The Great Pretender: England on film

Sarah GoslingBBC News
News imageGetty Images clapper board and landscapeGetty Images

The great English landscape is a film icon in its own right - think of the sweeping grandeur of Wuthering Heights, Bond's swaggering London, the Cotswoldian charm of Pride and Prejudice.

But what about the film locations you never knew about? Here are some of the country's best disguises.

Avengers: New York State

News imageMarvel Studios Avengers: Age of UltronMarvel Studios
"Got your mallet and palm-torch? We're off to Norfolk!"

The grand and futuristic Avengers HQ in "Upstate New York" is in reality nestled in Norwich.

The hangar-like building featured in the Thor movies, the newest Spider-Man offering (Homecoming) and the Avengers franchise is actually the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts on the campus of the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

The building - when not overrun by people in exclusively skin-tight outfits - houses modern art donated by Lord and Lady Sainsbury, including works by Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and Edgar Degas, as well as world art spanning 5,000 years of human creativity.

News imageSpiderman and the Sainsbury Centre
Spidey arrived for lectures in his usual understated manner
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Atonement: Dunkirk

News imageFeatures/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock James McAvoy in AtonementFeatures/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
James McAvoy searching for a chicken parmo

One of the most poignant sequences in the film Atonement was shot on Redcar beach. It captures the moment in the story when the character of Robbie Turner, played by James McAvoy, along with two of his soldier friends, arrive at Dunkirk having walked for many days to get there.

They are greeted by chaos, with hundreds of thousands of men on the beach hoping for the British ships to return so they can be evacuated.

Additions to the eight-mile stretch of sand near Middlesbrough included the smouldering wreckage of a seafront French hotel and thousands of local extras in army uniform.

News imageWorking Title Redcar beachWorking Title
Redcar at war
News imageGetty Images Redcar beachGetty Images
A more typical day at the beach
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World War Z: Nova Scotia

News imageParamount World War Z promoParamount
"I think I'd prefer Dorset"

In the 2013 Brad Pitt film World War Z, one place speaks of safety, tranquillity and freedom following the great zombie panic - Nova Scotia.

Can't get to Canada? Then step forward Lulworth Cove in Dorset.

With its sweeping coastline and green hilltops it's the very picture of safety and natural serenity in this bleak movie.

News imageLulworth Cove
Peace, quiet and free of zombies
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Les Misérables: Paris

News imageMoviestore/REX/Shutterstock Russell Crowe in Les MisérablesMoviestore/REX/Shutterstock
"Cheer up Russ. Your singing wasn't that bad, was it?"

At first glance 2012's Les Misérables seems about as classically French as possible, and yet the majority - sweeping landscape shots aside - was actually filmed in England.

In one scene, Russell Crowe's character - the vengeful police officer Javert - becomes overwhelmed by the futility of his existence and throws himself into the River Seine.

The scene of the Seine, however, is the weir of the River Avon beneath the Pulteney Bridge in Bath, Somerset.

News imagegodrick Pulteney Weirgodrick
Did the character of Javert scream a scream as he fell into the Avon?
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The Princess Diaries: The royal palace of Genovia

News imageReuters Longford CastleReuters
A pretend palace fit for a pretend princess

While the bulk of the Anne Hathaway movie might be set in San Francisco, her regal life is set firmly in the fictional country of Genovia.

But the exterior of the grand palace is actually Longford Castle in Bodenham, Wiltshire.

The main building is an unusual triangular shape with a round tower in each corner which it's said represent the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

News imageMoviestore/REX/Shutterstock The Princess DiariesMoviestore/REX/Shutterstock
Hands up if you've never been to Wiltshire
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Dark Shadows: Collinsport, Maine

News imageWarner Dark ShadowsWarner
"Look. My Devon handbook insists it's cream first, then jam"

The sleepy, eerie setting of Tim Burton's 2012 comedy Dark Shadows is Collinsport in Maine.

It was filmed, however, in England and Scotland.

Those wild and breath-taking beach scenes are in fact filmed at Great Mattiscombe Sands near Kingsbridge in Devon.

News imagePhilip Halling Great Mattiscombe SandsPhilip Halling
The sunlit beach is merely a filter away from being full of Dark Shadows
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A View To A Kill: Silicon Valley

News imageGetty Images Roger Moore in A View To A KillGetty Images
"This old thing? Yes, 100% pleather"

One of the things synonymous with England is 007, Her Majesty's secret weapon - Mr James Bond.

And while we expect to see the Aston Martins and the finely-cut suits in Westminster, what we don't expect is for scenes set in California to be filmed in England.

Nevertheless, this Zorin's mine in "Silicon Valley" is actually a shaft at Amberley Working Museum in West Sussex.

News imageAmberley Museum/BBC Amberley mineAmberley Museum/BBC
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