In ITV’s thrilling new series, Coldwater, this idyllic looking town is hiding secrets behind every door you walk through – something John (Andrew Lincoln) discovers all too late.
When John and wife Fiona (Indira Varma) move there from London, they want a fresh start somewhere quiet and safe with their two children.
However, while it initially looks that way, soon John finds himself entangled in a series of horrific acts that he can’t get himself out of. But the events are made all the more worse by the feel of the warm and inviting village and their friendly locals.
"I wrote the first episode in 2020, during the lockdown," said writer David Ireland. "I was obsessively running and obsessively reading the Bible and obsessively reading true crime books, and my wife and I were talking about moving to the countryside.
"All that fed its way in, so every time I watch it, I see something different. I think it’s about faith. I think it’s about community."
Here’s what you need to know about where the show was filmed.
Where was Coldwater filmed? All the major locations
Thankfully, Coldwater is a fictional Scottish town, created just for the show. The location was therefore a composite of areas in and around Glasgow.
Speaking of the decision to set the story there, Ireland explained: “I’ve always loved small towns in Scotland and I’ve always wanted to live in one but never had the chance to.
“I love a lot of small towns in Northern Ireland so Coldwater is my little fantasy. You’ve got the beautiful Church, beautiful coffee shops… it's an idealised version of rural Scotland.
“Everybody is friendly, and a little bit strange. Everyone knows your business and people don’t seem to judge you, but maybe they do.
“My life bringing up a family in Scotland, I was trying to get away from writing about violence, tribalism and identity and all the issues in my other work, but I couldn’t escape it,” he added.
Eve Myles, who plays John and Fiona's neighbour Rebecca, also discussed how the setting ties into Ireland's narrative (via The Mirror).
"I think the lay of the land and the precinct is incredibly important to this because the character John runs away from the hustle and bustle of London and is running away from his problems only to land in the jaw of the biggest monster of his life in this idyllic, beautiful setting that intoxicates us with its beauty and the mystery of it," she said. "And how ethereal the land is in Scotland, only to find what John and his family find in a tiny, tiny nook of it.
"So it's about not judging things by its cover but the cover is very enticing and seductive."
Myles added: "What the show does really well is that it goes against any sorts of expectations and surprises you with those reveals."
Ewen Bremner, who plays Rebecca's husband Tommy, went on to talk about the "power" that Scotland holds "in the minds of Southerners, especially in London", adding: "It has ancient, mythical significance."
Speaking to The Sunday Post, he said that is was "really pleasurable to see how much Eve, Indira and Andrew fell in love with Glasgow".
"They just completely fell head over heels," he continued.
"And we were eating some fantastic food. We'd all very frequently be meeting up after work to have a nice meal."
Here’s a breakdown of the main areas they used.
Dunlop, East Ayrshire
Dunlop is a small village around 20 miles southeast of Glasgow city. It is where the main external scenes were filmed of Coldwater, and is home to the church, which proves central to the community on the show.
The area prides itself on local produce, including its own cheese shop, as well as a selection of independently owned stores, and of course, the local pub, The Smuggler’s Inn.
Director Lee Haven Jones said of the village: “The key thing for me was to make the place as real as possible. We have to understand why John and Fiona want to live in this rather lovely village, because they’ve come from London and they’re in search of a new life.
“So it was really important that this place felt aspirational, that it was beautiful. But at the same time, it felt very real.”
Glen Fruin and Loch Lomond
For the more scenic scenes, the team used Glen Fruin to capture the picturesque nature of Scotland, with valleys, streams and woodland.
It is located adjacent to Loch Lomond, a freshwater lake that’s part of the Trossachs National Park.
While on the show it is part of the village, in reality it is northwest of Glasgow, and approximately 40 miles north of Dunlop, where the show films its external village scenes.
Coldwater premieres on ITV1 at 9pm on Sunday 14th September 2025.
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