Want to watch Landscape Artist of the Year 2027 being filmed?

Are you interested in watching Series 12 of Landscape Artist of the Year being filmed? This is the series which will be broadcast in early 2027.

This post is about:

• where 5 of the locations are and the day they are being filmed
• useful info about how to get there

You will recall from earlier posts that this series has 

• The ten artists for this new series have been selected (see Call for Entries: Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 12). This new format means they all travel the length and breadth of the country visiting different locations - with one artist dropping out after every heat.
• a new judge Landscape Artist of the Year: A Celebrity Twist!

Series 12: An invitation to watch

Every year, SKY Arts and Storyvault Films allow people to watch various of the heats of Landscape Artist of the Year as they are filmed. 

They are welcoming people to come and watch SOME of the heats on specific dates this summer. 

BUT only some as they cannot accommodate audiences at the remaining heats and the final this year, due to the lack of parking and facilities. (I also suspect that some of those turning up to the Final last year were a few too many / maybe blabbed online before the episode aired?)

They're calling them Episodes, I'm calling them Heats as the Heats often change order when they work out how to air them. As in they usually want a really good one up front to hook viewers - and yoiu don't know what that is until after it's been filmed!

On the Day

The competition will start at approximately 9:30am and finish around 6pm. You do not need to contact us to reserve a place, but please note that some locations may charge a fee for parking. We hope to see you there!

Please note that posting of photos or videos of any artists or artwork will NOT be permitted until after the show has broadcast. This is to help us avoid spoilers ahead of the show's transmission. (They also keep their eyes peeled for such posting in advance of the broadcast!) 

Series 12 LAOTY Locations

HEAT 1: Richmond Riverside, London – Monday 15th June 

Richmond Riverside in background

Richmond boathouse and boats in middle ground

Richmond Bridge on right

Credit: Jim Linwood (Wikimedia Commons)

Richmond Riverside is not a generic term, it's a very specific place/development in Richmond in South West London near to Richmond Bridge. It also offers 

• a large flat space where they can erect the pods so that the artists can paint the oft painted view of the bridge and/or Corporation Island.
• Plus lots of services nearby. 
• Accessible by public transport (eg Richmond Station is a 9 minute short walk). Limited parking (you're competing with the workers and shoppers of this very popular place)

Richmond Riverside: the Red pin is located near the large flat terraces

There is very likely to be a second heat close by on the following day or more likely Wednesday - depending on the time needed to strike the set and set up again.

There are two options:

• either the very famous view from the top of Richmond Hill - which is a protected view and has been painted my a numb er of famous landscaoe painters. See my blog post The view from Richmond Hill from my The Art of the Landscape blog. This presents all sorts of issues re the hill, lack of services and definitely no parking!
• My guess it will be one of the big Houses - most probably Ham House and Garden as it offers a number of options - and we do know this series likes a big house! Parking is VERY limited. The only services are in this National Trust property i.e. admission to enter.

HEAT 3: Whalebone Arch, Whitby – Monday 22nd June

Heats 3 and 4 are in Yorkshire.

Whitby Abbey seen through the Whalebone Arch at Whitby
Credit: Jeff Buck | Wikimedia Commons

Nice idea - but I don't quite see eight pods being able to get that view lined up! However they're going to be located somewhere near here.

The Original Whale jaw bone arch was erected some time after 1853 and it is now displayed in the Whitby Archives & Heritage Centre. A replica was presented to Whitby by Norway in 1963. The current replacement was donated by Alaska in April 2003.

The Whalebone Arch is located at West Cliff, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO21 3HA - see below. It's also near the Captain Cook Memorial and my guess this is where the pods will be located.  This is an 11 minute walk from Whitby Station. There will be plenty of hotels and B&Bs for those wanting to stay overnight.

Whalebone Arch (red pin) is on a promontory with views just above the beach
inbetween Whitby Pavilion and Whitby Harbour and the River Esk

This is a VERY exposed spot with little shelter or wind breaks and could be a total nightmare wind wise. Participants would be well advised to arrived with lots of clips and weights for holding stuff in place. If I was watching I'd have wet weather gear with me and I don't mean umbrellas....

Looks like the second location in this area is the next one. Although it's located the other side of the North York Moors.

HEAT 4: Brimham Rocks, Yorkshire – Thursday 25th June

Brimham Rocks is a National Trust site - and it's "proper landscape" - with some very weird forms!! It's located in the Nidderdale National Landscape and is a centre for climbing and abseiling. It's also a Site of Special Scientific Interest, designated for its geological and biological significance. As it happens it's also a very popular filming site and hence well used to dealing with the trucks and kit used by filming crews. I am however wondering about how they're going to transport the kit within the landscape.

The natural spectacle of Brimham Rocks, with its giant rock formations, was created by an immense river 100 million years before the first dinosaurs walked the earth, and a visit to this amazing landscape is truly a journey into pre-history.

The rocks, sculpted by 320 million years of movement of entire continents as well as hundreds of thousands of years of ice, rain and wind, have taken on weird and wonderful shapes and with a little imagination, they resemble familiar creatures.

Location wise, Brimham Rocks are about 11 miles north east of Harrogate. Entry to Brimham Rocks itself is completely free. However, you will need to pay for car parking if you are not a National Trust member. The car park is about a 10 minute walk from the nearest rocks - much the site is much bigger.  It is also accessible for those with mobility challenges.

HEAT 5: Margam Castle, South Wales - Monday 29th June 

Margam Castle

Margam Castle is a another one of the big country houses much loved by the production team! 

It's not really a castle but rather a 19th Century Tudor Gothic Mansion built from sandstone. Listed Grade I as a mansion of exceptional quality.

The Castle is part of Margam Country Park, a country park estate of around 850 acres of historic parkland, with evidence of over 4,000 years of continuous human activity. It is situated about 2 miles (3 km) from Port Talbot in South Wales. Access is free but there is a charge for car parking. There is no station in Porth Talbot.

Location of Margam Castle

HEAT 7: Invercoe Highland Holidays - Glencoe - Monday 6th July

Glencoe village in the Scottish Highlands - and Loch Leven

from the summit of the Pap of Glencoe
(Invercoe is located just to the east)

It would appear this is a base for an opportunity to paint the steep-sided Glencoe valley, in the Scottish Highlands. This is a spectacular, volcanically formed valley in which is famous for its dramatic peaks, rich mountaineering history, and haunting past.

Located within Lochaber Geopark in the Highlands, the deep valley and towering mountains of Glen Coe were formed over millenniums of shifting glaciers and volcanic eruptions. Visit Scotland / Glencoe

The village of Glencoe is located at the foot of the Glencoe Mountains on the site of the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692.

The area was used for the filming of Skyfall and his family home in Glencoe. Another area used to filming and another hook for the audiences for this episode.

Invercoe Highland Holidays are located on the edges of Loch Leven, adjacent to Glencoe the village. I took one look at Google Maps and saw lots of names associated with places I knew from my childhood and holidays in Scotland!

Home page of the Invercoe Highland Holidays website

As this year, I will start reviewing episodes of Series 12 when they are broadcast, starting in January 2027. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to this blog if you want to read them when published.