Doctor Who at 60

The Doctor is over 900 years old, but it’s 60 years since they first appeared on our screen with some of Britain’s most iconic heritage.

Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland and Cadw are marking the anniversary of the first broadcast by launching a new interactive map. The map celebrates the many regenerations of Doctors, decades of Daleks, and (of course) some of the historic buildings and places that are key in bringing the show to life.

Explore iconic Doctor Who locations

Doctor Who locations mapped around the UK. Listed buildings and scheduled monuments are often privately owned and do not allow public access.

(Doctor Who's) heritage is all around us

While we've been cowering behind the sofa, hoping that The Doctor will once again escape the Daleks with ‘Exterminate!’ ringing in our ears, many of the inanimate stars of Doctor Who have been hiding in plain sight all around us.

From landscapes to historic parks, police boxes to grand country houses, our historic environment has been centre stage through many of the Doctor's most exhilarating and hair-raising adventures.

01 / 09

Stonehenge

Despite persistent rumours, there is no cavern underneath Stonehenge. However, the famous stones were used as part of a story, ‘The Pandorica Opens’, where the Eleventh Doctor’s enemies join together to capture and imprison him.

Kew Railway Bridge

If you, or the First Doctor, happened to need to hide the Tardis anywhere while the Daleks were invading Earth, then underneath the fabulous Kew Bridge would be a very good option. Unsurprisingly, the episode where this occurred was titled 'Dalek Invasion Earth'.

Norris Castle

In the episode, 'The Sea Devils', the Third Doctor is pitted against the Master, another recurring character of the Doctor Who canon. This is also the first episode to introduce the aquatic version of the Silurian’s, a reptilian lifeform that inhabited the Earth before the rise of man. The Master is kept prisoner in Norris Castle, not far from Osborne House, the former home of Queen Victoria on the Isle of Wight. Norris Castle is a rare Regency estate designed by James Wyatt, one of England’s most notable architects.

Dunvegan Castle

In the episode 'Terror of Zygons', the Fourth Doctor and Sarah-Jane Smith find their way into the Zygon spaceship at the bottom of Loch Ness. In this episode, an image of Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye is used to represent the exterior of the fictional Forgill Castle.

Old Leanach Farmhouse, Culloden Battlefield

'The Highlanders' is the completely missing fourth serial of the fourth season. The Second Doctor, Polly, and Ben arrive in 1746, in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden, and are captured by a group of Highlanders shortly before they themselves are captured by redcoats (government troops).

Police Box, Buchanan Street, at Royal Bank Place

The Doctor's space-time machine, The Tardis, is modelled on the Police Call Box designed by Scottish architect Gilbert Mackenzie Trench, who was Architect Surveyor to the Metropolitan Police between 1920 and 1945. Thanks to The Doctor, it's since become a pop culture icon, and examples can still be found in Glasgow.

Castell Caerffili/Caerphilly Castle

Gwelwyd yr ail gastell mwyaf ym Mhrydain mewn 11 pennod yn ystod y 2000au a’r 2010au, Castell Caerffili oedd Tŵr Llundain yn ‘Lost in Time’ a thwneli plasty Calvieri yn ‘The Vampires of Venice’. Yma hefyd oedd lleoliad atgyfodiad ‘The Master’ yn ‘The End of Time’.

The second-largest castle in Britain featured in 11 episodes throughout the 2000s and 2010s, portraying the Tower of London in 'Lost in Time' and the tunnels of the Calvieri Mansion in 'The Vampires of Venice'. It also saw the resurrection of The Master in 'The End of Time'.

Llandaf/Llandaff Cathedral

Yn ‘The Family of Blood’ (2007), priododd Mr Smith a Nyrs Redfern yn Eglwys Gadeiriol Llandaf, fel rhan o linell amser na ddaeth i fod. Ar gyfer ‘The Eleventh Hour’ (2010), cafodd pentref Llandaf ei drawsnewid yn Leadworth, cartref Amy Pond. Trawsnewidiwyd canol y pentref yn bentref Seisnig ystrydebol, gyda blodau, arwyddion a phwll hwyaid (ond dim hwyaid!).

In 2007's episode 'The Family of Blood', Mr Smith and Nurse Redfern got married in Llandaff Cathedral, in the timeline which never happened. In 2010's 'The Eleventh Hour' Llandaff village was transformed into Leadworth, Amy Pond’s home. The cathedral green became a stereotypical English village, complete with flowers, signage and a duck-pond (but no ducks!).

Nant Ffrancon/Ogwen Valley

Mae tirwedd hanesyddol gofrestredig Dyffryn Ogwen yn cynnwys nodweddion archaeolegol rhagorol o sawl gwahanol gyfnod, ond mae’n fwyaf enwog am ei chwareli llechi. Yn y stori chwe rhan ‘The Abominable Snowmen’, dyma’r ardal a oedd yn cynrychioli Tibet ym 1935. Darlledwyd y gyfres yn wreiddiol ym 1967, dim ond un o’r chwe phennod sydd ar ôl yn archifau’r BBC. Rhyddhawyd fersiwn wedi’i hanimeiddio yn 2022.

The Ogwen Valley, a registered Historic Landscape, has outstanding archaeology from many different periods. It is most famous for its slate quarries. In the 6-part storyline, ‘The Abominable Snowmen’, it doubled for 1935 Tibet. Originally aired in 1967, only one of the 6 episodes remains in the BBC archives. An animated version was released in 2022.

Track down a Tardis!

A potential Tardis spotted outside Piccadilly Station, London. Please report any further sightings through the Missing Pieces Project. © Historic England Archive. Image: AA065520.

Did you know that the Tardis is based on real-life architecture? You can see Gilbert MacKenzie Trench’s original police box design in a number of locations across the UK, including Buchanan Street, Glasgow and The National Tramway Museum, Crich .

However, Doctor Who experts (Whovians) will also know that the Tardis can transform into anything, and is only in its current 'Type 2 Mackenzie-Trench Police Call Box' form due to a broken chameleon circuit...

Of course, 'anything' doesn't give us much to go on! So to narrow it down a little, here are all of the listed police boxes across the UK (although they might not be in the vessel's most famous design).

How many possible Tardises can you track down?

Produced by

^{Historic England (England), Historic Environment Scotland (Scotland), and Cadw (Wales) help people care for, enjoy and celebrate the historic environment across the United Kingdom.}