Potterheads, Rejoice! The Ultimate Tour of Harry Potter's England
The girls riding broomsticks during their Harry Potter adventure in the United Kingdom. (Photo: Melissa Fleming)
I read all seven Harry Potter books aloud to my daughters, Beatrice and Adelaide, now 9 and 11. The marathon reading adventure stretched from Maine to California, and captivated us at home, the beach, restaurants, and on sofas, planes and trains. Not only was J.K. Rowling an inspiration to me as a single mother and aspiring writer, but her books were the first that completely absorbed my younger daughter and transformed her into a book-crazy girl.
I wanted her to continue to believe in the magic of stories, so we crossed the ocean to the United Kingdom in search of our own Harry Potter adventure.
The trip got off to a wobbly start when I bumped the rental car into a NightBus—not quite as harrowing as the Knight Bus that narrowly missed Muggles en route to the Leaky Cauldron, but certainly far from the bold beginning I had hoped for. The scar on our rental car stayed with us for the rest of the trip.
Graffiti on the bathroom walls. (Photo: Melissa Fleming)
Safely on foot, we formally began our 13-day adventure with lunch in the back room of The Elephant House, the self-proclaimed “Birthplace of Harry Potter,” where J.K. Rowling penned Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. My little fans got a kick out of all the Harry Potter graffiti on the bathroom walls—and even added their own!
At the nearby Greyfriar’s Kirkyard, a late 16th-century cemetery in Old Town, we faced the tombstone of none other than Tom Riddle, the despised Lord Voldemort, and also William McGonagall, the namesake of the beloved Professor McGonagall.
Several uneventful hours later we were in the Highlands among the breathtaking landscapes and lochs that surround Hogwarts in the movies. Hogwarts Express travels along the Jacobite‘s train route between Fort William and Mallaig. The girls cheerfully pointed out the 21-duct Glenfinnan Viaduct where the flying Ford Anglia lands in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Twice a day around 10:45 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., you can watch the steam train traverse the famous bridge.
Hiding in the maze. (Photo: Melissa Fleming)
Off the Harry Potter trail at the 17th-century Cawdor Castle in Nairn, the girls discovered a wonderful children’s maze that reminded them of the third task in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Hidden from my view, the girls ran through narrow hedges in their own dual-witch adventure.
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Harry Potter’s birthday fell on our visit to the Alnwick Castle in Northumberland. After enrolling in broomstick training, we learned not only to fly but also to accio broomstick with twenty other enthusiasts at the site of Madame Hooch’s flying lesson. A fearsome Northumbrian beast lurking in the Dragon Quest area proved no match for our wizarding talents.
A few hours later we pulled into the Hogsmeade station, or the real Goathland Train Station. When the windows fogged up from the steam on our North Yorkshire Moors Railroad ride, my older daughter drew a heart with our initials in it. At the Goathland Hotel, we shared an oversized treacle tart submerged in vanilla cream—one of Harry’s favorite desserts, Beatrice reminded me, but not ours.
The York Shambles. (Photo: Melissa Fleming)
Just an hour away in York, we felt like we had stumbled upon Diagon Alley at The Shambles. Although the shops didn’t sell wands and magic books, the girls imagined picking up their Hogwarts supplies there and even spied some old medicine bottles to use for potion-making at home. The evening Ghost Hunt of York left us all eagerly staring at an upstairs window in hopes of catching a glimpse of York’s version of Moaning Myrtle. The girls were captivated by the 275-step climb up the narrow Central Tower at the York Minster. If only they could have unlocked the doors to the secret passageways with the flick of a wand!
The Gloucester Cathedral paled in comparison to the York Minister. Although Nearly Headless Nick, Moaning Myrtle and a troll once roamed its corridors on film, it wasn’t so easy for the girls to get that without the aid of a photograph. And that felt more like a distraction than an enhancement.
Nonetheless, we discovered more Harry Potter gratification at The Lacock Abbey and Village, where the homes of the Potters and Horace Slughorn as well as the classrooms of Professors Snape and Quirrell were shot. Here, the girls created a little magic of their own when they turned simple cardboard into a Hedwig-like owl.
The Duke Humfrey’s Library a.k.a. Hogwarts library. (Photo: Bodleian Library)
After sitting in front row seats on top of a Knight Bus-like transport from the Park & Ride, we headed directly to the Bodleian Library in Oxford. As book lovers, we were eager to see Duke Humfrey’s Library, the Hogwarts library in the film. Much to our disappointment, tickets were sold out and only children 11 and older are permitted to tour. We were able to view the vaulted Divinity School, however, which was transformed into the Hogwarts Infirmary. At Christ Church, we trudged up the same stairs and wandered the same corridors that the Harry Potter cast had, and explored the Dining Hall, a smaller version of the Great Hall. Both declared their interest in attending Christ Church one day.
The Gryffindor common room. (Photo: Warner Bros.)
The Warner Brothers’ Studio Tour London, just twenty minutes outside the city, is a must for any pure fan. This immense set is where all eight Harry Potter films were created over a decade. Here is the Gryffindor common room, the inside of the Weasley’s Burrow, the streets of Diagon Alley, the life-size chess pieces, and the Covered Bridge at Hogwarts. We hopped on the Knight Bus, Hagrid’s motorcycle, the Ford Anglia, and even Hogwarts Express. The girls mounted their broomsticks in front of a green screen for a few souvenir shots straight out of the movies. And before exiting, we spent half an hour lingering over the extraordinary detail of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy model.
After four hours, the girls were ready to head to London for The Georgian House Hotel. These were no ordinary hotel rooms by any means but rather Wizard Chambers. The Harry Potter theme played overhead as the girls climbed down the stairs amidst fake smoke. Room 42 was made for a trio of wizards or witches, in our case. The girls pointed out all the enchanting details—a painting of Mona Lisa with a wand, a ceramic owl perched bedside, empty potion bottles, a cauldron in the fireplace, a hidden bathroom door, trunks under the bed, an antler chandelier and a retro phone on the desk. Our very own Gryffindor room for three nights!
Like Azkaban, Clink Prison was hard to escape. (Photo: The Clink Prison)
While the girls could have spent a day playing in our basement chambers, we headed out early for a Muggle Tour. We began at the Borough Market where the Leaky Cauldron was once shot, and moved on to The Clink Prison, notoriously difficult to leave like Azkaban, and Sir Francis Drake’s famous 16th-century galleon, reminiscent of the Durmstrang Ship. After seeing iconic sites like Big Ben, Parliament, the Millennium Bridge and Piccadilly Circus, our tour guide gave us a chance to stand where Harry had at the Westminster underground station and the visitor’s entrance to the Ministry of Magic. We ended off Charing Cross Road on the pedestrian Cecil Court, where we dreamed of taking home the signed Harry Potter volumes on display at the used- and rare-bookstores.
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Platform 9 ¾. (Photo: Melissa Fleming)
Last on our list of unabashedly Harry-Potter related activities: a visit to King’s Cross Station. It’s hard to disappoint my Potter enthusiasts but this did. The arched wall used in filming is actually between Platforms 4 and 5 but fans can get a photo next to a trolley disappearing through a wall marked “Platform 9 ¾” by waiting in a long formal queue. And we had already snapped a similar shot at the Warner Brothers’ Studio.
Back home, I overheard the girls summoning their favorite animals to an emergency council hearing on unknown offenses. The presiding elephants sat elevated in the front before long rows of animals feasting on fish and chips and Eton mess. Two newly trained broomstick aces flew in with a Scottish terrier and Highland heifer for the proceeding. Once my presence was discovered, however, I was duly banished.
Turns out we definitely brought a little bit of the magic home with us after all!
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