Coldwater on ITV: 'Gorgeous' filming locations used for the thriller, and if 'idyllic' Coldwater is a real place
Helen Fear | 12:01am Sun 14 SepColdwater on ITV is a gripping thriller with a brilliant cast, and one of the main characters is most definitely the breathtaking scenery – so what filming locations were used?
The new series stars Andrew Lincoln as “a repressed, depressed man”, who is shocked to find himself in middle age, secretly raging at his life as a stay-at-home dad.
When he witnesses a violent confrontation in a London playground, his failure to intervene brings his identity crisis to a head. He makes the drastic decision to move his family to the Scottish Highlands – as far away from London as possible.
But are the filming locations used in Coldwater on ITV really in Scotland, and is the village of Coldwater a real or fictional place? Here’s everything you need to know.
Is Coldwater a real place?
Coldwater is not a real place; it’s a fictional Scottish village of the same name just outside Glasgow. The six-part thriller follows dad-of-two John who moves his wife and kids to the “idyllic” small town in Scotland. Although the aim is to escape the memory of a violent incident in London, he soon realises that the violence has followed him…
Talking about the village, writer David Ireland added: “I’ve always loved small towns in Scotland and I’ve always wanted to live in one, but never had the chance to. I love a lot of small towns in Northern Ireland, so Coldwater is my little fantasy. You’ve got the beautiful church, and beautiful coffee shops. It’s an idealised version of rural Scotland. Everybody is friendly, and a little bit strange. Everyone knows your business and people don’t seem to judge you, but maybe they do.”
Indira Varma, who plays Fiona in the Coldwater cast, explained: “Coldwater is this fictional town just outside Glasgow. Andy [Lincoln] said it was like living in a snow-globe. And that’s exactly what it’s like. It’s slightly strange, like a little suburbia, in the middle of the countryside. Very charming and pretty.”
![Church in Dunlop used as filming location for Coldwater [Credit: ITV]](https://cdn.tvguide.co.uk/uploads/2025/09/Untitled-44.jpg)
What filming locations were used for Coldwater on ITV?
The ITV series Coldwater is set in the Scotland Highlands, but it was actually shot in various filming locations in and around Glasgow, including Glen Fruin, Loch Lomond, and the Ayshire village of Dunlop. Dunlop specifically was used for the village hall and the primary school.
A spokesperson for ITV told us: “Coldwater was an amalgamation of a few places, but Dunlop is where the church is.”
Other key locations include the Dennistoun neighbourhood in the east end of Glasgow, the semi-rural town of Strathaven, and the Lade Inn pub in Kilmahog.
Writer and occasional actor David Ireland – who is from Northern Ireland – said it was the “perfect location” because he lives in Glasgow. He admits he wanted “to write something about my life away from Northern Ireland and the troubles”.
He said: “My life bringing up a family in Scotland, I was trying to get away from writing about violence, tribalism and identity and all the issues in my other work. But I couldn’t escape it – even though I’ve written something about a family in Scotland, all this rage crept into it. No matter what I’m writing about, it’s always there. I love living in Scotland, I love the people and the actors and the crew.”
David previously wrote the 2019 film Cyprus Avenue, about a Belfast Loyalist experiencing a psychotic episode. His 2023 comedy series was also set in Belfast.
Coldwater on ITV filming locations are ‘a composite of many different locations surrounding Glasgow’
Director Lee Haven Jones explained that Coldwater is a composite of many different locations surrounding Glasgow.
He said: “The key thing for me was to make the place as real as possible. We have to understand why John and Fiona want to live in this rather lovely village. Because they’ve come from London and they’re in search of a new life. So it was really important that this place felt aspirational, that it was beautiful.
“But, at the same time, it felt very real. I wanted it to feel authentic. Within our village, we do have an old part to the town, which we filmed in Dunlop, south of Glasgow. That is the heart along with the church. That’s the heart of the community.”
Lee went on to say: “The locations I’ve enjoyed filming at are those ones that sort of really give a sense of the scale to the series because television is smoke and mirrors. We’re creating fiction, and many of our locations are not in the Highlands. But I guess what gives me joy is when we have been to Glen Fruin or to Loch Lomond… That gives a real sense of what John and Fiona had in their mind’s eye when they were thinking about uprooting their family from London and moving to the Scottish Highlands.”
Why was the series filmed in Glasgow?
Talking about the inspiration for the thriller, writer David Ireland said: “I wrote the first episode in 2020, which was a very strange year for everyone. I was having trouble sleeping and I would write really late in the middle of the night. The things that were on my mind then are in the first couple of episodes, the obsessive running, I was reading the bible obsessively as well. I was also reading lots of true crime books. My wife and I were talking about moving out of Glasgow and into the countryside, as many others were in 2020 so all of those things were in the mix and I had an idea.
“I really like thrillers about urban men being put in situations in rural settings where they’re out of their depth. Stuff like Straw Dogs and Eden Lake. I thought I’d really like to just write a TV series that’s a really great thriller about a man who’s in a violent situation and out of his depth.”
Welsh actress Eve Myles, who was filming in Glasgow for the first time, added: “My father was Glaswegian and I have so much family here. So, for the first time, to come to Glasgow and work has been a real personal treat. People have been amazing. The locations have been jaw- droppingly gorgeous. And it’s a perfect backdrop for this wonderful, wacky, eccentric new series.”
Coldwater on ITV filming locations include Loch Lomond
Executive producers Lydia Hampson and Alice Tyler described what it was like creating the world of Coldwater.
Alice said: “The sets for John and Fiona’s house, and that of Tommy and Rebecca, are just amazing. We all wanted to move into them ourselves. They look beautiful and lived in, but distinctive and unusual. And they are inspired by and based on two real houses that really do sit side by side, sort of on each other’s shoulders. And we love that sort of idea of voyeurism and peeping Tom-ness. I guess, that comes with that proximity between the two spaces.”
Describing her favourite filming locations used for the ITV thriller Coldwater, Alice continued:”Therapist William’s house is on a beautiful hill overlooking Loch Lomond. The landscape around it is amazing. It’s got these amazing big glass windows that look out onto it.”
