# Bourne Wood

51°11′28″N 0°46′41″W﻿ / ﻿51.191°N 0.778°W﻿ / 51.191; -0.778
Bourne Wood (also known as Bourne Woods) is an area of predominantly coniferous woodland just south of Farnham, Surrey, England; the area is often used as a film location. Near to another area also used as a film location (Hankley Common in Elstead), locally it was known as The Clumps, and was called this until Forestry England changed the name in the 1950s when fire breaks were introduced. Charles Darwin may have written about the area in Appendices of Natural Selection, describing the trees in clumps. A promontory (rise) above a large heathland clearing (used for the filming of Gladiator) provides views over the surrounding woodland. Much of the wood was formerly heathland at the western end of the Greensand Ridge that was developed privately during the 20th century as commercial conifer plantations. This part of the wood has been purchased by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and is being restored mainly to heath, with retention of some woodland of wildlife significance, as Farnham Heath nature reserve. Their aim is to benefit scarce heathland species such as nightjar, woodlark, Dartford warbler and tree pipit as well as species such as sand lizard.

## Location for filming

Since 1999, part of Bourne Wood has been frequently used as a location for filming movies, television series and music videos, most notably the opening battle scenes of the film Gladiator which helped the location to gain popularity. The Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, was also filmed here for the battle at Rook's Rest. In addition, television adverts for products such as Marmite and IKEA have been filmed at the woods.
In September 2012, Forestry England announced plans to allow filming to take place in the Bourne Wood for up to eight months a year, noting that the site was a "nationally strategic film industry resource". In October 2013, Waverley Borough Council's planning committee granted permission for filming to be allowed at Bourne Wood for up to six months in one year or eight months over two years, with night filming for no more than seven days a year. Use of helicopters during filming will require additional permission from the council. Temporary structures may not exceed 25 m in height. The decision will be reviewed after five years.
In chronological order, the following productions have included scenes filmed in the Bourne Wood. All films are feature films unless otherwise stated.
| Title | Release | Set construction and filming | Notes |
| It Ain't Half Hot Mum | 1974–1981 | | British sitcom. Jungle scenes were filmed at the Bourne Wood. |
| Gladiator | 2000 | January–February 1999 | The opening battle scenes in the forests of Germania were shot here. |
| The Man Who Cried | 2000 | | |
| Band of Brothers | 2001 | | Miniseries |
| Storm | 2001 | | Short film |
| The Scientist | 2002 | | Music video |
| Gladiatress | 2004 | | |
| Foyle's War series 4: Bad Blood | 2006 | April–May 2005 | Detective drama television series |
| Children of Men | 2006 | | |
| The Golden Compass | 2007 | | |
| Inkheart | 2008 | | |
| We Call Her Daisy | 2008 | | Short film |
| The Descent Part 2 | 2009 | | |
| Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince | 2009 | | |
| Burke & Hare | 2010 | March 2010 | |
| Robin Hood | 2010 | May–August 2009 | Setting for the siege of Chalus Castle at the start of the film. |
| The Wolfman | 2010 | | |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | 2010 | | |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | 2011 | | |
| Captain America: The First Avenger | 2011 | | |
| War Horse | 2011 | | |
| Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | 2011 | | |
| Dark Shadows | 2012 | June–July 2011 | |
| Jack the Giant Slayer | 2013 | January–March 2011 | |
| Snow White and the Huntsman | 2012 | August–September 2011 | Setting for the battle between King Magnus and an army of demonic glass soldiers near the beginning of the film. |
| Thor: The Dark World | 2013 | August–September 2012 | Setting for the battle on Vanaheim near the beginning of the film. |
| Avengers: Age of Ultron | 2015 | June–July 2014 | The opening car chase scene was shot here, including parts of the assault on the Hydra base. |
| Transformers: The Last Knight | 2016 | October 2016 | Parts of the Merlin and Dragonstorm battle scene were shot here. |
| Wonder Woman | 2017 | August 2016 | |
| Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | 2018 | |
| The Old Guard | 2020 | July–August 2019 | |
| The Witcher Season 2 | 2021 | February and November 2020 | |
| Citadel | 2023 | March 2021 | Episode 3 |
| Napoleon | 2023 | March 2022 | The Battle of Auserlitz, with scenes shot here visible in the trailer from 2:08 to 2:24. |
| Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | | June 2023 | |
| House of the Dragon | 2024 | August 2023 | Episode, The Red Dragon and the Gold. Location for the Battle at Rook's Rest. |
| Renegade Nell | 2024 | | Miniseries |
| Citadel (TV Series) Season 2 | | September-November 2024 | Two sets, a supermarket and farmhouse |

## Wartime

During the Second World War a searchlight post was established in the woodland, the concrete base of which is marked and still visible today. Three structures were erected by Canadian soldiers in the northernmost section of the woods bordering Dene Lane, consisting of a mess hut and barracks for those manning the searchlight. Two of these buildings became separate dwellings owned by Forestry England providing accommodation for employees before becoming private houses.

## Other

Much of the wood was formerly heathland at the western end of the Greensand Ridge that was developed privately during the 20th century as commercial conifer plantations.
The headwaters of the Wey (west branch) converging on the town to the north are locally known also as The Bourne, which accordingly has helped to name Lower Bourne, a ward and neighbourhood of Farnham.
Two round tumuli are east and south-east of Forest Cottage in the wood. They are late Bronze Age, 21 m and 26 m in diameter and 1.7 m and 2 m high and one has suffered some disturbance in the centre and the south-eastern quadrant. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This is no longer visible at ground level, having become infilled over the years, and can be seen in a geophysical survey as a buried feature about 3 m wide.