Slow Horses filming locations in London you can visit

When it comes to espionage dramas, no show dives into London’s grittier corners quite like Slow Horses. Based on Mick Herron’s hit novels, the Apple TV series follows a scrappy bunch of MI5 misfits—dubbed the “slow horses”—banished to Slough House, a dreary, run-down office. Their disgraced leader, Jackson Lamb, played brilliantly by Gary Oldman, reluctantly guides them through unglamorous tasks that inevitably spiral into high-stakes chaos. This oddly funny spy show however isn’t about spy gadgets and sleek headquarters—it revels in London’s shadowy alleys, grimy launderettes, and overlooked landmarks.

Here’s a closer look at the show’s key filming locations alongside the standout scenes that brought them to life.

Updated for season six following its fall 2026 debut—proceed at your own risk, spoilers ahead!

Where is the real Slough House located: Aldersgate Street & Barbican

Aldersgate Street packs in a couple of classic Slow Horses shots, sitting incidentally just across the street from the brutalist icon, the Barbican. This is where you’ll snag the most scenic shots of season 1 through 6 within just a few meters of each other:

• Vecchio Parioli: Hit the corner at 129 Aldersgate Street to find this real-life Italian restaurant on the ground floor—the exact spot where Jackson Lamb probably slurping and puts more tomato sauce on his trousers and beard than in his actual mouth.
• Look right above the restaurant on the corner of Carthusian Street to see the famous office windows. This unassuming building serves as the central hub for the show, appearing in nearly every episode. Note that in the windows above the restaurant you can see the signage “Solicitor W.W. Henderson” this is as described in the books and has been left in place after filming, but is entirely fictional. Despite this fun filming memento, the actual interiors are filmed on a stage set at OMA-X Studios in the suburbs of London.
• 126 Aldersgate Street: The small cafe Gate Grill is sometimes mocked up as a Chinese restaurant a venue that Jackson Lamb frequents in the series, usually eating loudly.
• 16 St John’s Street: Want to see the grimy staircase? Production films the worn fire escape just around the corner. Peek through the iron gate, and you’ll recognize the rear location of Slough House immediately.
• The Barbican: The striking brutalist architecture, concrete structures and shadowy passages are key to the show’s gritty atmosphere throughout all seasons. That is especially true during a tense confrontation between River Cartwright and James Webb on Barbican Bridge in season 3. Plus, this is one of the Slow Horses filming locations in London that is easiest to visit at no cost – entry is completely free!

Other recurring Slow Horses filming locations in London

• Beppe’s Café: This is a real café you can actually visit in Smithfield, known for its full English breakfasts and adored by cabbies since its opening in 1932. In Season’s 5 opening Bad Dates and Scars ending sequences, equally greasy Jackson Lamb stops by to grab a bite, turning a mundane café into a unsuspected spy hub. The café is also part of Season 6’s Circle of Life episode.
• Bunhill Fields Burial and Gardens: Known as Blake’s Grave in the show (referring to artist William Blake), Bunhill Fields appears often in Season 1 and again in episode two of Season 6, Daddy Issues, as a quiet, secretive meeting place for the team. They use Blake Grave as a code for when they need to meet secretly, and “go dark”, without cellphones in fear of being traced. It’s actually located just a few minutes from Slough House.
• Regent’s Canal: This historic canal plays a recurring role as the secret meeting point for Jackson Lamb and Diana Taverner, where they exchange information, make deals, and engage in their power struggles. Notable areas near Macclesfield Bridge, St Mark’s Church, and the floating Chinese restaurant are all key locations that can be easily visited. Plus it makes for a splendid walk!
• St Michael’s Church: It stands in as the place where high-ranking MI5 officers, who have lost their lives in the line of duty, are laid to rest with the appropriate honors. At the end of Season 2, Old Scores, Jackson Lamb’s team uses this location to secretly lay a fallen colleague to rest, someone who they felt was denied the recognition they deserved. It also appears in the ultimate episode of Season 6, Judgment Day.
• Barbican Launderette: Jackson Lamb covertly meets an old informant at the Barbican Launderette multiple times throughout the series. Nestled in London’s brutalist Barbican Estate.
• 79 Portland Place: A row of elegant Marylebone townhouses reflects Diana Taverner’s polished image and meticulous control, perfectly embodying her persona. Located close to the area where The Park operates, the residence emphasizes her distance from the grim chaos of Slough House. It notably appears in episode two of Season 5, Incommunicado, as well as episode three of Season 6, Resurrection.

Slow Horses Season 1 filming locations

• Stansted Airport: The series premiere episode kicks off with a tense scene at Stansted Airport, setting the tone for River’s sudden career change and the challenges that follow.
• Rheidol Rooms: This real-life cozy café is a regular haunt in Season 1, often visited by the anxious journalist Robert Hobden.
• Truefitt & Hill: In the second episode of the Season 1, Work Drinks, the historic St James’s barbershop plays a key role in a quirky scene with James “Spider” Webb and sets the tone for his luxurious, old-world charm persona.

Slow Horses Season 2 filming locations

• Marylebone Railway Station: This takes the spotlight in episode one, Last Stop, during a nerve-wracking chase scene involving former spy Dickie Bow and a mysterious man that quickly turns into a sinister setup.
• 1 Cornhill: In episode five, Boardroom Politics, 1 Cornhill becomes the epicenter of a chaotic protest orchestrated by Slough House. The iconic Bank area, with its grand architecture, serves as the perfect backdrop for a plan that, in true Slow Horses fashion, unravels spectacularly.

Slow Horses Season 3 filming locations

• 30 Great Guildford Street: Featured in season 3’s Hard Lessons episode, this viaduct and restaurant becomes the site of Catherine Standish’s shocking abduction.

Slow Horses Season 4 filming locations

• St Pancras Station & The King’s Cross Tunnel: St Pancras Station and the colorful King’s Cross Tunnel are crucial locations in episodes five and six. River Cartwright races through the station’s grand architecture and the rainbow-lit tunnel in a desperate bid to both escape and capture his pursuers.
• Gresham Street: In episode five, Grave Danger, the street serves as the location for an intense ambush that leads to deadly consequences for The Park’s dogs.
• Granary Square & The Lighterman: Both take center stage in episode Hello, Goodbye, the thrilling final showdown between River and a major villain.
• Leather Lane Market: This lively market makes a dramatic entrance in Season 4’s opening scene when Roddy Ho steps out of a chicken shop and is immediately caught off guard by a massive explosion that sets the season’s chaotic events in motion.

Slow Horses Season 5 filming locations

• Piccadilly Circus / Underground Station: The neon-lit square and underground concourse host a slick escape in episode five, Circus, where terrorist Tara completely outplays The Park’s agents following Claude Whelan’s botched honeypot.
• Holland Park Mews: Claude Whelan pays one of Season 5’s antagonists, the far-right Gimballs, a surprise visit here in a subtle power play. Bonus: it’s one of the prettiest, most exclusive cobbled mews in West London.
• North House, Bush Fair, Harlow: This unassuming low-rise estate in Essex turns into a brutal battleground in Bad Dates, triggering a chaotic shootout that forces Slough House to scramble.
• Primrose Hill: The grassy slopes of this North London park frame a tense face-off in episode two, Incommunicado, where Whelan trades thinly veiled threats with a blackmailer.
• Middlesex Street Estate: Clueless Roddy Ho’s flat gets violently disrupted in episode two during a sudden assassin strike.
• Albert Embankment: River and Louisa share a rare heart-to-heart on this Thames-side walkway in episode one, Bad Dates, framed by the Houses of Parliament across the river.
• Woodland Road: The steep, brick-lined hills of Crystal Palace in South London provide the address for Tara, Roddy’s suspiciously stunning girlfriend, in episode four, Missiles.
• City Social London: Slough House heads up to the sleek twenty-fourth-floor dining room in London’s tallest building, known as Bishopgate, to track a lead.
• Endsleigh Place: Tucked right behind Gordon Square, this quiet Georgian street in Bloomsbury is where a violent car bomb detonates in episode two.
• Battersea Park: Production trickery at its best—the London Zoo bomb scene in episode three, Tall Tales, actually filmed south of the river inside Battersea Park.
• London City Hall: Forget the scoop-shaped building by Tower Bridge; London City Hall now sits out east in Newham. Episodes three and four use it for the attempted hit on mayoral candidate Jaffrey, narrowly derailed by Shirley and Catherine.
• Carlton House Terrace: This white-stucco terrace just off The Mall stands in for the Libyan Embassy in the finale, episode six, Scars, giving Lamb and Standish the perfect spot for classic espionage.

Slow Horses Season 6 filming locations

• Bottle Apostle: Catherine Standish hits an emotional breaking point in Daddy Issues, lingering dangerously close to a relapse inside this chic wine merchant at 95 Lauriston Road.
• Le Pont de la Tour: Diana Taverner takes her power plays to the riverside in episode two, reluctantly cornering disgraced politician Peter Judd and magnate Damien Cantor at this legendary French dining room by the Thames.
• 64 Clarence Way: This leafy Camden residential terrace doubles as the home of underappreciated ex-Dog Moira Tregorian in episodes two and three—the very setting where she meets a suspiciously crafted, untimely demise… or does she?
• Elderfield House: Perched on Birchfield Street near Canary Wharf, this grim East London spot kicks off Daddy Issues episode with a bang. It sets the scene for the dramatic escape of Reece Nesbitt—arguably the breakout character of the season.
• St Mary’s Church, Haresfield: The picturesque churchyard provides the final resting place for River’s grandad, legendary spy David Cartwright, in episode one, Circle of Life. Naturally, in classic Slow Horses fashion, the service goes completely sideways.
• Towpath Cafe: One of my all-time favorite Haggerston haunts on screen! You’d better believe I gasped. The beloved canalside café turns up in episodes one and two amidst mysterious circumstances tied to a canal boat fatality.
• Go Bowling: Located just outside London in Luton, this retro alley steps in as “Nova Bowls” in episodes three and four, hosting a chaotic shootout between slow horses and a pair of seemingly indestructible Russian operatives.
• The Dover: Located at 33 Dover Street in Mayfair, this polished haunt serves as the covert meet-up spot where Cantor and Harkness hammer out details of their dirty dealings in episode four, Lost and Found—completely unaware that Emma Flyte has been spying on them.
• Shake Shack: The burger joint at 287 Camden High Street takes the spotlight in Lost and Found. Jackson Lamb stages a tense meeting with Frank Harkness here before orchestrating an unmistakably Lamb exit.
• Royal Air Force Upper Heyford airfield: Sprawling out near Bicester in Oxfordshire, this former WWII bomber airfield provides an open runway for a high-stakes vehicle chase starring Cartwright and Baker in episode five, Sayonara.
• Waterstones, Hampstead: Jackson Lamb ventures into the idyllic lanes of Flask Walk in affluent Hampstead during episode five, confronting a suspected Russian asset just as he slips into the local bookshop.
• Quaglino’s: Hidden at 16 Bury Street in posh St. James’s, this legendary basement brasserie hosts the showdown where media mogul Damien Cantor meets Taverner for the last time—only to get served the exact grim fate he earned. The grand art deco staircase and soaring mezzanine are completely genuine and open to visitors, provided you’re ready to stomach Mayfair prices.

Additional Slow Horses filming locations in London and elsewhere

Where is Upshott Village in Slow Horses?

The picturesque Castle Combe, located in Wiltshire, served as the backdrop for Upshott, most notably in the aptly titled Season 2 episode “From Upshott with Love.” Known as one of the Cotswolds’ most beautiful villages, it’s also an easy day trip from London.

Where in France was Slow Horses series 4 filmed?

The commune of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, located in the Val d’Oise Department north-west of Paris, was used to depict the fictional town of Lavande in the tense Season 4, Episode 2 named “A Stranger Comes to Town”. Exterior shots of the eerie Les Arbres were filmed at Domaine de Seraincourt, an 18th century castle.

What are the castle ruins in Slow Horses?

They are Wimpole’s Folly, dating back to the mid-1770s. The site includes a four-story Gothic tower and is managed by the National Trust. Located in Cambridgeshire, it is open to the public and appears in the thrilling Season 1 finale, aptly titled Follies.

Where is MI5 headquarters “The Park” filmed?

“The Park”—the sleek, modernist MI5 headquarters where Diana Taverner pulls the strings—purportedly sits along the northern edge of posh Regent’s Park, just west of the London Zoo on Prince Albert Road.

Don’t go looking for the glass monolith, though: those sweeping aerial shots are pure CGI trickery. For the street-level exteriors in Season 5, the crew actually filmed at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, digitally pasting shiny London skyscrapers onto the skyline in post-production.

Where is Diana Taverner’s safehouse in Season 6?

When the Slough House rejects need to lay low in episodes four and five, they hole up at Taverner’s country retreat. In reality, this architectural showstopper is Stour House, an eco-luxury holiday home. It sits right on the edge of the River Stour near Ipswich in Suffolk, inside a designated National Landscape.