Rain Dogs filming location like Trug Flowers, Shepton Mallet Prison, Bedminster Bridge, Piccadilly Circus, Abbotswood, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Horton Common and St Michael on the Mount Without.
Aspiring author Costello Jones (Daisy May Cooper) struggle by, making money any way she can while she writes the book that could change her life. Until that day comes, she’s navigating the seedier side of London while trying to keep her daughter, Iris (Fleur Tashjan) out of the chaos.
She makes her way through life with the help of her friends Selby (Jack Farthing), newly released from prison, and Gloria (Ronke Adekoluejo).
Where Was Rain Dogs Filmed?
Rain Dogs was filmed on location in Bristol, Wrington, Abbotswood, Shepton Mallet and around London, and at Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios.
Rain Dogs Locations
Costello’s Flat
Bedminster Bridge and Flats. Bedminster Bridge over the River Avon by Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0
The block of flats location in Rain Dogs is at Bedminster Bridge in Bristol – What’s Filming in Bristol? picked up on the location in 2022.
In Episode 1, Costello and Iris are evicted from their flat. They’re seen running through the building before emerging onto the street and taking a taxi to Iris’s school.
Phone Box
Gloria’s phone box in Episode 1 is in Piccadilly Circus. Rain Dogs only features the area by the Eros statue, but Piccadilly Circus recently starred in an epic action sequence in Netflix’s Luther: The Fallen Sun.
Prison
Shepton Mallet Prison. Rodw, CC BY-SA 4.0
We think Selby’s prison in Rain Dogs is Shepton Mallet Prison. The former prison has become a popular visitor attraction and filming location. You can see the prison filming location in everything from Des to Grantchester and Paddington 2.
Chinatown
London’s real Chinatown appears in Rain Dogs Episode 1. Look out for the area around Lisle Street as Selby makes his way to the gambling den after his release from prison.
Car Park
The car park where Costello approaches Simon (Karl Pilkington) is in Abbotswood in Yate, South Gloucestershire.
In Rain Dogs, Costello smokes at one end of the car park before approaching Simon to ask for her old job back. This location really is a car park, but you can’t see the real local business names in the BBC comedy-drama.
Church Food Bank
We think the church food bank location in Rain Dogs Episode 6 is St Michael on the Mount Without in Bristol. The church filming location appears at the start of the episode, with Costello queueing up at the food bank’s trestle tables before meeting an old acquaintance.
She talks about the ups and downs of her and Selby’s move to the country. The Grave II-listed church was gutted by fire in 2016, and has been renovated as an events and filming space.
Though the building has the features of a church, you can St Michael on the Mount Without’s unusual interior in the scene. A church has stood on St Michael's Hill since the days of the Normans, and the tower is around half a century old.
The rest of the building dates back to the 18th Century, narrowly surviving the Blitz before closed its doors in 1999. The Grave II-listed church was gutted by fire in 2016, prompting its renovation and new life as an events and filming space.
Art Gallery
Art Gallery and Museum - Bristol by Anthony O'Neil, CC BY-SA 2.0
Rain Dogs’ art gallery location is the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. Look out for the European Old Masters Gallery in Episode 7, as Costello discusses her much-anticipated book.
The gallery filming location’s red walls and Old Masters paintings suggest Costello and Iris are in the National Gallery’s Room 32. But the pew-like wooden benches they’re sitting on are distinctive to Bristol.
Sunset Park
The Sunset Park location in Rain Dogs is near Chipping Sodbury. Filming took place near Old Sodbury and Horton Common, with officials warning locals not to worry about the mess. In the scene, Costello, Gloria and Iris drive the hearse full of assorted possessions to the countryside.
The Bookshop
Rain Dogs’ bookshop location is Trug Flowers in Wrington, Somerset. The florist became a bookshop for the May 2022 shoot, with locals catching the temporary signage on camera. When the Daisy May Cooper series first aired in spring 2023, Trug Flowers confirmed the news.