Question, what is The Vicar of Dibley? For those living in England, this is an easy answer. For those outside of these islands and don’t have BBC Worldwide in their homes in Canada, USA, Australia and many other countries, then there is going to be a response of ‘meh, what are you talking about?’. Well let me explain. Thirty years ago on the 10th November 1994, a new comedy came to our screens called ‘The Vicar of Dibley’ which is based on the character, Vicar Geraldine Granger who is played by Dawn French. She was assigned to become a female vicar in the village of Dibley. Now you are thinking that isn’t a bad thing, it actually happens commonplace these days, however when the show started out in 1994, a year before that in England, the Church of England permitted the ordination of women which allows them to become vicars. During the first episode when Geraldine turns up at the village and meets the local councillor David Horton, there was uproar. This then becomes the theme of the comedy and eventually over the years, everyone gets to love Geraldine and she is at the heart of the village community.
Now why am I writing a post on The Vicar of Dibley? This is a travel blog…right? Well, yes, I wanted to write about one of my favourite all-time comedy television shows which celebrates its 30th anniversary since the first screening this week and write about where it is filmed. I visited the village as a day trip with Olga and our youngest Isabella (who was a few months old at the time) during the Covid-19 lockdown back in 2020 (Amelie was at school and didn’t come with us). The village where it is filmed was only a one hour drive from our home in Stevenage so we thought, let's do it. Let's check out the place where the show was filmed.
Turville is the village in Buckinghamshire where the series was filmed. Located five miles west of High Wycombe and easy to get to from the M40 motorway (via a village called Christmas Common, of course we stopped there for a photo), the village was well known around the world about the girl called Ellen Sadler (going off course here, this bit isn’t Vicar of Dibley). Ellen fell asleep in 1871 when she was eleven years old and did not wake up for nine years. She became known as the Sleeping Girl of Turville. The case attracted international attention, public and medical professionals. In late 1880, soon after her mother's death, Ellen awoke. She later married and had at least five children.
Back to Dibley. On the television series, Dibley is set in the middle of rural Oxfordshire but as you already know by reading this, it was filmed in Turville, Buckinghamshire. Walking around the village we noticed several historic stone and timber houses around the village green. Because of this, the village wasn’t just used in the Vicar of Dibley, but also other films such as the 1942 film, Went the Day Well?. The scene of German paratroopers invading a small English village was filmed here in Turville. Then the 1963 comedy, Father Came Too! A lot of scenes were filmed here. There is a windmill which overlooks Turville on a hilltop and this was used in the film, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Small scenes have also been filmed for television series like Midsomer Murders, Lewis, Marple, Foyle’s War, Little Britain, Jonathan Creek, Killing Eve. The list goes on.
The show is known for its witty opening and closing credits. The opening credits in the earlier episodes were always followed by a humorous village scene, the best one ever for me was a woman knitting directly from a sheep. After the closing credits, Geraldine usually tells Alice a joke, which Alice either overreacts to, tries to interpret literally, or understands only after Geraldine explains it. There are a few exceptions to this in various episodes. There were jokes like:
“One nun says to the other ‘Show him your cross’. So, the nun opens the window and yells, ‘Get off my bonnet you toothy git’.”
And
“There’s a vicar playing golf with his friend John. John misses a three-foot putt, and he says: ‘Damn it, I missed the bugger’. “The vicar tuts and says ‘John, if you say that once more then God will open up the heavens and send a thunderbolt to strike you dead’.
“But then John misses a two-foot putt, and he says: ‘Damn it, I missed the bugger.’
“So, the heavens open, a great big thunderbolt comes down and strikes the vicar dead, and God says, ‘Damn it, I missed the bugger’.”
And
“What happens if you cross a turkey with an octopus? Everyone gets a leg at Christmas,”
And
“Why did the lobster blush? Because the sea weed,”
Walking around the village we took in where all the outdoor scenes were shot. The church of St Mary the Virgin was renamed St Barnabas for the show and many scenes were filmed here.
Geraldine Granger’s home, the Vicarage is located very close to the church and is known as ‘Old Beams Cottage’.
Other sites around the village during our walk which was also used during filming:
At the beginning of the lovely village, is the black and white timbered Bull and Butcher Inn. The Bull and Butcher Inn has a long history and an interesting name. The building dates from 1550, but did not become licensed premises until 1617, when workmen, rebuilding the church, refused to continue unless ale and food were supplied to them.
The ale house was originally known as, “The Bullen Butcher”, but has been corrupted over the centuries to create a name associated with meat – “The Bull and Butcher”. ‘Bullen’ is derived from Ann Bullen, who became Ann Boleyn at the French Court. The “Butcher” is, of course, Henry VIII, who had his wife beheaded.
When we came here for lunch, we loved the cosy feel of the place. We came in midweek so the place was pretty quiet. I had to try their Steak and Ale pie which was absolutely delicious. I can see why this pub gets rave reviews and gets a lot of visitors.
Another filming location is actually in the opening credits where there are aerial views of the Chiltern Hills and also the M40 between junctions 5-6. Couldn’t really stop here for a quick shot, because it is not allowed and I probably would have caused a crash but who wants a photo of lanes of tarmac with a traffic jam on top?
We spent a couple of hours here and I kinda wanted to stay for a bit longer and do a small hike into the Chiltern Hills but this wasn’t possible that day. Walking around I was thinking about where the scenes were shot for the show. I couldn’t believe I actually made it to Dibley. I don’t usually do filming locations but when I do, they are for excellent shows and films. But at the same time I was thinking about the characters in the show and the actors/actresses who played them. There are only two members of the surviving cast left and that is Geraldine Granger (Dawn French) and Hugo Horton (James Fleet). Since the series first aired, Letitia Cropley (Liz Smith), Cllr David Horton (Gary Waldhorn), Alice Horton (Emma Chambers), Owen Newitt (Roger Lloyd-Pack), Jim Trott (Trevor Peacock), and Frank Pickle (John Bluthal) have all passed away. Without those people, the show wouldn’t have been a success. All these characters made the show and gelled well which for me, made this an outstanding success. Because of this, repeats on U&Gold and BBC every Christmas makes this one of the best British comedies ever.
Essential information on how to get to The Vicar of Dibley
How to get to Turville: Turville is located a few miles south of Junction 5 of the M40 motorway (which runs between North-West London and Birmingham). Take the 1st exit on the roundabout and follow the road through Ibstone and Fingest. Turn right at the t-junction in Fingest and then follow signs for TUrville which lies one mile west of Fingest. There is no public transport to the village so you would need a car, or grab a taxi from High Wycombe (which is the nearest town). High Wycombe also has a train station which runs between London Marylebone, Birmingham, Oxford and Bicester Village.
Nearest airports are all the London ones such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Southend and City. The first place I would go to find airline tickets to the city is using (I would recommend) Skyscanner to find flights as that is my first point of call. Then if necessary use the airlines directly to find a good deal. I sometimes use Momondo as well to compare prices before booking.
Car Rentals - as I do a lot of road trips around the world, I use Rentalcars.com which is very reliable for booking car hire in advance. I also use Turo (the airbnb of car rentals) and never had a problem with them. The cars are insured, owners vetted and never had an issue.
Accommodation: There are a lot of accommodation options and a lot of websites which can do some great deals. My first point of call is always Booking.com and can offer a range of hostels, hotels, campsites, apartments, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts.. After that I always have a look through AirBnb and Vrbo for great deals on apartments and other lodgings especially when traveling as a family.
Currency: England uses the British Pound. Currency can be exchanged at the airports and train stations (for a huge fee) so I would recommend either going to a currency exchange place downtown, to a bank (if they have good rates) or if you got a good bank account with fantastic exchange rates, then use an ATM machine (may incur a small fee but I always do this option as I got good bank accounts). A great website I use to compare currency exchange rates is XE, which gives people up to date information.
Language: England uses the English language and is used all over the country. Just to point out there are many dialects and other languages like Cornish-Gaelic used in the country but everyone who speaks English will understand other dialects from other regions.
Travel insurance: This is essential to anywhere you go in the world. I always carry travel insurance. Having travel insurance will cover you from theft, illness and those annoying cancellations which can happen on the road. Safety Wing offers coverage for a lot of adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and so forth.
Need a visa for the UK? Always check if you need a visa when coming to the United Kingdom. Since leaving the European Union because of BrExit in January 2020, visa rules apply for those coming from the European Union.
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