 " Dinosaurs on a Spaceship " and the following episode , " A Town Called Mercy " , were the first episodes to be produced for the seventh series , both directed by Saul Metzstein . The two episodes are Metzstein 's first Doctor Who credits . The episode contains one of the biggest sets ever built for the show . The scenes in the " engine room " were filmed at Southerndown beach , Vale of Glamorgan in late February 2012 . The beach had previously been used as " Bad Wolf Bay " in " Doomsday " ( 2006 ) and " Journey 's End " ( 2008 ) , and as the planet Alfava Metraxis in " The Time of Angels " / " Flesh and Stone " ( 2010 ) . 
