The film is set in Galashiels, a pretty little town in the Scottish Borders. Gala, as it’s known locally, is about an hour’s drive south from Edinburgh, and has a population of just over 10,000 people. While the town isn’t your typical tourist bucket-list destination, it has repeatedly made headlines over the years for another reason.
Galashiels has regularly been voted one of the UK’s happiest places to live. Happy at Home, an annual study conducted by Rightmove, asks more than 21,000 people across the UK to rank their hometowns on specific criteria. This includes community, access to nature, family-friendliness, affordability, and friendliness of local residents. Gala has consistently featured in the shortlist – even coming in second place in 2022 and 2023, ranking highly for friendliness and politeness of locals, as well as affordability.
As well as local Scottish pride in Gala, another particular setting is causing an excited stir. Towards the beginning of the film, John visits The Hippodrome in Bo’ness, Scotland’s oldest cinema. First opened 113 years ago, the distinctive architecture and old school interiors – the scene filmed here was set in the 1980s. The film also sees John take to the streets of East Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, and Glasgow.
