BRISTOLORPHEUSA neighbourhood picture house
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INDEPENDENT CINEMA GUIDES & HISTORY
UK cinemas.
Stories worth discovering.
Independent cinema guides, practical visiting advice and stories behind the buildings. Find the official programme and make more of your next cinema visit.
Phoenix Cinema, London · 2010 Photo credits ↗
PLACES WITH A PICTURE TO TELL
In the spotlight
Neighbourhood favourites, seaside landmarks and stories that outlast the screen.
CINEMA HERITAGE
MARGATEDREAMLAND
BARRYTHEATRE ROYALA lost cinema. A lasting story.
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HERNE BAYKAVANAGHYour next trip to the pictures
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A LITTLE PLANNING. A BETTER NIGHT OUT.
Before the lights go down
ACCESS & ASSISTANCE
A visit that works for you
Check the building, the screen and the performance. Ask the questions that matter.
Plan an accessible visit FAMILY CINEMABig-screen little adventures
Find the right film, understand the rating and make a family trip feel easier.
Plan a family visit FIND YOUR SCREENINGSame screen. Your experience.
Captions, audio description, relaxed sessions and event cinema, explained.
Explore screening typesBEYOND THE CLOSING CREDITS
The films end.
The stories stay.
From a lost theatre in Barry to the unmistakable tower on Margate’s seafront, discover the buildings that made a trip to the pictures part of local life.
Carefully sourced histories, with a clear distinction between former cinemas and places you can visit today.
Explore cinema history Read the Dreamland story ↗THE REELTIME TOOLKIT
A better visit.
It’s in the details.
Simple, useful checklists to read, print and take with you. No account needed.
All planning resourcesGOOD INFORMATION TAKES YOU FURTHER
Your guide to the big screen
Reeltime is an independent guide to cinema-going and cinema heritage. Start with a place, a practical question or the story of a building. Our coverage is a researched selection of venues in England and Wales, with clear links to the people who run them.
Find the right cinema information
The Orpheus Cinema guide for Bristol brings together the official programme, important access information and the story of the cinema. If you have followed an old link for Barry, our Theatre Royal article explains the former venue and identifies the Memo Arts Centre as a separate present-day cinema option.
For a new visit, browse our cinema guides, then open the operator's own programme to check the actual performance. A guide can help you choose; the operator confirms the date, screen, ticket and access arrangements.
Plan the details that make a difference
Choose your film with BBFC age ratings and content advice, learn what different screening formats mean, or work through our guide to accessible cinema visits. Planning around the person, the building and the particular performance is more useful than relying on a general venue label.
Our visiting guides cover family visits, official listings and companion tickets. The planning resources include two free checklists, with complete web versions and printable PDFs.
Follow the story beyond the screen
Some cinema buildings still show films; others have a different use or survive only in records. Explore the cinema history collection for the former Theatre Royal in Barry, Dreamland in Margate and the New Century in Sittingbourne. A heritage designation describes a building's significance; it does not promise a tour or public access.
Know what a status label means
An official programme advertised label means the operator had a programme when we checked. Temporary closure identifies a dated operator notice. A historical cinema article concerns a former venue. None of these is a live open-now feed: follow the source before making a journey.
Sources and check dates appear with the guides. Read how we research and review information, about Reeltime, or our contact information.