Visit York, in partnership with the North York Moors National Park, has launched a new high-impact promotion across London King’s Cross underground station. Shining a spotlight on York and the North York Moors National Park’s starring roles in film and television, it invites audiences to experience the locations that brought these scenes to life.
Themed ‘Starring York and North York Moors’, the campaign celebrates the region’s cinematic connections and world-class backdrops that have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide.
Featuring prominently in several of the capital’s key underground station, the eye-catching creative showcases York and the North York Moors National Park’s unmistakable skyline, atmospheric streets and stunning scenery.
York’s cobbled streets, medieval landmarks and wild moorland valleys have doubled as film sets for decades. Centred around five key genres – epic adventures, tangled tales of crime and mystery, spine-tingling dark horrors, timeless romance, and moments of rare magic – visitors can follow the footsteps and explore York and beyond through on-location itineraries that bring film and TV stories to life.
York and its surroundings have long played leading roles on screen – from the sweeping grandeur of Castle Howard, immortalised in Brideshead Revisited and more recently Netflix’s Bridgerton, to the soaring towers of York Minster, which stood in for Westminster Abbey in Victoria and featured in the Oscar-winning Elizabeth, plus popular series like Gentleman Jack have added new chapters to Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate. Meanwhile, the crooked timbered lanes of the Shambles reportedly inspired the magical design of Diagon Alley.
Beyond the city, perched high above the sea, the ruins of Whitby Abbey inspired Bram Stoker’s gothic masterpiece, Dracula; the opening scenes of Downton Abbey: The Movie took viewers to Pickering station; and Goathland Station was famously featured in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
“This campaign is all about visibility and inspiration,” said Sarah Loftus, Managing Director of Make It York. “By featuring the region in one of the busiest travel hubs in the UK, we’re putting the city quite literally in front of millions of potential visitors each day. The ‘Starring’ theme not only celebrates our film and TV connections but also positions the region as a leading cultural destination.”
Catriona McLees, Head of Marketing & Communications, North York Moors National Park, said: “There is a unique drama and magic to the landscapes of the North York Moors, qualities that captivate both visitors and filmmakers alike. This campaign brings that sense of awe to London, offering millions the chance to glimpse the beauty and cinematic character of our National Park. By showcasing the North York Moors alongside York’s rich screen heritage, we hope to inspire new audiences to discover the places where these stories take shape. We’re delighted to partner with Visit York in celebrating the landscapes that make our region truly unforgettable.”
King’s Cross is as a gateway between London and York, taking less than two hours by train. With millions passing through every week, the striking displays ensure York’s story, from its cinematic charm to its heritage, culture and creativity, captures the attention of both domestic and international audiences as a world-class destination.
Film tourism is one of the fastest-growing reasons people travel. Movies and TV shows inspire fans to visit the real-life locations where their favourite scenes were filmed. With streaming platforms showcasing new settings worldwide, film tourism continues to boost local economies and put York’s already extraordinary locations and must-see attractions firmly on everyone’s travel lists. After all, This is York: Where Stories Come to Life.
The ‘Starring’ displays run from 1 to 14 December 2025 at London King’s Cross, supported by a feature video, social media presence and a dedicated hub page full of inspirational itineraries: visityork.org/this-is-york
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PRESS RELEASE: 3 December 2025
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Make It York
Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally – as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business. Its mission is to grow the economic prosperity and wider wellbeing of York and its citizens. In practice, this means delivering a range of projects and programmes based around our corporate strategic priorities. These are: City positioning and profile-raising; Ensuring an exciting city centre; Delivering the city’s ground-breaking Cultural Strategy. MakeItYork.com
About Visit York
Visit York is a part of Make It York and is the leisure tourism brand. Under the brand Visit York, Make It York’s aim is to market York as a must-see world-class destination to the leisure and business visitor and ensure investment to develop the quality of tourism in York. Activity covers all aspects of tourism marketing and PR, including market intelligence, as well as providing business support through the membership programme. Visit York operate the Visit York Pass, York’s city-sightseeing card, and run the Visitor Information Centre. VisitYork.org
About The North York Moors National Park
The North York Moors is a beautiful landscape of stunning moorland, ancient woodland and historic sites. Created on 28 November 1952, it became Britain’s sixth national park. Covering an area of 554 square miles (1,436 square kilometres) the National Park has 26 miles of coastline, two national nature reserves, 840 Scheduled Monuments and over 3,000 listed buildings, attracting an estimated 8.4 million visitors a year.
The National Park has two visitor centres, Danby Lodge National Park Centre and Sutton Bank National Park Centre, providing opportunities for cycling, walking, eating, picnicking, shopping, crafts and wildlife-watching. The centre in Danby also houses the Inspired by… gallery, which features regularly changing exhibitions by artists who draw their inspiration from the North York Moors.
The North York Moors National Park Authority works with a wide variety of people to care for this beautiful corner of Yorkshire, providing apprenticeships and volunteering opportunities with nearly 14% of staff being apprentices from local families. northyorkmoors.org.uk
