GARDENS ON FILMDO YOU WANT TOKNOW A SECRET?Set to be a screensensation, The SecretGarden, based onthe classic children’snovel, is a muchlovedYorkshire story.With a stellar lineupof acting royalty,including multiaward-winningactorsColin Firth and DameJulie Walters, CarolynNicoll caught up withcast and crew.Let’s set the scene, TheSecret Garden is the storyof Mary Lennox (DixieEgerickx), a 10-year-old girl,born in India to wealthy Britishparents and then sent to Englandwhen her mother and fathersadly pass away. Life changesforever at her uncle’s home,Misselthwaite Manor on a remoteYorkshire country estate, as Mary,together with her cousin Colin(Edan Hayhurst), uncover familysecrets and discover a magicalsecret garden.No one can deny thebreathtaking beauty of NorthYorkshire’s sprawling moorland,historic properties and itsheritage railway, so pick yourpopcorn (sweet, salted or both?),sit back and enjoy scenes caughton camera across this stunningpart of the county. Look out forDuncombe Park, Helmsley WalledGarden, the North York MoorsNational Park, UNESCO WorldHeritage site Fountains Abbeyand Studley Royal Water Garden,as well as the North YorkshireMoors Railway, already afrequent favourite for film crews,as seen in Harry Potter, Dad’sArmy and the recent DowntonAbbey, amongst others.But what can audiences lookforward to?PART OF THE PLOT“The hero of the film is the natural beauty of the landscape.”MARC MUNDEN, DIRECTORI love filming in Yorkshire andhave filmed two televisionpieces there before: NationalTreasure with Julie Walters andRobbie Coltrane (Harrogate,Leeds, Scarborough) and Utopia(Leeds, Harrogate, Halifax). Thelocations are incredibly adaptable.I’ve always loved the North YorkMoors and that is an essentialpart of the landscape of thefilm as Mary Lennox is shippedfrom her homeland of India tolive with her uncle in England.This poor orphaned girl findsherself surrounded by a vastalien country and she asks thehousekeeper Mrs Medlock (DameJulie Walters) “Is that the sea?”as she travels over the moor withits heavy mist and strange mutedcolours, perfectly conjuring upthat sense of awe she feels -frightening and beautiful. Thehero of the film is the landscapein all its incredible diversity anduncanny natural beauty.“We filmed during a summer of perpetual sunshine.”ROSIE ALISON, PRODUCERWe were determined thatYorkshire must feature in the film,the book is set there and there isa sense in which a ‘Yorkshire ofthe imagination’ permeates ourculture, in a clear line from theBrontës to The Secret Garden,there are many links betweenJane Eyre and ’The SecretGarden. We filmed in the countyduring an amazing summer ofperpetual sunshine.It was inspiring to meet thepeople who run the wonderfulhidden jewel of Helmsley WalledGarden. It provides therapeuticsolace for those who work there,that sense of the restorative andrejuvenating powers of nature,exemplified in the story TheSecret Garden. Fountains Abbeywas another location where wecreated a ‘ruined temple’ sectionof our secret garden. I grew up inYorkshire and love it dearly. Thestunning landscapes of NorthYorkshire still have a great holdWhen we saw the garden’shot borders we knew we hadto have them in the film. Maryand Dickon (Amir Wilson) runthrough the garden as all theflowers around them shoot upand bloom. We were blessedwith great weather for thesequence. What you see in thefilm is digitally enhanced but itwas inspired by our first sightingof Helmsley Walled Garden.Dixie Egerickx is a legend inthe making. She is remarkable,intelligent and serious aboutacting, but also a lot of fun. Allthe children were very dedicatedand into the work so it madeit easy, contributing to a greatatmosphere. Colin Firth is a warmand incisive collaborator, a braveactor full of ideas and unafraid toplay tortured and grieving, thecharacter of Archibald Craven thewidower in the film. Julie Waltersis funny and brilliant, the bestactor of her generation.over me and I return for walkingholidays on the North YorkMoors, where we filmed on theNorth Yorkshire Moors Railwayfor Mary’s journey to Yorkshire,then on the Roman Road nearGoathland for her car journeyto the house and on her firstmorning at ‘Misselthwaite’, as shegoes out to explore, she sees overthe great park plain, evocative ofa remote Yorkshire setting.Making a film with children canreally enhance the spirit of theshoot. Their excitement at filmingwas palpable and this liftedeveryone’s mood. Dixie Egerickxis a remarkable girl, wise beyondher years and her piercingintelligence shines through in herperformance. She completelycaptured Mary’s complexity, thecomplicated journey and goesfrom prickly loner to openheartedfriend of Colin andDickon. When she smiles, shelights up the screen.50yorkshire.com
Top to bottom: Dixie Egerickxas Mary in the new film.The beautifully manicuredHelmsley Walled Garden.yorkshire.com 51