There are many memorable filming locations in Karen Pirie series 2, and that’s even before they reach the Mediterranean for the episode two cliffhanger.

What stately home was really used for Sir Brodie’s castle? Where was the nightclub where Cat Grant met Mick Prentice? Where did the kidnapping take place? And which island stood in for Italy?

Here’s a brief guide to where you’ll find some of those locations.

*** Warning – spoilers ahead ***

All the foreign filming in Karen Pirie series 2 was in Malta… even the scenes in Italy!

At the very end of episode two we see Adam – now going by the name Gabriel Porteous – quickly departing Italy in a private boat, bound for Malta (though we only find out about Malta in the next episode).

Then in episode three, Mint and Isla go to Italy in search of Mick, Adam and Andy. After they interview the terminally ill Andy, though, Andy calls Mick and tells him to get out of Italy quickly. So Mick follows Adam to Malta (which doesn’t have a formal expedition treaty with the UK) with the cops in pursuit. And Malta’s where much of the episode takes place.

And the production crew did film in Malta, most notably around the Grand Harbour area, Valetta and the fortified city of Senglea. All of which look very worth a visit in the episode.

But there was no filming in Italy. All the Italian scenes were filmed in Malta too, including Mick’s countryside cottage, which was shot in one of the more rural areas of the island country. There’s a distinct patchwork, tree-deficient look to Malta’s non-urban areas that’s a dead giveaway.

Malta is becoming quite a popular filming location for British dramas – all series of Channel 5  cosy crime drama The Madame Blanc Mysteries are filmed here, as was its channel mate The Wives.

Sir Brodie’s castle

In the first episode, Brodie’s loyal aide Susan welcomes Karen to Rotheswell Castle. The actual castle used for filming, though, was Birkhill Castle, the residence of the Earl of Dundee, located on the banks of the River Tay, a short drive from St. Andrews.

The cave where the ransom is paid

The caves where Brodie meets Mick to hand over the ransom money is named as East Rotheswell Head in the show, but the filming actually took place at Caiplie Caves near Crail in Fife.

Now, Wemyss Caves, further down south along the coast towards Kirkaldy, actually feature in Val McDermid’s A Darker Domain, the book that series two is based on (a place where she used to play as a child). But clearly Caiplie Caves worked better for the production team.

Karen Pirie series 2 filming locations: Our heroine’s house

Karen and Rivers’s rather quaint, harbour-side terraced cottage was shot on Shore Street next to Cellardyke harbour, Fife. It’s at the far end of this image on the left.

The night club where Mick Prentice is a bouncer

The exterior of the nightclub where Mick Prentice and Cat Grant first meet is actually the Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline.

However, the interior was shot in Barrowlands, Glasgow.

Read more: Karen Pirie series 2 full overview

The fish and chip shop at the start of Karen Pirie series 2, episode 1

The fish and chip shop where Cat Grant and her bestie Bonnie are eating at the very start of the series is located in Inverkeithing, Fife.

And while in the show it only looks like that a few short steps from where she’s abducted a short while later, the kidnapping actually takes place a few miles further south down the Fife coast, next to the railway bridge in Kinghorn.

Karen Pirie series 2 filming locations: One spot relevant to Val McDermid

We know there was some filming too on a road called Howard Place in Dysart but we’re not 100% sure where it was used in the show – our best bet is the place where Karen goes to arrest Cameron Murdoch, the guy who steals her laptop and hard drive. He make a run for it (that red door behind Val posing with the cast and crew looks like the door he runs through when he makes a blot for it).

The main reason we’re mentioning it is because Val McDermid turned up for filming that day, because her relatives used to live in that street in the 1990s. Here’s her Facebook post about it at the time.

Karen Pirie series 1 & 2 are both available to stream on ITVX