Netflix’s The Stranger filming locations include Ancoats Coffee Company, Café at the Cathedral, The French at The Midland Hotel, Grand Pacific, Martholme Viaduct, Market Place and Mersey Square in Stockport, Piccadilly Plaza, Monton Sports Club, and in Didsbury.
They portray the fictional town of Cedarfield, home to the Price family - a regular suburban family whose world is turned upside down when a stranger reveals a startling secret.
The series is based on Harlan Coben’s novel, The Stranger, and was released on Netflix in February 2020. It’s one of many thrillers by the author that’s been adapted by the streaming service – and some of the filming locations overlap too.
Where Was the Stranger Filmed?
Harlan Coben’s The Stranger was filmed at The Midland Hotel, Café at the Cathedral, Manchester Cathedral, St Peter’s Square, Grand Pacific, City Tower, Royal Mills, Park End House and Pine House in Manchester, Stockport Market and Plaza Theatre, Bury’s Peel Memorial, Monton Sports club in Eccles, Bolton’s Moor Lane Bus Station, Stockport railway station, Martholme viaduct and around the local areas.
Where is Cedarfield?
Cedarfield in Harlan Coben’s The Stranger on Netflix is in the north west of England. All of the limited series was filmed in the area, including Manchester’s Piccadilly and Ancoats, Didsbury, Stockport town centre, Spinningfields, Bolton and Great Harwood in Lancashire.
Karaoke Party
The Midland Hotel, Manchester by Phil and Juliette Platt, CC BY-SA 2.0
The bar where Corinne’s karaoke scene was filmed is Adam Reid at The French, a fine dining restaurant at The Midland Hotel. And it’s not the first time the venue has appeared onscreen. Adam Reid is a Great British Menu winner, while the restaurant appeared on Restaurant Wars under its previous leadership. The hotel has even starred in its own Channel 5 documentary.
Covered Market
Deserted Stockport Market Place by Gerald England, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Stranger’s covered market filming location is Stockport Market, Market Place in Stockport, which has been running for 700 years. Today’s glass-covered market was built in 1861, and houses around 50 independent sellers.
It appears throughout the Netflix series, and it’s suggested that it’s around the corner from the Brown Sugar Café. Though we know otherwise – read on for the real coffee shop location.
Brown Sugar Café
The Brown Sugar Café is really Café at the Cathedral on Cateaton Street. Heidi’s (Jennifer Saunders) café is another Manchester filming location in The Stranger, and as the name suggests, the real coffee shop location is close to the cathedral.
The Stranger’s café scenes were filmed in March 2019, with Café at the Cathedral sharing an update. During the shoot, the café reopened with several props and the Brown Sugar Café branding still visible. So some patrons were lucky enough to visit this fictional café!
The Cathedral
Manchester Cathedral. Suicasmo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Look out for Manchester Cathedral in The Stranger. This Manchester city centre filming location appears during the investigation at the Brown Sugar Café. While the earlier shots focus on Heidi’s comings and goings from her café, the cathedral is shown clearly as the police arrive on the scene.
It’s free to visit this Gothic cathedral (but a donation is recommended) – check the Manchester Cathedral website for opening times.
The Memorial
The Stranger’s grisly alpaca scene was filmed at the Peel Memorial in Bury, close to Bury Parish Church. Filming for the Harlan Coben thriller took place in March 2019, with the Bury Times sharing photos of the shoot in progress. In the scene, DS Johanna Griffin (Siobham Finneran) and DC Wesley Ross (Kadif Kirwan) investigate before clues are unveiled through flashbacks.
The Cinema
The Plaza, Stockport. Ian S, CC BY-SA 2.0
The cinema location in the Stranger is the Plaza Cinema on Mersey Square in Stockport. This Grade II-listed Art Deco theatre and cinema that was built in 1932, and is still an entertainment venue today. Look out for its distinctive period details in shots of the stranger at her workplace. If you can take your attention away from the plot’s twists and turns, you can see the foyer clearly.
Cedarfield Bus Station
The Stranger’s bus station location is Moor Lane Bus Station in Bolton. According to The Bolton News, The Stranger filmed scenes in Bolton in April 2019. But you’ll struggle to catch a bus from Moor Lane. It’s now defunct, and the former bus station land is set for redevelopment.
The Arches
St. Peter's Square, Manchester by Richard Cooke, CC BY-SA 2.0
The arches where Heidi (Jennifer Saunders) and Kimberley (Callie Cooke) talk in The Stranger are on St Peter’s Square. They’re part of Manchester Central Library. Built in the 1930s, the library is open to visitors and hosts community events, book launches and tours.
Adam and Corinne’s House
The Price family’s house in The Stranger is Park End House in Didsbury, Manchester. It’s a regular family home, if a grand one. Interior and exterior scenes were all filmed at Park End House, showing off its impressive rooms as well as the spacious garden. For the curious, The Standard found out more about the house and its recent owners.
The Tripp Family’s House
Pine House. Copyright Wikimedia Commons
In The Stranger, the Tripp family’s house location is the Pine House, also in Didsbury. The area is highly sought-after. This particular home dates back to around 1840, with Gothic details helping it to earn Grade II-listed status.
Cedarfield Football Club
The real Cedarfield Sports Club location is Monton Sports Club on Welbeck Road in Eccles. Monton Sports Club is seen at the start of The Stranger when Adam Price is approached beside the football pitch.
Looks familiar? It also appears in the 2023 Harlan Coben thriller Fool Me Once, where it’s also the scene of a confrontation or two. Look out for the same club when Maya argues with the football coach, and in later episodes.
Courtyard Cafe
The café where Adam (Richard Armitage) discusses the phone mystery is Ancoats Coffee Company in Ancoats.
The converted industrial building is the old Royal Mills – a century-old former cotton mill that sits alongside the Rochdale Canal. Nowadays, it’s mostly residential, with apartments showing off the building’s historic beams alongside contemporary fixtures and fittings. Screen Manchester shared a photo of the shoot in progress back in 2019.
City Centre Cafe
The city centre café where Ed Price (Anthony Head) is punched is Philpotts in City Tower, Manchester. City Tower is in Piccadilly Plaza on New York Street, which is lined with high rise office buildings.
We see more of the surrounding area at the end of the scene. After he’s injured at the end of the meeting, he chases the stranger out of City Tower and crosses New York Street. It looks like this café is supposed to be near his office.
Cedarfield School
Bolton School. Plucas58, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Stranger school location is Bolton School on Chorley New Road in Bolton. It’s an independent day school that was once attended by Sir Ian McKellen. Richard Armitage shared a behind the scenes snap of Bolton School when The Stranger was released on Netflix in February 2020.
Train Station
The Stranger’s railway station location is Stockport train station. In the Netflix drama, the family think they’ve reached a turning point when Corinne’s phone is detected at the railway station. A frantic dash ensues, as they try to catch the tracking signal before the train departs.
Stockport station has been in operation since 1843, though the destinations it serves have changed over the years. These days, commuters can catch a ride to the likes of Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street, London Euston and Bournemouth.
Viaduct
Steve Houldsworth / Martholme Viaduct
The viaduct filming location in The Stranger on Netflix is the Martholme Viaduct in Great Harwood, Lancashire. In the Harlan Coben series, the family have just missed the train passing by and Corinne’s phone has stopped moving part way along the track.
In reality, the railway viaduct is no longer operational. Its upper level is now used as a walking route, with local signage telling its history along the way.
The Hotel Bar
The Stranger’s hotel bar location where the police set a trap for the Kimberley’s client is the Grand Pacific at 50 Spring Gardens in Manchester. In the 8-part Netflix series, it’s portrayed as a hotel bar. It’s actually a good approximation, because the Manchester’s Grand Pacific is inspired by the legendary Raffles Hotel Bar in Singapore.
And it has quite a history of its own. The building was once home to the Reform Club, where it was frequented by Manchester’s politicians and society figures.