Alnwick Castle
The castle was built in the 11th century. During its history, it has managed to serve as a military facility, a college and a place to accommodate refugees.
Now tourists come there: entertainment and educational events are held in the castle. You can get to know alchemy, archery, knight’s armor and even medieval throwing machines, such as ballistas. Even at the free master class of wood carving, magic wands are made. I recommend looking at the list of current events on the website.
Durham Cathedral
The cathedral, which was built from 1093 to 1133, is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This is the main attraction of the city of Durham.
Some scenes of the films “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” were filmed in the cathedral. One of the notable ones in the first tape is the one where Harry releases his owl to fly in the winter. It was filmed in a cloister — a courtyard surrounded by a covered gallery — while the snow was artificial. I could not find out the exact reason why such snow was used. Perhaps the scene was filmed when there was little real snow, and they didn’t want to break the schedule.
Gloucester Cathedral
The cathedral was built from 1089 to 1499. He was in the first two films of the saga and in the sixth — “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”.
The galleries of the cathedral were involved in the film “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. Harry and Ron ran down the north corridor near the lavatory where the monks were washing their hands to help Hermione Granger. The south and west galleries served as a corridor that led to the premises of the Gryffindor faculty.
For the film “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, a scene was filmed in the interiors of the cathedral, where the main character and his friends find a message written in blood that the Chamber of Secrets is open again. The wall where the inscription was is located at the end of the northern corridor. The east corridor was flooded with water for the flood scene at the toilet, where the ghost of the Crybaby Myrtle lives. In the picture “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, the western gallery once again became the corridors of Hogwarts.
Lacock Abbey and Village
Lacock Abbey is located in the village of the same name, it was founded in the 13th century. Now you can visit the museum of the history of photography there, and also just see the architecture of the abbey or go into its garden.
The Abbey was useful for the interior scenes of the first two films. So, in the sacristy — a room for storing clerical clothes and religious utensils — a potion-making class was removed, and in the chapter house Harry Potter stumbled upon a mirror of his room. Professor Quirrell showed an iguana next to a large cauldron in a defense against the dark arts lesson — it stands in one of the rooms of the abbey. And the galleries became the corridors of Hogwarts.
Back at the abbey, some Hogwarts-related scenes of the movie “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” were filmed.
The village of Lacock, where the abbey is located, is notable for its ancient buildings. She also appeared in the Harry Potter films.
The building near the Church of St. Cyriacus became a house in Godric’s Hollow, where Potter’s parents lived. This is shown in a flashback in the first movie, when Hagrid tells Harry about his childhood.
In The Half-Blood Prince, Lacock appeared as the village of Badley-Babberton, where the main character and Albus Dumbledore persuaded Horace Slughorn to return to work at Hogwarts. Slughorn was hiding in one of the houses on Chapel Hill, and the heroes of the film passed by the Sign of the Angel pub in a 15th-century building after a conversation with a professor.
Oxford University Bodleian Library
Oxford is known for its university — one of the oldest in the UK: it has been taught here since at least the end of the 11th century. Hogwarts is older: presumably, it was founded in the 10th century.
It is not surprising that there are places in Oxford where scenes with the interiors and courtyards of Hogwarts were filmed: for example, the Bodleian Library, which is considered one of the largest and oldest in Europe. Her reading room, known as the Duke Humphrey Library, became the Hogwarts library in the Philosopher’s Stone, The Chamber of Secrets and the Goblet of Fire.
The Divinity School also participated in the filming: it became the hospital wing of Hogwarts and was featured in several films. In the Goblet of Fire at the Divinity School, Professor McGonagall taught students to dance before the Yule Ball.
Oxford University Colleges
New College is another place in Oxford that will interest fans of Harry Potter books and films. Despite the name, the college is very old and has been operating since 1379 — a good place to shoot scenes at the millennial school of witchcraft and wizardry.
In the movie “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”, a cloister appears in the frame — a courtyard surrounded by galleries. There, Harry has a run-in with Draco Malfoy, and Professor Alastor Moody turns the latter into a ferret as punishment.
At the college, tourists can look into the dining hall, chapel, cloister — a covered gallery — and visit the garden.
Christ Church College can be seen for the first time in the movie “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” – in the scene when the first—year students of Hogwarts climb the stairs, and Professor McGonagall is waiting for them. The staircase is located in this college and has been in the frame a couple of times.
The Great Hall of Hogwarts, which was filmed in the scenery, is in many ways similar to the Christ Church dining hall. Since this room appears in the frame quite often and important events for the plot take place there, we can say that the college has made a great contribution to the filming of films.
King’s Cross Station
This station was built in 1852, and it is still actively used today thanks to numerous repairs and reconstructions. At first there were only two platforms — one each for arrival and departure — now there are 11 of them.
Kings Cross is one of the busiest train stations in the United Kingdom. It is important not only for the British and guests of the country, but also for wizards from the world created by J.K. Rowling.
According to books and films, platform 9 3/4 is located at this station, from where the Hogwarts Express departs – a train that carries young wizards and witches to study at Hogwarts and back. The entrance is located in the wall between platforms 9 and 10. To get inside, the wizards walked right into the wall.
In reality, there are railway tracks between platforms 9 and 10. So the scene from the movie “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, where Harry tried to find the entrance and met the Weasley family, was filmed between platforms 4 and 5.
The station was also featured in other films. For example, in The Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley could not get to the right platform, and in The Order of the Phoenix, the main character, accompanied by friends and members of the Order, walked along the passage over the tracks.
In 1999, a sign “Platform 9 3/4” was hung in the passage leading to the extension with tracks 9-11 and a luggage trolley was placed, part of which was hidden in the wall. Then the sign and the cart were moved — now they are located next to a souvenir shop in the Harry Potter universe near platform 9.
Glenfinnan Viaduct
The concrete railway viaduct was built in 1897-1898 and opened in 1901. It is located on the northern shore of Loch Shiel, a kilometer from the village of Glenfinnan. The length of the viaduct is 380 meters, which makes it the longest concrete railway bridge in Scotland.
The viaduct is perfectly visible in the movie “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”. After Harry and Ron did not get on platform 9 3/4, they went to Hogwarts on a flying Ford Anglia and almost collided with the Hogwarts Express on the viaduct.
In the movie “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, the dementors who were looking for Sirius Black who escaped from prison on the train stopped the express at the Glenfinnan viaduct. Interestingly, in the previous film, the train crossed the viaduct in the afternoon or early evening, and in this one — late at night. Perhaps the presence of dementors made the day much darker than usual.
The train passes over the viaduct and at the beginning of the movie “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. Just a few seconds later, Hogwarts appears from a different angle in the distance.
A real steam-powered train, The Jacobite, participated in the filming of scenes with the Hogwarts Express. It still runs through the Glenfinnan Viaduct. The train departs from Fort William twice a day — in the morning and in the afternoon. Judging by the schedule on the carrier’s website, a trip in one direction takes about two hours, and in both, taking into account the stop in Mallig, it takes almost six.
Glencoe Valley
This picturesque valley among the Scottish mountains was formed on the site of a large ancient volcano. The creators of the Harry Potter films filmed some scenes in nature in Glencoe.
For the film “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, Hagrid’s hut was built in a place called Clachaig Gully. In the Order of the Phoenix, she stood in the same place or in a very similar one. Now the house is not to be found there: it was dismantled so as not to disturb the natural landscape.
Landscapes of the valley were also included in other scenes of films showing the surroundings of Hogwarts, with additional scenery and computer graphics.
Tourists come to Glencoe to admire the views. In the valley there are 60 kilometers of different walking paths along rivers and forests and with a steep climb into the mountains. Red deer, white hares, mountain goats, partridges and golden eagles live on the territory of the reserve.
Warner Bros. Studio in Leavesden
Once there was an aircraft factory and an airfield, and then there was a studio. Various films were shot in it, including the first episode of “Star Wars”, “The Dark Knight” and for ten years — scenes of all Harry Potter films.
For example, the studio has Professor Umbridge’s office in pink tones, Diagon Alley, Platform 9 3/4, Forbidden Forest and the Great Hall of the school. There is also a large model of Hogwarts and a lot of costumes, potions, magic wands and other magical equipment.