<P> Fifteen months before BBC visited the set in December 1974, the Monty Python troupe assembled the first version of the screenplay . When half of the resulting material was set in the Middle Ages, and half was set in the present day, the group opted to focus on the Middle Ages, revolving on the legend of the Holy Grail . By the fourth or fifth version of their screenplay, the story was complete, and the cast joked the fact that the Grail was never retrieved would be "a big let - down...a great anti-climax". Graham Chapman said a challenge was incorporating scenes that did not fit the Holy Grail motif . </P> <P> Neither Terry Gilliam nor Terry Jones had directed a film before, and described it as a learning experience in which they would learn to make a film by making an entire full - length film . The cast humorously described the novice directing style as employing the level of mutual disrespect always found in Monty Python's work . </P> <P> Monty Python and the Holy Grail was mostly shot on location in Scotland, particularly around Doune Castle, Glen Coe, and the privately owned Castle Stalker . The many castles seen throughout the film were mainly either Doune Castle shot from different angles or hanging miniatures . There are several exceptions to this: the very first exterior shot of a castle at the beginning of the film is Kidwelly Castle in South Wales, and the single exterior shot of the Swamp Castle during "Tale of Sir Lancelot" is Bodiam Castle in East Sussex; all subsequent shots of the exterior and interior of those scenes were filmed at Doune Castle . Production designer Julian Doyle recounted that his crew constructed walls in the forest near Doune . Terry Jones later recalled the crew had selected more castles around Scotland for locations, but during the two weeks prior to principal photography, the Scottish Department of the Environment declined permission for use of the castles in its jurisdiction, for fear of damage . </P> <P> At the start of "The Tale of Sir Robin", there is a slow camera zoom in on rocky scenery (that in the voice over is described as "the dark forest of Ewing"). This is actually a still photograph of the Gorge at Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria, Australia . Doyle stated in 2000 during an interview with Hotdog magazine that it was a still image filmed with candles underneath the frame (to give a heat haze). This was a low - cost method of achieving a convincing location effect . </P>

Where was monty python's holy grail filmed
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