Discover the Stunning Welsh Spots Behind TV's Young Sherlock Adventure!

The new television series Young Sherlock, directed by Guy Ritchie, has revealed some of its stunning filming locations across Wales. This show is a fresh take on the origin story of Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. One of the most dramatic scenes in the series was filmed at Llandaff Cathedral, a well-known religious building in Wales. The cathedral was transformed to look like it belonged in the Victorian era, which is when Sherlock Holmes’s stories are set. The filming at Llandaff Cathedral lasted several days, and the building was closed to the public for four days in January 2025 to allow the crew to work. The Dean of Llandaff, Jason Bray, said they were thrilled to share the cathedral with a worldwide audience. He described the cathedral as an atmospheric place that combines ancient and modern architecture, making it a perfect setting for the show. The cathedral is located on the edge of Cardiff and hosted a crew of nearly 100 people. The team worked hard to change the look of the cathedral so it would fit the time period of the story. There was a lot of excitement in Llandaff during the filming, and a dramatic scene filmed there will appear in episode three of the series.

Besides Llandaff Cathedral, the show was filmed in other beautiful locations in Wales. These include Monmouth, Margam Park in Port Talbot, and Merthyr Mawr in Bridgend. The Merthyr Mawr estate was used as the Holmes family’s English estate in the series. Filming also took place in the market town of Monmouth and at Margam Park, which is near Port Talbot. The Brecon Beacons, also known as Bannau Brycheiniog, were used as the setting for a Chinese village in a flashback scene. The series is set in 19th-century England, France, and Turkey, but much of the filming happened in Wales, as well as in Oxford and south-west England. Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays the young Sherlock Holmes, wearing period clothing like a brown hat and a beige jacket. Colin Firth plays Sir Bucephalus Hodge, the dean of Oxford University, where Holmes works as a porter.

Young Sherlock is an eight-episode series and marks Guy Ritchie’s second time bringing Sherlock Holmes to the screen, after his 2009 film starring Robert Downey Jr. The filming brought a lot of excitement to the towns and places where it happened. Local people were interested to see the film crew and actors, and many enjoyed watching the transformation of their familiar locations into Victorian settings. The cathedral staff said it was a special experience to be part of such a large production, and they hope that the show will encourage more people to visit Llandaff Cathedral and other Welsh landmarks. The series will give viewers around the world a chance to see the beauty of Wales while enjoying a new story about one of literature’s most famous detectives.