Editorial: A Windy Day on Niamos – Visiting the Set of ‘Andor’
The first season of Andor took us to a number of new planets in a galaxy far, far away. With their production base in London, the filmmakers turned to several UK locations to create these exotic locations. One of these locations was Cleveleys beach in Lancashire, North England which was transformed into the planet Niamos, where Cassian had a brief holiday before being arrested by the Empire.
The location was identified by Location Manager Jason Allen, who worked on set during the shoot and spoke to local tourism page VisitCleveleys.co.uk about the location choice. Jason is local to the area, having attended school nearby, and also scouted for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which had scenes filmed in nearby Blackpool. While Jason wasn’t the location scout for Andor, he was quick to point them in the right direction when the script required an exotic beachfront!
I had the opportunity to visit this location and, despite the lack of Stormtroopers and aliens, it was just like being in the series! Here’s a look back on my visit where I tried to spot as many of the scenes from Andor as I could.
It being lunchtime when I arrived, I began my journey in reverse at the FBKafe, known as Cafe Cove at the time of filming. This seafront diner doubled as the ‘store’ which Cassian almost made it to before being accosted by an overzealous Shoretrooper and his KX droid partner. I went in expecting a typical greasy seaside cafe but was more than pleasantly surprised to find an airy and pleasant diner with comfy couches for seating and food that was both tasty and reasonably priced. The cafe’s recognizable curved structure is wall-to-ceiling windows on one side offering open views of the beach and Irish Sea while you dine. Just as you walk in there’s a plaque on the wall celebrating its place in Star Wars history.
Outside, the cafe is instantly recognizable even from a distance. The curved shape, turbines and wave-like concrete structures are all there. It seems very little was done to the structure other than add alien stenciling in place of the cafe logo, ‘pod’ stalls for vendors and their wares and a fascia on one wall to hide the public toilets!! The cafe was taken over by the production crew for two weeks, as well as ‘The Venue’ (visible top right) across the road and its car park, which served as the production HQ for the shoot.
Of course, what really sold the location was the large wave-like structures where the tense scene with poor Cassian pleading that he was just a tourist. I spoke to Jane at Visit Fylde Coast and she informed me that the structures were built as part of the Cleveleys New Wave project to be both appealing to the eye and a practical part of the coastal sea defense. They are hydraulically designed to dissipate and redirect the force of the waves and provide shelter when waves batter the coast, something Jane has personally experienced!
They are impressive to see and it’s easy to see why they were chosen as they certainly stand out and give a unique flavor to the location. It was great fun to walk past looking through the portholes and to literally walk in the footsteps of a Star Wars hero!
Grogu even tagged along for the trip, posing next to art installation Mary’s Shell, which even features in the series! You can catch a brief glimpse of it in the opening overhead shot with all the blue birds flying.
There were a few other shots in between that I struggled to find. For example, this open courtyard with the three alien pensioners that Cassian passes. I did spot an open area but the outdoor furniture didn’t match. I did, however find a number of the same benches dotted along the seafront so they definitely weren’t some temporary set dec that had been put there.
Another shot I struggled to find was of this alien playing Dejarik. I found a walkway with the same railings and the stone seating and tables but not in the same place. This makes me think that either there’s a whole section of seafront that I missed (entirely possible!) or some clever compositing was done to combine elements of the Cleveleys seafront together into one shot.
And I ended my journey where Cassian began his. Cassian’s hotel is, sadly, nonexistent – rather it is a clever piece of CGI put in place to mask the view of Blackpool just beyond! But the beachfront walk, populated with long-snouted laughing aliens enjoying a good picnic is all there. While it takes only a few seconds for Cassian to stroll along on screen there’s a little over a mile of seafront between the cafe and the sea wall, which straddles the border between Cleveleys and Anchorsholme.
The sea wall is part of a recent investment following the collapse of the old wall and subsequent flooding of homes and of the tramway, which impacted local tourism. As part of a new sea defense system staggered concrete wave breaker units were built and provide the perfect location for an otherworldly beachfront. When I visited the location was empty and most of the access to the sea wall was closed due to slippery conditions. Thankfully I was able to get down at one point and snap a few pictures of this iconic location.
It was surreal to see how a beach that I could get to and from easily in a day had become part of my favorite franchise. If you want to learn more about how the filming was set up Visit Fylde Coast documented the development of the shoot from a behind the-behind the scenes perspective, catching glimpses of the production from the viewpoint of the local bystander. You can check out this and many more videos on their YouTube channel.
I had an amazing time visiting this location, which was also a great day out with my kids. If you’re in the UK I’d definitely recommend coming here for a visit – and don’t forget you could also travel to Coruscant for a day as well as many other great Star Wars locations! If you’re unable to visit the site in person you can always chill out to some Niamos vibes with the new Star Wars Lofi mix.
A teacher from Wales in the UK, Aled has loved Star Wars ever since that Star Destroyer flew over his head and blew his mind.
