Where was Summerwater on Channel 4 filmed?
The six-part series is based on Sarah Moss's novel of the same name.
Sarah Moss's critically acclaimed novel Summerwater has been given the TV treatment for Channel 4, with Shirley Henderson, Dougary Scott and more leading the six-part thriller about "relationships, sex, identity, and not being able to escape yourself."
The narrative is set over a 24-hour period at a Scottish holiday park, with each episode exploring the perspectives of the different inhabitants of each cabin across that one day.
"Far from a relaxing retreat, Summerwater turns out to be a mysterious, all-knowing place, where residents are confronted with their deepest desires and darkest truths," reads the official synopsis.
"Weaving together the lives of several families, as they are observed closely from their disparate cabins, Summerwater shows how the simmering tensions between holidaymakers leads to a devastating climax."
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"There's been a fire... and somebody has died, but you don’t know the identity of this person or the circumstances around how they died," said director Robbie McKillop.
"Over the course of the series, we unpack that mystery by delving into each cabin within the community and by looking at the backstory of the characters, we find out what may have led them to behave in that way in the present and make them capable of either committing an act of murder or being the victim of that murder."
As well as a compelling mystery, another strand of the story that is likely to pique interest is its location, beautiful and bleak in equal measure. So, where did the cast and crew pitch up?
Read on for a rundown of the locations featured in Summerwater.
Summerwater filming location
The series was set in south Scotland, around Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, which is where the novel is also set.
"The novel came about autobiographically," said Moss, who has repeatedly returned to Loch Lomond "throughout a generally peripatetic life".
"I realised a few years ago that my kids had never seen it and there were some lodges down the road that I'd always noticed and had my eye on because if you stay there, you're already at the base of all the hiking routes," she explained.
After renting one of the cabins, Moss "became really fascinated by not so much the relationships between the people staying within the cabins, but the complete absence of relationships between the people staying in the various cabins.
"They all had big French windows looking over the lake which made those spaces simultaneously an auditorium theatre because as you moved around you could usually see in," she added.
Given that the book is set in Loch Lomond, which was inspired by Moss's own time there, executive producer Mike Ellen naturally wanted to shoot the series there also.
"It was important to shoot it, to all intents and purposes, where it was set and where it was written," he said, "and with people and the best in the business from all over the UK, but with a predominantly Scottish crew and predominantly Scottish creative leadership.
"The very best of British TV drama is often creatively led from the place and the region or the nation that it's set in," he emphasised. "The setting is a huge part of the series in itself."
Ellen went on to talk about the role the "landscape and natural environment" plays in Summerwater, describing it as a "huge part of the story."
"Whilst community between the characters is important, their coexistence with nature is also very important," he explained. "There's a beauty, but also an unknown, of the forest and the depths of the loch and throughout the series those elements are very important from a story point of view, but also important from an environmental point of view, reminding us that we're not alone and we need to think about nature and our environment in our everyday lives."
And the Summerwater cast also enjoyed their time there, with Valene Kane describing it as "amazing".
"I’m a Celt, so it was very nice being with my Celtic tribe," she said. "It was very cold, but we shot in the most beautiful locations; I'd never been to Glasgow. I love when you get to shoot in a new city, and you get to explore.
"And the terrain and landscapes of Loch Lomond were simply beautiful."
For Scott, it was just a joy to return to his roots for a short while.
"I love working at home - it gives me a chance to see family, friends and filming in Glasgow," he said. "I love Glasgow; I spent a lot of time there growing up as a boy. I always went to school on the east coast, but my parents are both from Glasgow and I have an emotional affinity with the city that makes me feel good when I return."
Summerwater airs on Channel 4 from Sunday 16th November.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
