Where Was Magpie Murders Filmed?

The short answer

Magpie Murders was filmed in Suffolk and around Dublin, with Kersey supplying Saxby-on-Avon and Glenmaroon House and two DCU campuses among its named Irish locations. London also appears in the wider production coverage. For a first visit, Kersey is the simplest place to recognise the fictional village outdoors. Dublin rewards a separate trip built around public attractions and the neighbourhoods used by the production.

The series moves between Susan Ryeland’s contemporary investigation and the village in Alan Conway’s manuscript. Editing draws those places together, but the real filming areas are separated by an international journey. Plan Suffolk and Ireland as different parts of a holiday. This guide keeps the story spoiler-free and points you towards the Magpie series guide if you want to remember the characters before travelling.

Kersey: the real Saxby-on-Avon

Kersey in Suffolk provides the village exteriors for Saxby-on-Avon. Its street descends towards a ford and rises again towards the church, making the shape of the village as memorable as any individual façade. The public streets can be explored independently. Houses, gardens and private parking are not part of a visitor attraction, even where a building appears on screen.

Begin with a view along the street, then approach the ford using safe pedestrian space. Cross by the pedestrian route and look back at how the buildings frame the water. Continue towards the church only as far as conditions and permitted access allow. A return along the same street gives a different perspective without inventing a complicated trail through private lanes.

The Screen Suffolk account describes the village’s temporary transformation for filming. Period dressing helped create the television world; it did not turn Kersey into a permanent set. Come for the real streetscape rather than expecting the fictional business signs to remain. The village’s slopes and wet surfaces deserve care, especially around the crossing.

The Bell Inn: the Queen’s Arms exterior

The Bell Inn was dressed as the Queen’s Arms for the programme. It belongs within the Kersey walk, so there is no reason to plan a second car journey just to see its frontage. Look from lawful public space and keep the entrance clear. The useful comparison is between the real building and the production’s exterior dressing.

Do not make the pub your guaranteed lunch stop without confirming current service directly. The existing guide does not promise that it is serving food or that its parking is available to sightseers. A booked meal in Hadleigh or another nearby town makes a safer basis for the day. Even a quick photograph should not interfere with a doorway, traffic or private activity.

River House beside the ford

River House is another documented part of the Kersey shoot. The building consultancy Whitworth, which worked on the property, described its involvement with the production. The house’s setting beside the ford is the part you can appreciate from the public village route. It is a private building, not an open house museum.

The Whitworth account is also useful background for its conservation history. Read that before visiting if you are interested in the building itself. Do not approach the door, look through windows or enter works to see more. A broad view of the house, water and street is both more considerate and more revealing of why the village works on television.

Glenmaroon House: two fictional identities

Glenmaroon House, near Phoenix Park in Dublin, plays Abbey Grange and Pye Hall. The site’s PBS production source explains that double use. A change in dressing can give one building different meanings in the contemporary and manuscript stories, which is a rewarding detail to notice when you watch again.

Glenmaroon is private, with no routine public filming tour offered in this guide. Do not travel to its entrance expecting admission. Instead, build a west-Dublin outing around Phoenix Park and nearby Farmleigh, then read about the house’s television role alongside that visit. Farmleigh is a different property: its visitor access does not extend to Glenmaroon, and the two names should never be treated as interchangeable.

Farmleigh and Phoenix Park: the public part of the day

Farmleigh provides a real public destination near Glenmaroon’s wider setting. Heritage Ireland says the house is closed for the rest of 2026, while the grounds remain open daily from 10am to 6pm, with last entry at 5pm. Checked 19 October 2026. Recheck the notice for your date rather than planning around an old house-tour listing.

Choose a comfortable section of the grounds, then continue into Phoenix Park if you have the energy and daylight. A public visitor-centre or café stop gives the outing a practical focus. The park is large, so choose a definite entrance and finish point. A pin near Glenmaroon does not tell you where a visitor should park, enter or arrange a taxi pickup.

DCU: All Hallows and St Patrick’s

The university’s filming information names All Hallows and St Patrick’s as Magpie locations. Our DCU guide brings those two Drumcondra campuses together. They are distinct from the main Glasnevin campus, so save the correct names before travelling. Their mixture of older and newer buildings helps explain the attraction for a story with two periods.

These are working university sites. Use the public neighbourhood and any areas explicitly open to visitors; teaching rooms and accommodation are not available merely because a door is open. A production credit does not identify every fictional room, so enjoy the architecture without assigning an unsupported scene to a building. Keep students and staff out of close-up photographs and follow instructions if access changes.

Two practical outings, rather than one long trail

For Suffolk: make Kersey the morning visit, with the Bell and River House included in the same circuit. Continue to Hadleigh for lunch and a town walk. If you want a longer heritage day, add Lavenham as a separate stop, leaving enough time for the return. Hadleigh and Lavenham are useful additions to the holiday; they do not need to be presented as further Magpie filming locations.

For Dublin: give Phoenix Park and Farmleigh one outing, then reserve another for Drumcondra and the DCU area. The Ireland location guide helps keep those areas separate. A city-centre museum or meal can fill the gap when the weather changes. Avoid planning an itinerary whose success depends on getting inside a private filming property.

For public transport, check Transport for Ireland for your actual destination and travel date. In Suffolk, consult Suffolk On Board and arrange any taxi connection in advance. A service to Hadleigh does not automatically reach Kersey, and neither a village nor campus map guarantees convenient parking.

Choose your base

Search stays around Hadleigh and Kersey for the Suffolk part of the trip. Compare the exact location against your transport plan rather than relying on a broad area name. For Ireland, compare Dublin accommodation with an eye to the attractions and station connections you actually plan to use.

Pack for outdoor walking and a change of weather, and save venue details before leaving your accommodation. If you want a companion for the evening, Anthony Horowitz’s novel offers the original nested mystery. Read the book comparisons after finishing the story if you want to keep the surprise.

Keep the original novel’s ending for the journey home if you are still watching.