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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
When fan tourism goes wrong, from Paddington to Harry Potter
If you've ever been tempted to live in a house with pop culture connections, stories of overtourism from the owners of property featured in Paddington, Harry Potter, and Downton Abbey should serve as a cautionary tale. The thrill of seeing your street onscreen can quickly sour when faced with an onslaught of visitors — residents of Chalcot Crescent, which appears in Paddington, have had to contend with intrusive selfies, while the owners of the Dursley house in Harry Potter have reported fans knocking on the door asking to see the cupboard under the stairs that doubled as wizard Harry's bedroom. There are many filming locations that have become hampered, and even physically ruined, by visiting fans. Here is what can happen when fan tourism goes bad.... The Beatles | George Harrison's childhood home Liverpool, the birthplace of music legends The Beatles, has a thriving Fab Four tourism industry. The city in the North West of England boasts two museums dedicated to the band, multiple statues, and even an Airbnb where you can stay in the former house used by the Fab Four for early gigs. The city caters for moptop fans with many private tours that take in key destinations from the band's history including The Cavern nightclub, where they plied their trade as an upcoming band, Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane, as well as the childhood homes of the four members of the group. The National Trust owns the suburban childhood homes of Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and offers pre-booked private tours, but Harrison and Starr's homes remain privately owned, and tucked away in terraced side streets close to the city centre. A blue plaque celebrating the birthplace of guitarist Harrison was erected outside 12 Arnold Grove in 2024. And in July 2005, local residents began to prefer to say 'goodbye' rather than 'hello' to tourists, putting up a chain blocking off access to the cul-de-sac. Chris Bennett, a pub licensee in the local area, told BBC Radio Merseyside that "you get people looking through the window, and if you leave your front door open, they look through the door". He also complained that his family "don't get any peace" because of the traffic caused by private tours, saying that tourists begin arriving from 9am and are still visiting the street at 9:15pm at night, blocking access to the street. Paddington | The Brown family house Chalcot Crescent, a terrace of pastel-coloured Regency-style townhouses in North London's Primrose Hill, will be instantly familiar to fans of the Paddington movies as the Brown family's home. However, its popularity as a filming location has long been a problem for its residents, and it seems their woes are about to get much worse. Labour councillor for Primrose Hill Matt Cooper told the BBC: "I've seen people taking selfies right in front of someone's living room window, and you're thinking, you know, if that was me, I'd be a bit annoyed to have my living room put straight on Instagram." With Paddington in Peru set for release in November 2024, the living room selfies may soon seem like the good old days as there is reportedly now a row going on with Airbnb over a competition prize. The holiday lettings site is offering the chance for three families to stay in Chalcot Crescent to mark the film's release, spending two weeks carrying out noisy works to recreate the film set in a house for the competition winners. They are also having the house painted blue and are blocking out five parking spaces. Some of the street's residents have written to Airbnb with their complaints, saying that they have not disclosed the property's address and are making a donation to the Primrose Hill Community Association. Harry Potter | Privet Drive The house in a cul-de-sac in Bracknell, Berkshire, was used to film scenes for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as 4 Privet Drive, in the fictional town of Little Whinging in Surrey, where boy wizard Harry lives with his Uncle and Aunt, the Dursleys. The house went on the market in 2016 for £475k and the anonymous owner has told The Sun they experience a "constant" stream of visitors to the house, in the form of Harry Potter fans wanting to take a photo. They said: "We've had people in floods of tears. It's bizarre. The kids, you get it. But obviously the adults. They dress up sometimes in full gear and recreate scenes. "There was one time somebody tried to climb the fence. That was when we were like 'Oh my God, don't do that!'" The owner said they are accommodating to fans and have even moved their car so they can take a photo on the drive. They said: "It's quite mad... We knew what house we were buying, except they didn't really tell us. They didn't tell us they are here all day, every day. It's constant... Ten is the maximum we've had, but people come in groups. People come in cars, and it's all day and sometimes at night. The school holidays are the worst." Breaking Bad | Walter White's house Breaking Bad fans who visited the location of Walter White's house bore the brunt of the owner's frustration recently. The house was used as the family home of the science teacher who turned to drug dealing to leave a nest egg for his family when he was diagnosed with cancer in the hit show. A video shared on TikTok in January 2023 showed the real-life owner shouting "Get out, you Mexican trash!" at a visiting fan. She allowed Breaking Bad to film there in 2008, and described it as "six years of fun with the nicest people she has ever met." But she is now plagued by up to 200 visitors passing by the house per day, and has installed a fence and security cameras after some had attempted to trespass, or reenact a scene in which White threw a pizza onto to his garage roof. Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has asked fans to leave her alone, saying: "There is nothing original, or funny, or cool, about throwing a pizza on this lady's roof." Harry Potter | Dobby's grave Harry Potter fans are leaving tributes to Dobby the house elf, 13 years after the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, in which he was buried on the beach. Dobby was buried outside Shell Cottage, which is meant to be in Cornwall, but the film was shot at Freshwater West beach in Pembrokshire, Wales. Fans still visit and leave socks - as Dobby was set free by Harry when he gave him a sock as an item of clothing - as well as piling painted pebbles on the sand dunes. A concerned local resident told Yahoo UK: "The litter and the piles of painted stones are damaging the ecosystem. "It has only got worse since the film was made - over the years, tonnes of rocks have been shifted. And people clog the roads looking for the spot. "A local volunteer comes and cleans up the rubbish sometimes, but they keep coming back." National Trust Wales has appealed to fans to stop leaving painted rocks as the paint chips could enter the marine environment and food chain and damage wildlife. Downton Abbey Residents of the picturesque village of Bampton in Oxfordshire may love their 200 year old cottages, but they are not quite so keen on the crowds of Downton Abbey fans that peer in their windows and take pictures. The site was used for the fictional village of Downton in the hit ITV period drama and spin-off movies. One resident said: "I get fed up with the Downton Abbey lot. They are a pain, walking around with their head-sets on and peeping into your windows. They make me feel like I am living in a zoo." And residents in Lacock, Wiltshire have a similar problem. Scenes from Downton Abbey were filmed outside the 300 year old cottages as well as several Harry Potter films, Pride and Prejudice, Wolf Hall and the Other Boleyn Girl. As a result it has become a tourist hotspot, crowded with traffic and people taking pictures. Abbey Road Since The Beatles posed on the zebra crossing on London's Abbey Road, the crossing has become a top tourist destination. Traffic is always congested as fans are standing in the middle of the road, trying to recreate the famous Abbey Road album cover. Cars are so fed up of waiting for tourists to cross the road, it seems, that Beatle Sir Paul McCartney was almost run over on the crossing while filming a documentary for Disney+. His daughter Mary McCartney said: "The bit where the car nearly ran him over on the zebra crossing, that was so funny. As we were leaving (the studio), I said, 'I'll film you (on the crossing),' and he went over and this car totally didn't stop for him." As a result, the crossing is constantly wearing away and having to be repainted. Love Actually These colourful mews houses in Notting Hill, West London, came to the attention of fans after they were used for the home of Keira Knightley's character in rom-com Love Actually, where Andrew Lincoln visits to tell her he loves her by holding up cue cards. Since being painted pink, the house has become such an Instagram sensation that tourists visit to have their photo taken in front of it, without even being aware of which film it featured in. The owner said in 2020: "I had no idea this house was in the film when I bought it before the Instagram craze and now I am living under a blanket of selfies, tour guides, and a queue of tourists lining up to take photos on weekends." The street has become so crowded the local council has started highlighting the nearby Portobello Road area, which featured in the Paddington movie, for tourists to visit instead. Joker Since Joaquin Phoenix famously danced down these steps in the Bronx, New York City to Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll Part 2 in Joker, they have become crowded with fans wanting to do the same. Frustrated local residents have found the steps congested with tourists wanting to take photos and videos, blocking the way while they try to go about their daily business. They even put up fliers saying: 'It is disrespectful to treat our community and residents as a photo opportunity." The Beach Danny Boyle's 2000 film The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, based on Alex Garland's novel, was about a deserted paradise. But after the location of Maya Bay in Thailand was used for the film, it became crowded and overpopulated - attracting 5,000 visitors a day. The damage to the local ecosystem and coral population was so bad that in 2018 Thailand's National Parks department temporarily shut down the beach, in a bid to protect the once unspoilt idyll.
Belfast Telegraph
03-06-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Belfast hotel unveils private dining experience ‘hidden behind sliding artwork'
The Cavern is the latest food venture at the Grand Central Hotel, and will accommodate up to 12 guests for a seven-course tasting menu, led by executive head chef, Damian Tumilty, as part of a £150,000 investment. 'The statistics constantly tell us how important food is in influencing a visitor's choice of destination,' he says. 'The Cavern is going to bring private dining in Belfast to unparalleled heights. This exclusive, high-end experience is unlike anything we have offered before. 'Working alongside our guests, I will curate their very own bespoke seven-course menu using the finest local produce such as Kingsbury wagyu beef, Carlingford Oysters, turbot caviar and Ballycastle lobsters. It will allow my pastry team to showcase some menu items rarely seen in Northern Ireland. 'As a chef, The Cavern represents a very unique and exciting offering. It's a decadent space for guests to dine in privacy and I'm looking forward to people enjoying what promises to be an exceptional dining experience.' The hotel says the new dining space 'accommodates up to 12 people and has been carefully designed with luxurious materials, layered textures and an atmospheric lighting scheme to create an intentionally moody yet inviting space – an intimate backdrop for bold flavours and fine conversation'. Jake McHugh, general manager of the Grand Central Hotel said: 'We are delighted to unveil The Cavern – a secluded and exquisitely designed private dining venue that is set to redefine the art of intimate hospitality in Northern Ireland. 'This stunning space offers an unforgettable 'five-star' dining experience for small parties with thoughtfully curated, bespoke menus, top end fine wines and exceptional service. It promises to deliver a heightened sense of occasion - whether hosting an exclusive celebration, a business dinner, or an intimate private gathering – ensuring a truly memorable experience for guests.'
NDTV
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Covah - The Cavern, Gurugram Offers A Visual Treat And Culinary Rituals Coming Alive In A Cave of Flavours
Covah - The Cavern, in Sector 43, Gurgaon, is the newest name on everyone's lips- and Instagram feeds. With reels capturing neon-lit caveman projections and a colossal sculpted face watching over diners, it's hard to miss. But Covah is more than just a visual spectacle. It's a bold new dining concept that reimagines ancient communal feasting for the modern palate, blending Mediterranean and Asian traditions with theatrical flair. From the moment you step in, the space envelops you in its earthy, immersive ambience. Think ancient limestone caves-textured walls, organic curves, and warm, ambient lighting. By day, it's a serene space for conversation and connection. By night, it transforms into an audio-visual feast with rhythmic projections of cavemen walking across the walls, accompanied by foot-thumping music. On my visit, the pulsing beats-modern yet rooted in classical drums-had diners swaying. Some even broke into impromptu dances. It felt less like a modern-day tribal celebration. But Covah isn't all style and no substance. Its menu is a carefully curated fusion of Mediterranean and Asian flavours, designed around the shared plate philosophy-encouraging guests to connect over food, just as our ancestors once did. Ingredients are local, seasonal, and sustainably sourced, adding an eco-conscious layer to the experience. My culinary journey began with a standout cocktail- the Wanderer's Cup, a matcha-infused foamy concoction served in a rustic, primitive vessel perched on a wooden block. Sweet with a dense rose finish, it perfectly echoed Covah's ancient-meets-modern ethos. The Whisky Sour, with a hint of orange zest, was another hit. Then came the food, and it was outstanding. The Jalapenos Salmon Maki Rolls vanished from my plate within minutes- its crispy exterior and tender filling were addictive. Prawn Har Gaw was juicy and nuanced, while the Baked Scallops in coconut milk struck a perfect balance between creamy and delicate. For first-time scallop eaters, it's a welcoming introduction. Chicken Gyoza, with a crisp tuile wafer at the top, brought a satisfying crunch to the juicy filling. Dessert? A heavenly Tiramisu that lingered sweetly on the palate. Covah might draw you in with its cave-like drama, but it's the cuisine that'll have you planning your next visit. Come for the spectacle, stay for the soulful food.
