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From treasure to jam Britain's James Bond trail explored.txt
From treasure to jam: Britain's Bond trail explored30 August 2025ShareSaveKaty PrickettBBC News,maverick slot car BuckinghamshireShareSaveDanjaq LLC/United Artists/Columbia PicturesDaniel Craig as James Bond on location in the Highlands of Scotland during the filming of SkyfallJames Bond is associated with exotic locations, underwater adventures and even space travel, but the origins of the fictional spy can be found all across Britain. Superfan Edward Biddulph has visited 163 British places with connections to the 007 books, their creator Ian Fleming - or the films they inspired. The locations are detailed in his new book, The James Bond Lover's Guide to Britain, and include the factory where Bond's favourite jam is still made and a site where Mr Fleming went treasure hunting."Other Bond books focus only on the films, but I wanted to look at the novels as well as the locations with a connection to Bond or Ian Fleming," said Mr Biddulph. "I'm not sure I can remember a time when I wasn't a fan," the archaeologist from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire said."I was aware when the films came on and was somehow attracted to this adventurous character."Oxford Archaeology EastEdward Biddulph said all the James Bond actors have contributed different things to the role Aged nine or 10, Mr Biddulph, who now works for Oxford Archaeology, began reading the novels, and by his teens "had become a serious fan".Soon, he wanted to know more about the background of the stories, as well as find out how and where the films were made. "I suppose this is a link to my job as an archaeologist, as I'm fascinated with finding out the origins of things, the stories behind things I see on the screen or read about so I'm a fan, but also taken a bit of an academic view of James Bond," he said. "I like finding these little nuggets people have missed."It took him a year to visit the sites, using weekends and holidays. Here are a few of the locations he visited. Getty ImagesMr Biddulph has a soft spot for Roger Moore, the James Bond of his childhood. He filmed at the Nene Valley Railway near Peterborough for OctopussyA high point of the film Octopussy (1983) sees Bond driving a car on to the railway tracks as he desperately tries to catch up with a train racing through East Germany.The baddie, General Orlov, has secretly loaded it with a nuclear bomb, primed to explode at a circus performance at a United States Air Force base in West Germany.The scenes were not shot in Europe, but at the Nene Valley Railway, which runs between Peterborough and Yarwell, on the Cambridgeshire-Northamptonshire border. Edward BiddulphFans can visit three recognisable locations from the film, including Orton Mere, Overton and Wansford Station (above)Mr Biddulph said: "Wansford station is where most of the filming was done and there's a level crossing there used for the film, as well as one of the carriages - so you can go to the station and pretend you are in the film and walk around pretending to be James Bond."The film starred Roger Moore, for whom Mr Biddulph has "a soft spot"."I grew up with his Bond and I do like that slightly saucy seaside postcard-style of his," he said. The railway line also stood in for Russia in Goldeneye (1995).Getty ImagesSean Connery as Bond having an intense conversation with Karin Dor as Helga Brandt in You Only Live Twice In a dramatic scene in You Only Live Twice (1967), Bond is on a small plane piloted by Spectre villain Helga Brandt travelling from Kobe to Tokyo in Japan. He believes she has defected from the criminal organisation, but instead she traps him before leaving by parachute.Edward BiddulphThis airfield in Buckinghamshire doubled up for Japan, for one of Bond's daring escapes, with a few extra plants scattered around Bond (Sean Connery) manages to break free and crash-land the plane, with Finemere Airfield near Buckingham, standing in for Japan.Mr Biddulph said: "There is a little bit of set dressing - with some scrubby plants placed around the runway, but that's it - it doesn't look too different today."Getty ImagesIan Fleming expressed ideas on race and gender which are seen as horrifying in many aspects, but were of the time he wrote in, said Mr BiddulphIn the Bond novel Live and Let Die (1954), the spy is on the trail of SMERSH operative Mr. Big, who is smuggling gold coins from Jamaica.It is believed to be the long-lost coin hoard of a 17th Century pirate.Mr Fleming became inspired by treasure stories after he was sent by the Sunday Times to write a report on an underwater excavation conducted by Jacques Cousteau, the French marine explorer and film maker, said Mr Biddulph.On his return, he sent a letter to the Sunday Times appealing for stories about treasure in Britain - and this brought him to Creake Abbey, near Fakenham, Norfolk. Getty ImagesThe ruins at Creake Abbey were overgrown in shrubbery when Mr Fleming went there treasure hunting Mr Biddulph said: "Using the Royal Engineers, who he somehow knew wanted to test their mine detecting equipment, he ran their detector over the site."When they got a metal signal, they would plant a flag so they could come back and dig up the spot."They only discovered discarded modern pots and pans, but an excavation in the 1990s discovered many medieval artefacts. "This was one of the first times a metal detector was used for an archaeological survey, so Fleming was quite a pioneer in archaeology," he said."Also that letter he sent to the Sunday Times asking for possible treasure sites? Well, it wasn't signed by Ian Fleming, he signed it James Bond."Edward BiddulphLuton Hoo Hotel became a private health clinic, where James Bond is sent to recover, in Never Say Never AgainBond (Connery again) has got a little out of shape, so his boss M has sent him to a health farm called Shrublands in Never Say Never Again (1983).He witnesses a nurse called Fatima Blush beating up a patient and, as she is a Spectre agent, she sends an assassin to kill him.Luton Hoo Hotel, near Luton, Bedfordshire, is the grand house which stands in for the health farm - and it later features in another Bond film. Getty ImagesThe hotel's interiors were also used during the The World is Not Enough, starring Pierce Brosnan and Sophie MarceauMr Biddulph said: "Its interiors appear in The World is Not Enough (1999), doubling as the luxury Azerbaijan home of the baddy, Elektra King. "The very grand spiral staircase is used and today it looks pretty much as it looks in the film."Edward BiddulphA leisurely breakfast for Bond in his Chelsea flat included his favourite jam (above)There is a rare glimpse of Bond's home life at his flat in Chelsea in the novel From Russia with Love (1957).He is having breakfast - a single soft boiled egg, cooked for three minutes and 25 seconds, while on his toast he puts Tiptree's Little Scarlet strawberry jam. "There's quite a bit of detail on the food in the novels and while they don't move the plot on, they very much give a sense of place and atmosphere," said Mr Biddulph, who visited the Essex village of Tiptree, where the company's factory is still based. Getty ImagesMr Fleming drew upon his experiences during the war, as a journalist and from his travels to give his novels a sense of time and placeOther favourites included Frank Cooper's vintage marmalade, Norwegian heather honey, while Bond, like Mr Fleming, is a Francophile in the novels, who enjoys French food. Mr Biddulph has researched meals listed in the novels, found recipes for them and has recreated them all for another project. Despite being immersed in all things 007, he has unearthed some surprises during his tour of Bond's British sites."What I've really learnt, though, is all across Britain, you're never far away from a James Bond connection," he said. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.More on this storyJames Bond 'has to be a guy', says Helen MirrenHouse where Ian Fleming wrote James Bond for saleCould the next James Bond be a Scot?Related internet linksJames Bond 007James Bond FoodTiptreeCultureFakenhamBuckinghamLutonWansfordAylesburyJames BondBooks
