Exploring the parklands of the ancient castle, meandering through the corridors of Hogwarts and wandering past the shops of Diagon Alley. This has to be every Harry Potter fan’s dream!
Well, that dream isn’t such an impossibility because the movies weren’t just shot in a Harry Potter film studio. They were captured in numerous different places across the UK.
So, hop on your broomstick and explore these enchanted spots.
The Warner Bros Studio Tour
Discover the magic of Harry Potter on a Warner Bros Studio Tour. The studios were used in the making of all the Harry Potter movies.
As you take a journey through the iconic locations, you’ll see some of the incredible props, mythical items and epic sets here. Pose in your best-loved scenes and be sure to try some tasty Butterbeer.
Even better, from April 2019, you’re invited to Gringotts Bank at Warner Brother Studio Tours – it’s biggest expansion to date.
This set played a huge part in the Harry Potter film series. And soon, you’ll be able to walk through the wizarding bank of Gringotts, the Lestrange vault, a gallery of goblins and much more.
Lacock Abbey
Lacock in Wiltshire is one of those beautifully quaint English villages that normally only exists in paintings.
Sure, you might stumble across a few pretty cottages or a scenic village green in England, but Lacock’s entire village is a true delight.
The BBC came across Lacock back in the 1980s, and has been putting it on to our screens ever since. Lately, Lacock has been uncovered by a new generation, as the village is now a Harry Potter film location.
Be sure to visit Lacock Abbey– you might recognise Hogwarts’s interiors like Professor Snape’s classroom or Horace Slughorn’s home from The Half-Blood Princeas you meander around the village.
King’s Cross Station
As any fan of the boy wizard will know, King’s Cross is where Hogwarts School of Witchcraft Wizardry’s students catch the Hogwarts Express.
Harry and his chums arrive at the platform by sprinting through a brick wall between platforms 9 and 10.
But, alas, platforms 9 and 10 at King’s Cross are divided by tracks. Don’t worry however you can find a platform 9 ¾ on the wall in the station courtyard.
Gloucester Cathedral
Potterheads across the world may not realise that Gloucester Cathedral in the South West of England was used as the main shooting point for some of the series’ interior Hogwarts scenes. Movies include Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
A few scenes from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Princewere also shot here. Plus, the cathedral houses the original door to the Gryffindor Common Room.
Shot here too was the corridor in the movie that spelled out the menacing words, ‘The Chamber of Secrets has been opened! Enemies of the Heir beware!’ and ‘Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever!’ – in the second film.
Goathland Station
In 2001, Warner Bros film crews arrived in Goathland village where they filmed what was then a little-known title, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. In a matter of days, the crew erected an entire office block in one of the fields.
The station was changed to Hogsmeade station simply by heightening the wall a little and tweaking the names on the station – and the benches. Some village kids were used as extras, too!
Leadenhall Market
First featuring in the Philosopher’s Stone, Diagon Alley is Harry’s first glimpse into another mythical world. Depicted as a fascinating shopping centre and retail outlet, the original scenes for Diagon Alley were shot at Leadenhall Market.
The market is a stone’s throw from Monument tube station, Fenchurch train station and the Gherkin.
In the movie, Harry and Hagrid journeyed to the Leaky Cauldron when Leadenhall Market, in London, was used as Charing Cross Road.
JK Rowling buffs will remember the scene well. Harry asks Hagrid: ‘Can you find all this in London?’, to which Hagrid replies, ‘If you know where to go.’
Christ Church College
Founded in 1546, Christ Church College in Oxford, England, has been an architectural revelation across the globe.
It’s also been used to shoot scenes in the first Harry Potter movie. The staircase was used to film the entrance scene where Professor McGonagall meets Harry, Ron and Hermione.
The staircase winds up to the Tudor Great Dining Hall. This was used as an inspiration for the great Hogwarts Dining Hall.
Christ Church’s hallways also featured in the movie. Hermione shows Harry the Quidditch trophy his father won.
From the magnificent grandeur of Hogwarts Castle to the peculiar streets of Diagon Alley, some of the series’ most iconic scenes were, in fact, filmed here in the UK. Everyone’s favourite teen wizard has journeyed all over Britain!
*Collaborative post*
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