Harry Potter Saga, I love it since my childhood !
Do you like Harry Potter ? Personally, I am a Potterhead and I always wanted to see the places where the scenes of the famous Harry Potter saga were filmed. Here is an article to help you prepare your next roadtrip on the tracks of the filming locations of the saga.
First of all, for those who are new in this universe, I present you the synopsis: Harry Potter is an orphan child, who received a letter revealing him that he was a wizard. At 11 years old, Harry will finally be able to join the legendary Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in order to develop his gifts and his powers and to live adventures with his 2 best friends, Ron and Hermione.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of the filming locations of the Harry Potter saga that are located in the United Kingdom.
The London Sites
In book one, Hagrid takes Harry Potter to buy his school supplies on the Crossroads. Well, Leadenhall Market was the setting for the Traverse Path in the saga. This market is located in the historic center of the city on GraceChurch Street in London.
As for Platform 9 ¾, it’s at King’s Cross Station where you can find it! In the 2nd movie, when Ron and Harry drive over the Station where they missed the Hogwarts Express in London, it is the entrance to the St Pancras Hotel.
The Bank of Gringotts
Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank where Harry goes to withdraw money in his safe accompanied by Hagrid is actually the Australia High Commission in London. This establishment represents the diplomatic mission of Australia in the United Kingdom.
Sites on the outskirts of London
In the first book, Harry Potter had discovered, during a visit to the zoo with his uncle, his aunt and his cousin, that he could talk to snakes. This scene takes place in the Reptile House of the London Zoo.
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban, Harry takes the Magic Bus to London after blowing up his Aunt Marge like a balloon. On the way, the Magic Bus has to slip between two double-decker buses on a bridge. That bridge is Lambeth Bridge.
In London, as in Florida, you can visit the Warner film studios and the incredible exhibition, “The Making of Harry Potter – Studio Tour London” located in Leavesden, North London. It is a permanent exhibition offering a behind-the-scenes look at the films.
The sites at Oxford
As you know, Hogwarts has a lot of stairs that move around and do their own thing. In reality, these stairs are perfectly still and they are located at Christchurch College in Oxford.
The university’s magnificent refectory was the model for the Great Hall at Hogwarts Castle.
The infirmary aka the Divinity School
The Hogwarts infirmary is quite present in the movies. It is usually seen as a result of falling broomsticks, magical creature bites, duels that go wrong, people petrified by monsters, strangulot attacks and other creatures. In the “real” life of Oxford students the Divinity School which is used as an examination center.
The Hogwarts Library
When Hermione, still in her books, is doing research in the Hogwarts library, we see the aisles of the Bodleian Library which is the most prestigious library of the Oxford University. And believe me, the books don’t come to you as easily as in the movies!
Hogwarts Cloisters
New College, an excellent university for the study of art, history, law and humanities, and an excellent science program, has been used for its cloisters.
We see them in several scenes, when Harry makes his owl Hedwig fly or, a few years later, in the Goblet of Fire, when Harry finds himself face to face with Malfoy who is sitting on a branch of an oak tree before being turned into a ferret by Mad-Eye Maugrey…
The cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral
The city of Gloucester is located in the South West of England, close to the border with Wales. The cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral, which is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in England, were used as a backdrop for the filming of the long corridors of Hogwarts.
The Scottish sites
During the second trial of the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter must dive into the lake to free his friend and confront the mermaids. This lake is Loch Shiel. It is a freshwater loch, 25 km long and 120 m deep, located about 20 km west of Fort William, in the Scottish Highlands.
You can go to the place where we see Dumbledore’s grave in the movie, on the small island located in the middle of Loch Eilt, in Scotland.
The Hogwarts Express
In order to travel on the Hogwarts Express, you have to go to Fort William in Scotland and take the Jacobite Steam Train to Ben Nevis and back. You will be in the shoes of Harry, Ron and Hermione going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
J.K. Rowling’s HQ in Edinburgh
Let’s start at the beginning: the author of the saga, J.K. Rowling, was inspired on a train to London while returning from the north of England. She wrote most of book 1 at home in her small apartment in Clapham. She moved to Edinburgh, Scotland and liked to write in a café called The Elephant House.
Wales, The Seashell Cottage
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1), Harry, Ron, Hermione and Luna are staying at Bill and Fleur’s seashell cottage on a beach. A little later, Dobby and his freed friends land on the same beach to escape Bellatrix Lestrange and the Death Eaters. It is Freshwater beach in Pembrokeshire. This beach is a famous surfing spot (considering the temperature of the water it is with the integral suit) and several films were turned there (Robin Hood with Russel Crowe).
You are a fan of the Harry Potter saga?
Do not hesitate to make a Roadtrip in the United Kingdom to discover these places become mythical thanks to the saga! They are worth the detour!
Click here to book a tour on the theme of the famous wizard Harry Potter!
And as always…Be curious!
