Cardiff Bay’s Whoniverse: A Guide to its Filming Locations

Cardiff has a reputation as the home of Bad Wolf Studios and the city with ties to the *Torchwood* spin-off TV show. It’s also known as the beating heart of the *Doctor Who* cinematic universe: The Whoniverse. On this Cardiff Bay walking tour, you’ll experience the city’s vibrant culture, discover its rich history, and explore its status as the Doctor’s gateway into time and space. Cardiff holds a special place for *Doctor Who* fans because it’s not just the show’s production base, but also a central location in many of its iconic scenes. The tour starts outside the iconic Wales Millennium Centre at the Torchwood Tower, where I’ll tell you how CGI was used to turn a Cardiff Bay location into a Parisian Art Gallery. You’ll explore streets made famous by *Doctor Who*, *Torchwood*, and other productions. I’ll point out specific filming locations and explain how the film and television industry has become Wales’ fastest-growing economic sector. You’ll walk along Windsor Esplanade, through Butetown, and experience the beautiful Cardiff Bay Wetlands. The tour ends in front of the Norwegian Church Arts Centre on Cardiff Bay’s bustling waterfront. On this 90-minute walk, you’ll have an opportunity to: • Spot some of the *Doctor Who* characters’ homes, and the places they met for breakfast, and went out to dinner • Visit Ianto’s shrine, dedicated to the *Torchwood* character • Stop for refreshments at the fictional starship *Titanic*, which was brought to life within the Coal Exchange Hotel, or the Packet, one of Sherlock’s local pubs • Take a trip from Mermaid Quay on the boat featured in the *Dot and Bubble* episode • Enter Senedd, the Welsh parliament and the site of Lazarus Laboratories in *Doctor Who* • Visit the airport featured in the *Gavin and Stacey* television series • Discover the fascinating history of this once-industrial area and explore its modern STEM programs at Techniquest, a science discovery centre • See where the first million-pound cheque written anywhere in the world was signed By the end of this tour, you’ll appreciate just how important Cardiff Bay has been for the filming of *Doctor Who* and *Torchwood* over the years. You’ll also have seen first-hand the key locations and learned a little bit about what was going through the minds of their writers and producers.

Price: £11.99 from VoiceMap