Run Away filming locations: from 'gorgeous' parks to famous landmarks you can actually visit
The Netflix adaptation sees the story relocate from New York to Manchester...
Run Away – the latest Harlan Coben adaptation to land on Netflix for New Year’s Day 2026 – features some stunning and possibly very recognisable filming locations, providing the perfect backdrop to the twisty thriller.
The series, which consists of eight action-packed episodes, follows in the footsteps of Fool Me Once and Missing You, which both received huge praise when they landed on the streamer in 2024 and 2025.
Coben set the Fool Me Once and Missing You novels in his native USA, but the adaptations relocated the stories to the UK for the small screen. Run Away is no different, with the story moving from New York City to Manchester.
But where exactly is the gripping crime series filmed? And are any of the sets real places you can visit?
Here is everything you need to know about the Run Away filming locations…
*** Warning – contains plot spoilers ***
Where is Run Away on Netflix set?
While the show doesn’t specify the exact location, it sets the series in the North of England.
In episode one, Sebastian Thorpe, who is trying to find his missing son, Henry, reads out a message to private investigator Elena Ravenscroft. It is from his son after he went missing. It reads: “Heading down South with a few friends, back in a few weeks,” which immediately suggests they are based in the North.
Certainly filming took place across the Northwest. Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones, who plays PI Elena, explains how she made the most of any downtime they had in Manchester. She says: “I have friends who live there. We had Sunday lunch at the Dakota Hotel and drinks in the conservatory. I also had a fabulous meal at the Ivy Asia.”
Ruth also loved exploring a new city, adding: “I also loved seeing a bit more of Liverpool, which I didn’t really know at all. The architecture there is fantastic. Sefton Park is beautiful. The people were very friendly too.”
Where was Run Away filmed?
Run Away, like many of Coben’s previous Netflix adaptations, takes place in the UK. Filming began in January 2025 in Manchester and the surrounding areas.
Coben says he has fallen in love with these locations after filming in them for so long. “When you do as many shows as we’ve done there, you really get the charm,” he told Tudum.
“What’s wonderful about the north of England is there’s such variety. There’s a combination of everyday and eccentric about the settings there.”
Run Away filming locations: What was Sefton Park used for?
One of the main Run Away filming locations is Sefton Park, located in the leafy South Liverpool suburb called Aigburth.
In the series, the show calls the space Park Green. Sefton Park is famous in the local area for having millions of golden daffodils in the spring, and a big lake that draws in visitors.
The park’s features include a boating area, replica statues of Eros and Peter Pan, and a cafe. The location also features a Grade II listed Victorian Glasshouse known as the Palm House.
The series shows the park across many episodes, most notably in episode one when Simon searches for Paige as she busks with a guitar.
Sefton Park also features in episode 7 when detectives Isaac and Ruby are looking for Victoria, Henry’s biological mum.
The location is so stunning that it has made quite an impression on the cast and crew from the series.
Minnie Driver, who plays Ingrid in the series, says it was her favourite place to film… “For me, the most gorgeous discovery was Sefton Park. I had never been to Liverpool before. I could not believe how beautiful it is. Genuinely, I had no idea. The architecture and the layout of the city are so fantastically beautiful, with this huge park in the middle.”
Swapping New York’s Central Park for Liverpool’s Sefton Park
Richard Fee, executive producer for Run Away, agrees that Sefton Park was the perfect swap for New York’s Central Park, which is where Paige is busking in Harlan Coben’s book.
He says: “Finding the right location was very important because in the book it’s Central Park. We had a lot to live up to, but Sefton Park feels very iconic for those big hook scenes.”
Harlan Coben has also revealed that another of his TV adaptations was filmed in Sefton Park.
He says: “There is a scene in Sefton Park in Liverpool where the two police officers are looking for somebody. That is filmed in the same location where many years ago I was the Maitre D with Tom Cullen and Sarah Solemani meeting in the same conservatory building in The Five. It was fun to revisit that after all these years.”
Run Away filming locations: Is the university Paige goes to a real place?
Yes! The series features a university called Lanford, especially in episodes one and four. In reality, though, it is St Katherine’s College in Liverpool.
The college announced that filmmakers used its beautiful setting for the series, sharing the news on social media.
They said: “Our beautiful college building of St Kath’s is often used as a filming location. Just a heads up that it will be appearing in the new Netflix 8-part series of Run Away.
“St Kath’s appears in its full glory at the very beginning scenes of episode one and in other episodes alongside many Northwest locations.
“American author Harlan Coben said he has used our college before as a filming location. He works with the TV screenwriter and producer Danny Brocklehurst, who is from Manchester and champions the use of Northwest locations.”
Where is the real Marinduque estate from Run Away?
Aaron is found dead in a flat on a fictional housing estate called the Marinduque estate. It is the same flat that Paige lives in, and the same estate in which Cornelius has an apartment.
In the series, the estate also has a disused underground warehouse where Rocco, the local gang leader, operates. The production company named the estate for the series, but they filmed at a real location.
The filming location for these scenes in Run Away is the Wellington flats, located in Dukinfield, Tameside, just east of Greater Manchester.
Speaking of what it was like to film there, Lucian Msamati, who plays Cornelius, says: “We know we are making a big-budget television series and that some of us might be seen as being glitzy and glamorous. But when you are on location in such places as the Marinduque estate, it is a reminder that people are living hard lives out there.
“We would pack up our stuff and leave at the end of a day’s filming, and yet people’s lives there keep going. That said, the few residents we met showed interest and curiosity and enthusiasm. And of course, they were quirky.”
Executive producer Nicola Shindler adds that it took a long time for the production team to find the perfect location for the estate, explaining: “The Marinduque estate was hard to find. We had to get the right balance between an interesting story and a place that does feel dark.”
What is the name of the building where Simon meets Paige’s friend, Katie?
Episode five features a stunning building with modern architecture, which in real life is the Museum of Liverpool.
The unusual structure opened in July 2011 and is located on Liverpool’s waterfront at the Pier Head.
The building is the largest newly-built national museum in the UK in over a century. You can go and visit from Tuesdays to Sundays, and entry is free of charge.
Which town did Run Away use for its filming locations?
The show features a town centre in many episodes, and while it isn’t specified which town, the real-life location is Stockport.
Stockport is a large historic town in Greater Manchester. It features heavily in episode 5 when Elena is chasing Alison, the lady from the adoption agency, through the streets.
In the background of that scene, you can see The Boar’s Head Hotel, which is located on Vernon Street in Stockport. The town lies just eight miles from Manchester city centre and serves as Gateway to the Peak District.
Read more: Harlan Coben series: Lazarus creator’s English-language mysteries from Safe to Missing You
