Where was Sex Education filmed?

The hidden beauty of the British countryside that you mustn’t miss

Sex Education is a show that all of us should watch and then rewatch.

The first time you enjoy the storyline and the cinematography, and the second and the next infinite number of times of rewatching, you learn something new about your body every time.

Sex Education is a show that encourages our bodies and desires to play an active part in our lives as teenagers and beyond. We should have a healthy relationship with ourselves and feel empowered by our desires.

Today, we’ll travel to where the popular TV show is set and simply enjoy some amazing fall scenery of the United Kingdom.

Let’s get physical.

Sex Education is a Netflix Original drama series that has now run to its third season and they are now filming the fourth season.

People just cannot have enough of this show, which is about a teenage guy becoming a sex therapist in his school. His mum Jean, played by the amazing Gillian Anderson, is a licensed sex therapist, and in her house, sculptures and drawings of body parts can be found everywhere and anywhere.

And this house has a lot of screen time, for a lot of actions happen here, if you know what I mean.

And this leads me to wonder if there’s some kind of symbolism to where they filmed the show. Wye Valley is a rural countryside that is hard to get to, not widely talked about, and physically demanding. This is not dissimilar to sex.

The internationally-unknown place of outstanding beauty

It’s beautiful without a doubt. You might remember the amazing cinematography of the wye river that leads to Jean and Otis’ house. But it’s a track, we were constantly walking and driving, and it’s not easy. Most of the roads don’t even have street lamps. If you ever come here, make sure you have a torch, great hiking boots and plenty of warm clothes.

It is that rural.

But exactly because of this way of living, its nature is very well preserved, and there is so much do to around the area during the day. We visited here last November, and you can see the vibrant autumn colours everywhere. However, if I’m visiting again, I will push forward at least a month, and I’ll tell you why later in this article.

The Wye Valley is a protected area on the border of England and Wales. You might remember from geography lessons that a valley is a low area running between mountains on either side. In this case, the River Wye runs through various towns and shires that make up this fascinating natural playground.

The famous house

Jean and Otis’ house is actually a Norwegian chalet that you can rent in its entirety. I went on the website and noted that the inside decorations aren’t quite the same, but that also means you won’t be sleeping with a giant penis sculpture by your bedside.

Hmm, which one do you prefer?

The house is in the middle of Symonds Yat in the Wye Valley in Herefordshire, which is on the England side of the valley. There wasn’t enough of us travelling to take advantage of the entire chalet, but I managed to find an Airbnb with a view of the beautiful red house. So that’s amazing. In the early morning, the fog was heavy, and the forest was quiet. You can see how whimsical and rural this area is.

Waking up to such solid countryside was a bit of a shock to my system if I’m honest. But once I adjusted myself, mediated with a few deep breaths, all my senses were open. The air was crisp and pure, the water was clean and soft, and my body was yearning for a reconnection with mother nature.

Hiking in Wye Valley

There are plenty of walking routes in the area that are well defined and managed by the National Trust, Forestry England and other organisations. This is the website from Forestry England that I recommend, and you can see there are walks with different levels of difficulty, distance and places of interest to choose from.

We hiked to this observation deck with a metal plate that pointed out where everything is, and it’s magnificent to see how it hasn’t changed that much over all these years. The area is vast and well preserved, and honestly, I think it’s the perfect escape from crowded London.

It’s important to note that the sun sets early during the winter months in the UK. For November, the sun is gone around five p.m, five-thirty. Our Airbnb host lent us a torch so we could walk to the nearby pub — it was established in 1473!

It wasn’t an easy walk for a pathetic city girl like me, who’s used to well-lit paths. The floor was wet and slippery, and there were no people or lighting. It was truly pitch black. and every step woke up my survival instinct and drew me closer to nature. I guess that’s actually a good thing.

But frankly, with the exception of pubs, there wasn’t much to do at night. So if you’re an autumn chaser like myself, I’d suggest you come maybe a month earlier, around October, just so that you get both the beautiful falling leave scene and a bit more sunlight. Your walks can start earlier and end a bit later as well.

Tintern — the Eric & Adam bridge

I’m always curious about Welsh history. If you ask any English people, they are always joking about how Wales only has sheeps. It’s not true. There are a lot of great civilisations as well, although their lamb chops are pretty good. So I went to this old monastery in an old town called Tintern.

This is also where the famous scene between Eric and Adam happened. I don’t intend to spoil the show for anyone, but this is the bridge! People who know, will know.

Tintern Abbey and the man in Medieval outfit

Back to Tintern Abbey. I must say sites of ruins are always a big confusion for me if there is no guidance. I don’t know what I’m actually looking at except for piles of random rocks. But guess what, we managed to catch this guy, in a medieval monk outfit, to talk to us about the history of Tintern Abbey.

I love history, and I’m often asked why we need to know random facts that happened in the past. For me, it’s not about knowing more facts than others but gaining insights into the present and the future through the past.

For example, this abbey was built around the 14th century in this rural place, where most of the local people couldn’t read or write, and the relationship between locals and the church was much tighter than the secularism we have nowadays. The monks helped the locals to write and read letters and sort out everyday matters. They provided guidance to how to apply the Godly principles to our everyday lives, maybe and especially in times of dispute.

This vivid exposure to the lives of the past through visiting this ruined abbey gave a more concrete understanding of why certain values had cemented and affected us until today. History provides a more big-picture way of looking at cultures and people, and hopefully helps us to become more rational, logical and compassionate about other people’s thoughts and values, especially those who are radically different from ours.

Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail

On our final day of the weekend away, we visited the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail. Forest of Dean is a big piece of managed forest within the valley, and it’s really helpful for city dwellers like me who have no sense of direction if there are no pointers, roads and traffic lights. I am practically blind in a forest, so this set route guided my way around.

Putting sculptures in nature is widely seen in UK’s parks, gardens and countryside. The Chatsworth House has plenty of big installations scattered around when I visited last, and I also visited Yorkshire Sculpture Park a few years back, which I highly recommend.

My favourite sculptor Babara Hepworth once explained why she liked putting her beautiful work outdoors, especially considering the UK is always raining. She said:

‘I prefer my work to be shown outside. I think sculpture grows in the open light, and with the movement of the sun, its aspect is always changing; and with space and the sky above, it can expand and breathe.’ — Barbara Hepworth

I think someone also asked her why her work always has a hole in the middle, and she answered, which I’m paraphrasing here, is that so people can see the world through the hole.

That’s what she said.

Are there outdoor sculpture parks where you are from? Comment below and give me some tips. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to check it out someday!

Conclusion

It is true that I’m a lazy arse, and I’ve kept these clips for a year before finally editing them, but you might not know how often this beautiful scenery appears in my head. The coldness of the air, the autumnal colours, and the true ruralness shook me and grounded me as I continued my life in urban London the past year. It’s now autumn again in London, and trees have started to go yellow and orange. The chilly breeze had transported my soul back to the quiet land of the Wye Valley.

I think I’ll go back again, and there are so many more places to explore in this beautiful Wye Valley.

Watch the video to get a real feel of the Wye Valley.