As the day wound towards its conclusion, fans headed to Bernithan Court (‘Maredell’ from Corn Dolly). Approaching the housekeeper for permission to visit this exteriors of the Court, she was unable to reach the owners.

So the group moved on to gather at the nearby farm gates from which the episode’s memorable closing sequence was shot — as Abby, Greg and Jenny leave a frustrated Charles Vaughan behind and depart from Maredell over the closing credits.

 Back to base

Returning to Leominster, exhausted (if understandably elated) fans gathered for a final evening at The Duke’s Head, before heading their separate ways on Tuesday 15 April - many agreeing to complete their celebration of Survivors' fiftieth anniversary with a viewing of The Fourth Horseman at 20:10 the following evening — fifty years to to the day (and the hour) that it was shown to an audience of 7.07m viewers on BBC 1.

The fiftieth anniversary location tour offered the ideal blend of the new and rarely visited sites — alongside some familiar (and always welcome) favourites — enhanced by the priceless experience of visiting these sites in the company of two enthusiastic original cast members. In the process, organiser Steve Clutterbuck set a new ‘gold standard’ for Survivors location trips, across an engrossing long weekend enjoyed by everyone who took part — either for the whole event or just a rewarding few hours.

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