Following on from our feature “Celebrating 60 years of Doctor Who, and its Welsh connection“, and again running just ahead of the long-awaited trio of anniversary specials which themselves presage the new season of the classic show in 2024, Buzz’s in-house Whovian Billy Edwards finds a perfect 10 of delightful Welsh locations that’ve appeared on this show down the decades.

Nant Ffrancon Pass

This steep, glacial valley stood in for the Himalayan hills of Tibet for a week’s filming in 1967. Patrick Troughton faced Yeti before an interview with the magazine programme Wales Today, marking Doctor Who’s first foray outside England.

Glamorgan

In The Green Death, also known as ‘The One With The Giant Maggots’, Jon Pertwee’s Doctor took to Glamorgan in 1973. Rural farm Troed-Y-Rhiw-Jestyn became the hippie commune The Nuthatch, which still stands today.

Portmeirion

When fan-favourite Tom Baker piloted the TARDIS to a 15th-century province of Italy in the 1976 story The Masque Of Mandragora, Portmeirion’s Italianate buildings were deemed an ideal filming location. The central piazza even saw the doctor nearly beheaded!

Yr Wyddfa

The remote area around the glacial lake of Llyn Cwm Bychan in Eryri National Park gave 1983’s 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors a particularly icy air, as Cybermen stalked Pertwee over its rocky outcrops through the mist.

Roald Dahl Plass

Doctor Who’s 2005 return saw the TARDIS frequently recharging in Cardiff Bay. Within the universe, it’s The Rift, a gateway for alien beings, and soon the adult spinoff series Torchwood saw all sorts of extraterrestrial activity fall through.

Dunraven Bay

When Rose Tyler bid the Doctor a tearful farewell in 2006’s Doomsday, the picturesque backdrop of this quiet beach near Southerndown proved so dramatic that the area is still affectionately known as Bad Wolf Bay amongst fans.

Newport

Record shop Diverse Vinyl played a crucial role in the 2007 classic Blink, when the Doctor contacted now-Hollywood star Carey Mulligan through its DVD extras. On the wall is a framed picture of the staff with a costumed David Tennant.

National Botanic Garden Of Wales

Featuring a rather space-age glass dome, it was no surprise that Doctor Who took to Carmarthenshire in 2009 to depict humanity’s first colony on Mars. It’s not before long that the biodome is invaded by an intelligent virus known as the Flood.

Chepstow Castle

For the 50th anniversary special in 2013, Chepstow Castle set the scene for 1562: an attractive backdrop as the 10th Doctor married Queen Elizabeth I, played by Swansea’s own Joanna Page.

Proud Giltar

In January, the TARDIS was spotted atop this Pembrokeshire path by eagle-eyed fans, crowded by a crew wrapped up due to chilly weather. What brings the 15th Doctor and Ruby Sunday to the coast of Wales this time? Time will tell next spring.

words BILLY EDWARDS