Filming on Exmoor
Exmoor National Park may one of the smallest National Parks in the UK, but it is renowned for its wild deer and ponies, dramatic coastline, rugged heather moorland, rolling hills and picturesque villages. The landscape has inspired poets and artists for centuries, including the Romantic poets Shelley and Coleridge and R.D. Blackmore, author of Lorna Doone and today, offers beautiful locations for filming.
For professional or commercial purposes, it is vital to secure landowner permission. Without it, you will not be able to start filming.
We can only give permission to film on land we own
Exmoor National Park Authority (ENPA) owns 7 per cent of the land within the national park designation (shown in red on the map) and we welcome you to consider our land for your filming project.
Please do have a look at our asset list and see if any of the locations suit your needs and we will be happy to accommodate.
Click on the map below to find land under ownership of Exmoor National Park Authority. Use the buttons on the right to open other layers which will include the aerial photography layers or click on the pictures at the bottom to navigate to those locations.
As well as being a designated National Park, Exmoor is home to many other areas of importance (for instance Scheduled Ancient Monuments, Sites of Special Scientific Interest or a Special Conservation Area ). You may well need additional permits and licences from other bodies (such as Natural England) if you wish to use these sites. These bodies have a statutory response time of up to 4 months, so the earlier you get in touch, the better we will be able to assist you.
Within the 7 percent of Exmoor we own within the National Park designation, there are 4,700 ha of moorland, heath and hill farmland (most of which is let to tenant farmers) 534 ha of woodland. historic buildings, archaeological sites, historic railways, offices, National Park Centres, an Outdoor Education Centre, toilets, car parks and picnic sites.
We need to receive your proposal to film at least 7 days in advance (the earlier the better) so we can consider your application, understand its impact on your chosen location and liaise with our stakeholders, tenants and/or graziers where necessary.
On this basis, we do reserve the right to refuse your request. This may occur if we do not have adequate notice from you, it coincides with other events or work taking place at your chosen location or it has the potential to disturb or damage Exmoor’s protected habitats and wildlife.
We need to receive your proposal to film at least 7 days in advance (the earlier the better) so we can consider your application, understand its impact on your chosen location and liaise with our stakeholders, tenants and/or graziers where necessary.
On this basis, we do reserve the right to refuse your request. This may occur if we do not have adequate notice from you, it coincides with other events or work taking place at your chosen location or it has the potential to disturb or damage Exmoor’s protected habitats and wildlife.
Costs can vary depending on the nature of your production. We consider the location, the number of the cast and crew, the environmental sensitivity of your chosen location, if you require additional support from National Park Officers (such as our Rangers), whether any additional equipment, such as off-road vehicles, are needed and how much National Park admin support you need. Each application will be considered individually.
We can only give permission for you to film our land, if you wish to take more sweeping aerial shots, you will need to contact all relevant landowners directly for their permission. It is your responsibility to be aware and adhere to the current regulations surrounding drone usage. Please also be aware that some landowners do not allow any kind of aerial footage to be shot over their land.
If you wish to use a drone, we will require:
- Information concerning the drone including make and model
- The drone operator’s formal Unmanned Aircraft Systems qualification, accredited by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority)
- Specific public liability insurance and aviation insurance liability cover
- A detailed flight plan
- Evidence that you have secured the landowner consent from other relevant landowners
For video journalism enquiries contact mediaenquiries@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk
For general commercial filming enquiries contact zblackmore@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk
For any other locations across Devon and Somerset contact
Film Devon filmdevon.org.uk
Somerset Film www.somersetfilm.com
Exmoor is a beautiful place to capture, so we look forward to hearing from you.
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