Where was Karen Pirie shot? Revisiting key filming locations of the BritBox crime series

Karen Pirie is the BritBox crime drama television adaptation of Val McDermid's books. It was released on ITV in September-October 2022. Season 2 was subsequently followed up on in July-August 2025.

While the show was successful in holding the attention of audiences through a thrilling storyline, simultaneously, the backdrop of the scenes evoked curiosity about their whereabouts. Filming for the show was mostly done in unique locations in Scotland.

Several key scenes were shot at Kinghorn and Fife, with additional scenes featuring Luss Estate near Loch Lomond, Glasgow's famous Barrowland Ballroom, Glenrothes police station, and even the capital of Malta, Valletta.

Where was Karen Pirie shot?

Karen Pirie Season 1 was filmed throughout Scotland, with important scenes recorded in different locations as the story takes shape naturally.

As reported by Cinema St Andrews, the main backdrop for the majority of Season 1 is the ancient university town of St Andrews, Fife. Major exterior filming was completed at the town's famous Cathedral ruins and harbour, as well as St Andrews University. St Andrews' medieval centre and seaside scenery provide the atmospheric and eerie backdrop for the cold murder investigation of Rosie Duff, the decades-old murdered barmaid.

Further filming was done at Kirkcaldy, at Deas Wharf, the harbor neighborhood of this Fife town, as it added the maritime emphasis crucial to the story. Elsewhere in the Fife area, Inverkeithing and Dysart added their touch to the exterior landscape. Locations also included areas around The Pends and at the Market Place, adding the everyday town life, the drama needed.

The majority of the interior episodes for Karen Pirie Season 1 were set in the city of Glasgow, where the premises for the police offices and some internal sets were located. Glasgow's cityscape provided an antidote to the coastal and ancient ambience of Fife and St Andrews. Scenes inside the police station were achieved with attention to detail for realism to serve the everyday activities of Karen Pirie and her fellow detectives.

Loch Lomond was also prominently placed, the Luss Estate on Loch Lomond being utilized for those shots where an isolated, natural location was needed, somewhere suitably isolated for the flashbacks as well as the suspenseful parts of the narrative. It's described as having outstanding landscapes and has also been utilized in other big productions before, so it already had the credibility as an atmospheric filming location.

Karen Pirie Season 2 also utilized the scenic and varied Scottish landscape but included some extra coastal communities as well as urban cityscapes for atmospheric storytelling purposes, as per Timeout.

The majority of the season was filmed in Fife, mostly around Kinghorn and the local coastal region. Kidnappings of Catriona Grant and the investigations surrounding them were filmed in Kinghorn using both the town's harbors as well as old town streets to provide an authentic Scottish setting for the important events. The scenic coastline, as well as the small-town feel, played an important part in building the mood for the storyline.

Additional outdoor scenes were filmed at the Loch Lomond area, specifically near the Luss Estate and the surrounding natural landscapes, which provided a secluded and atmospheric setting for some of the intense investigative scenes and flashbacks.

Glasgow was also used as a filming location, with exterior as well as interior shots filmed at different locations. Interestingly enough, police station footage was again filmed at the Glenrothes police station for the sake of realism.

The busy streets of the city were utilized for important character confrontations, such as at well-known establishments as The Berkeley Bar. Glasgow's legendary Barrowland Ballroom also made an appearance as it served as an atmospheric location for some important events.

In addition, production for much of Karen Pirie Season 2 was conducted at St Andrews, where the town's old attractions and coastlines were featured as in Season 1, but with new angles and plot twists. The university campus itself, as well as the streets surrounding it, made for ideal sets for exploration scenes and crucial character development situations.

As part of the filming was also done on Malta itself, especially in Valletta, where it was used for the exterior shots representing international destinations beyond Scotland.

Lauren Lyle, the lead actress who plays the character DS/DI Karen Pirie, told Yahoo UK:

“I find that Scotland, I really believe, being from there, that it just can't be replicated anywhere else… There's something quite profound about being from a place that has such a dark, mad history — witches and wars and all these amazing things that have been around for thousands of years — and to shoot something in places that harbour all of that can be quite dark and spooky and exciting. And I think you sort of effortlessly receive it from the place without trying too hard.”

Karen Pirie can be streamed on BritBox.

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