Tarmac launch online location guide for movie makers

12 May, 2022

New website showcases stunning Tarmac locations that may well be seen on screen in years to come

TARMAC are helping movie makers and film producers achieve stunning backdrops to their blockbusters with a new online guide to the company’s many and varied quarries and sites that could make the perfect film set.

Whether it be a moonscape on a distant planet, or a dark, brooding mountain, or a deserted deep valley, or even an underwater seascape such as a cavernous subterranean trench, Tarmac say they have just the place.

The business has long supported movie makers from around the world with locations for their films. TV hits such as Game of Thrones, Britannia, Doctor Who, and EastEnders have all been filmed at Tarmac sites.

Last year, Tarmac’s Dunford Quarry provided the moody backdrop to The Ballad of Billy McCrae – a tale of murderous intrigue starring David Hayman.

Now, Tarmac have developed an informative, easy-to-use quarry filming website where production companies – large and small – can explore the sites and locations available for filming. More than 50 locations throughout the UK are available, with a pictorial guide to each and a handy location map.

Simone France, Tarmac’s senior corporate marketing manager, said: ‘Our locations deliver remote wilderness settings, baron landscapes, ancient woodlands, waterways, and even industrial buildings, including a lighthouse.

‘The website can help production teams source the ideal backdrop be it factual or fantastical. From location scouting to filming, we also have a team on hand to help production schedules.’

Much of the epic TV fantasy Game of Thrones, which became known for its spectacular landscapes and stunning sets, was largely filmed at Tarmac’s disused Magheramorne Quarry, in Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. Trefil Quarry, in Wales, has been the star of Doctor Who, and, in 2018, Panshanger Park, in Hertfordshire, hosted the cast and crew from the historical fantasy TV drama Britannia, where a Roman camp was constructed in the park as it might have looked 2,000 years ago.

Michael Charlton, Tarmac’s mineral estates manager, said: ‘We get all kinds of requests to film at our sites because they look so spectacular. The quarry filming website is the perfect place for film producers looking for fabulous locations.

‘The Game of Thrones team was on our Magheramorne site for several years and built a whole set there for filming. Others might just be around for a few hours, a day or two, or maybe a couple of weeks. We can cater for a wide variety of needs.

‘Wrath of the Titans, the 2012 blockbuster follow-up to Clash of the Titans, was another movie to use Trefil as a location, and Tarmac also hosted a series of launch events for car manufacturers Isuzu to demonstrate the strengths of their new pick-up truck on difficult terrain.’

Simone France added: ‘I’m incredibly proud of the Tarmac marketing team and the hard work done – entirely in house – to develop and launch this new site. New functionality, design, content, video, 360° views, and images have all brought the site to life, showcasing just some of the stunning Tarmac locations we may very well see on screen in years to come.’