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Bet you didn’t know I am a big Harry Potter fan? Because I’m not. In fact, I don’t think I’ve even watched all the movies despite them being on repeat on my TV all the time. But I am the most amazing husband, so whatever FanFan loves I do the same. Cats, sheep and Harry Potter. Anyway, I may not be a diehard Potter Fan, but with my own love for road trips and FanFan’s fascination for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter we’ve created some awesome adventure on Harry Potter Road Trips across the UK.
Anyway, Fanfan is obsessed with Harry Potter and if we’re ever near a Harry Potter attraction we have to be there. In Osaka, Japan for example, Universal Studios, Wizarding World of Harry Potter. She was even chosen for the wand selection scene at the Ollivanders Wand Shop Show and was presented with a special, exclusive wand and limited edition box. The other kids were annoyed to be left out but it’s their own fault for not dressing up in Harry Potter garb. The silly muggles.
The Best Harry Potter Road Trip Route
If you’re planning to visit every Harry Potter destination on this list, the easiest route is to begin in London. With several airports and excellent transport links, it’s the ideal place to pick up a hire car after exploring the capital’s filming locations and Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.
From London, continue west to Oxford before making your way through the filming locations scattered across England and Wales. The route then naturally heads north to Edinburgh, where the Harry Potter books came to life, before finishing among the breathtaking landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. By travelling from south to north, you’ll avoid unnecessary backtracking while experiencing the Wizarding World in roughly the same order as this guide.
Which Harry Potter Destination is Right for You?
Not every Harry Potter fan is looking for the same experience. Some want to stand on the Hogwarts grounds, others want to walk through the streets that inspired the books, while many simply want to ride the Hogwarts Express through the Scottish Highlands. Here’s where each destination shines.
London: The Wizarding World Comes to Life
Perfect for fans of the later films, London is packed with iconic filming locations, from Platform 9¾ and the Ministry of Magic to Diagon Alley, Gringotts and Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.
Oxford: Experience Hogwarts
If you’ve always wanted to step inside Hogwarts, Oxford is hard to beat. Its historic colleges provided some of the series’ most recognisable interiors, including the Great Hall inspiration, staircases, cloisters and library locations.
England Road Trip: Hidden Harry Potter Filming Locations
Beyond the famous cities are dozens of lesser-known filming locations. Castles, cathedrals, villages and beaches all played their part in bringing the Wizarding World to life.
Edinburgh: Discover the Origins of Harry Potter
For book lovers, Edinburgh is essential. This is where J.K. Rowling wrote much of the series and where many of the names, locations and inspirations associated with Harry Potter can still be explored today.
Scottish Highlands: The Cinematic Hogwarts
If your favourite scenes are the sweeping landscapes around Hogwarts and the Hogwarts Express crossing Glenfinnan Viaduct, nowhere captures the magic quite like the Scottish Highlands.
Harry Potter Attractions in London
London is packed with Harry Potter filming locations and attractions, from the real-life streets used for Diagon Alley to Platform 9¾ and the original sets at Warner Bros. Studios. Here are the essential London stops for a Harry Potter road trip.
1. Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter
The ultimate Harry Potter attraction in the UK, Warner Bros. Studio Tour is home to the original sets, costumes and props from the films, including the Great Hall, Diagon Alley, Gringotts Bank, Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts Express.
2. King’s Cross Station: Platform 9¾
King’s Cross is home to the famous Platform 9¾ photo opportunity, where Harry Potter fans can pose with a luggage trolley disappearing through the wall before browsing the neighbouring Harry Potter Shop.
3. Leadenhall Market: Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron
The beautiful Victorian Leadenhall Market was used as part of Diagon Alley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. A shopfront on Bull’s Head Passage also became the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron.
4. Millennium Bridge: Death Eater Attack
One of London’s most recognisable modern landmarks, Millennium Bridge features dramatically in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when Death Eaters attack London and send the bridge twisting into the River Thames.
5. St Pancras International: The Flying Ford Anglia
The spectacular Gothic exterior of St Pancras stands in for King’s Cross when Harry and Ron miss the Hogwarts Express and take to the skies in the flying Ford Anglia in Chamber of Secrets.
6. Australia House: Gringotts Bank
The grand interior of Australia House on the Strand provided the setting for Gringotts Wizarding Bank in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Unfortunately, you can’t just wander inside looking for your wizarding fortune.
7. Piccadilly Circus: Deathly Hallows Escape
Harry, Ron and Hermione suddenly appear among the crowds of Piccadilly Circus after escaping Bill and Fleur’s wedding in Deathly Hallows: Part 1, narrowly avoiding a London bus in the process.
8. Claremont Square: 12 Grimmauld Place
The Georgian houses of Claremont Square provided the real-world surroundings associated with 12 Grimmauld Place, the ancestral home of the Black family and headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.
9. Great Scotland Yard: Ministry of Magic
Great Scotland Yard was transformed into the streets surrounding the Ministry of Magic, including the visitor’s entrance used by Harry and Arthur Weasley and later Ministry scenes in Deathly Hallows.
10. Westminster Underground Station: Ministry of Magic Journey
Harry and Arthur Weasley travel through Westminster Underground Station on their way to Harry’s disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic in Order of the Phoenix. The station was temporarily closed for filming.
11. Lambeth Bridge: The Knight Bus
Lambeth Bridge provides one of the most memorable moments from Prisoner of Azkaban, when the triple-decker Knight Bus squeezes impossibly between two London buses while carrying Harry through the city.
12. Borough Market and Stoney Street: The Leaky Cauldron
The entrance to the Leaky Cauldron changed for Prisoner of Azkaban, with Stoney Street beside Borough Market providing the exterior used when Harry arrives aboard the Knight Bus.
13. Lincoln’s Inn Fields: Grimmauld Place Arrival
The historic streets and squares around Lincoln’s Inn appear during Harry Potter’s London adventures, particularly scenes connected with the Ministry of Magic, making this one of the more easily overlooked locations on the trail.
14. London Zoo Reptile House: Harry Talks to the Snake
London Zoo provided the setting for Harry’s first accidental display of magical powers in Philosopher’s Stone, when he discovers he can talk to a snake before making the glass separating it from Dudley disappear.
15. House of MinaLima: Harry Potter Graphic Design
House of MinaLima celebrates the work of graphic designers Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, who created much of the Harry Potter films’ distinctive visual world, including the Marauder’s Map, Daily Prophet and countless wizarding-world props.
Harry Potter Attractions in Oxford
Oxford is one of the most important stops on any Harry Potter road trip, with historic colleges, libraries and medieval halls providing both inspiration and genuine filming locations for Hogwarts.
1. Christ Church College: The Great Hall and Hogwarts Staircase
Christ Church is Oxford’s most famous Harry Potter attraction, with its grand staircase appearing in the films and its spectacular Great Hall providing inspiration for the Great Hall at Hogwarts.Harry Potter Attractions in Oxford
2. Stay Overnight at “Hogwarts”: Christ Church College
During university holidays it is possible to stay overnight in student accommodation at Christ Church. Guests can experience the college after the daytime crowds leave and even enjoy breakfast inside the magnificent Great Hall.
3. New College: Cloisters and Courtyard
New College’s medieval cloisters and courtyard appear as Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, including the memorable scene where Mad-Eye Moody transforms Draco Malfoy into a ferret.
4. Bodleian Library: Hogwarts Library and Infirmary
The Bodleian Library appears in several Harry Potter films. Duke Humfrey’s Library became Hogwarts Library, while the nearby Divinity School doubled as Hogwarts Infirmary and several classrooms, making this one of Oxford’s most recognisable filming locations.
Harry Potter Filming Locations Road Trip in England
From Privet Drive and Hogwarts corridors to Godric’s Hollow and Dobby’s final resting place, these Harry Potter filming locations are listed geographically, starting with the southernmost locations and travelling north through England and Wales towards Scotland.
1. Virginia Water: Hogwarts Lake
Virginia Water doubled for the Hogwarts lake in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, including scenes where Harry rides Buckbeak and later discusses the Dementors and his family with Professor Lupin.
2. 4 Privet Drive (Bracknell): The Dursleys’ Home
The original Privet Drive scenes were filmed at 12 Picket Post Close in Bracknell, used as the exterior of the Dursleys’ home in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
3. Lacock Abbey & Village: Hogwarts and Wizarding Villages
Lacock packed several Harry Potter locations into one village. Lacock Abbey provided Hogwarts classrooms and corridors, including Snape’s Potions classroom, while the surrounding village appeared as both Godric’s Hollow and Budleigh Babberton, where Harry and Dumbledore visit Professor Slughorn.
4. Freshwater West (Wales): Shell Cottage and Dobby’s Grave)
Freshwater West became the setting for Shell Cottage in Deathly Hallows, where Harry and his friends escape following Malfoy Manor and Dobby meets his end. The cottage was removed after filming, while an unofficial Dobby memorial later appeared among the dunes.
5. Ashridge Estate: Quidditch World Cup
The ancient woodland of Ashridge Estate appeared around the Quidditch World Cup sequence in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys travel through the woods towards the campsite.
6. Gloucester Cathedral: Hogwarts Corridors
The magnificent cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral doubled as Hogwarts corridors in several films, including memorable scenes involving the Chamber of Secrets messages and the corridors haunted by Nearly Headless Nick.
7. Lavenham: Godric’s Hollow
Lavenham’s crooked medieval buildings provided the appearance of Godric’s Hollow in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Rather than filming extensively on location, its historic streets and houses were digitally incorporated into the village.
8. Hardwick Hall: Malfoy Manor
Hardwick Hall provided the imposing exterior inspiration and filming location for Malfoy Manor in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Its distinctive Elizabethan architecture makes it one of the series’ more recognisable real-world houses.
9. Malham Cove: Horcrux Hunt
Harry and Hermione camp beside the dramatic limestone landscape of Malham Cove while searching for Horcruxes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, making this one of Yorkshire’s most distinctive Potter locations.
10. Goathland Station: Hogsmeade Station
Goathland railway station became Hogsmeade Station in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, where Harry and his classmates arrive after their first journey aboard the Hogwarts Express before travelling onwards towards Hogwarts Castle.
11. Durham Cathedral: Hogwarts
Durham Cathedral provided some of Hogwarts’ cloisters and courtyards during the first two films, including the snowy scene where Harry releases Hedwig and Ron’s memorable attempt to curse Malfoy.
12. Alnwick Castle: Hogwarts and Flying Lessons
Alnwick Castle provided some of the most memorable early Hogwarts exteriors, particularly the courtyards where Madam Hooch teaches the first-years to fly broomsticks in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Edinburgh: Where Harry Potter Was Written
J.K. Rowling wrote much of the Harry Potter series while living in Edinburgh, making the city an essential stop despite relatively little filming taking place here. Cafés, graveyards, historic streets and grand buildings have since become closely associated with the books and their possible inspirations.
1. The Elephant House: Writing Harry Potter
One of Edinburgh’s most famous Harry Potter landmarks, The Elephant House was among the cafés where Rowling worked on the books. Following a lengthy closure after a 2021 fire, it reopened in December 2025.
2. Greyfriars Kirkyard: Harry Potter Names and Inspirations
Greyfriars contains several names familiar to Potter fans, including Thomas Riddell, William McGonagall and Elizabeth Moodie. They are commonly linked with Rowling’s character naming, although some of these connections remain unconfirmed.
3. George Heriot’s School: Hogwarts Inspiration?
With its castle-like architecture and four-house system, George Heriot’s is frequently claimed as an inspiration for Hogwarts. It makes a convincing comparison, although Rowling has never confirmed that Hogwarts was based upon it.
4. Victoria Street: Diagon Alley Inspiration?
The colourful, curving Victoria Street is often described as an inspiration for Diagon Alley. It certainly looks the part, but this is another popular Potter connection rather than a confirmed Rowling inspiration.
5. The Balmoral Hotel: Where Harry Potter Was Finished
Rowling finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the Balmoral in January 2007. Room 552 subsequently became the J.K. Rowling Suite and still contains the marble bust she famously signed.
6. J.K. Rowling’s Handprints – Edinburgh City Chambers
Rowling’s handprints can be found outside Edinburgh City Chambers, created after she received the Edinburgh Award in 2008 in recognition of her contribution to the city and international achievement.
Harry Potter Filming Locations in the Scottish Highlands
The Scottish Highlands provided some of the most spectacular scenery in the Harry Potter films, from the route of the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts Lake, Hagrid’s Hut and the mountainous landscapes surrounding the school.
1. Glenfinnan Viaduct: The Hogwarts Express
Probably Scotland’s most iconic Harry Potter location, Glenfinnan Viaduct carries the Hogwarts Express towards Hogwarts. It appears repeatedly in the films, including Harry and Ron’s flying Ford Anglia pursuit in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
2. The Jacobite Steam Train: The Real-Life Hogwarts Express
Often nicknamed the real-life Hogwarts Express, the Jacobite travels between Fort William and Mallaig along the spectacular West Highland Line, crossing Glenfinnan Viaduct and passing several landscapes familiar from the Harry Potter films.
3. Loch Shiel: Hogwarts’ Black Lake
Stretching behind Glenfinnan Monument, Loch Shiel provided scenery for Hogwarts’ Black Lake in several films. Its mountains and water became part of the dramatic Highland landscape surrounding Hogwarts throughout the series.
4. Glencoe: Hogwarts, Hagrid’s Hut and the Covered Bridge
Glencoe became one of the principal landscapes surrounding Hogwarts, appearing throughout several Harry Potter films. Sets for Hagrid’s Hut and the Hogwarts covered bridge were constructed here for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The landscape around Clachaig was used during filming around Hagrid’s Hut in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Today the nearby Clachaig Inn makes an atmospheric stopping point while exploring the wider Glencoe locations.
5. Steall Falls & Glen Nevis: The Triwizard Tournament
Steall Falls appears during the spectacular Triwizard Tournament dragon sequence in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Harry battles the Hungarian Horntail. The waterfall lies within dramatic Glen Nevis near Fort William.
6. Loch Eilt: Dumbledore’s Grave
Loch Eilt provided several Hogwarts landscapes and is particularly associated with the small island used for Dumbledore’s grave. The surrounding Highland scenery also appeared at various points throughout the later Harry Potter films.
7. Rannoch Moor: The Hogwarts Express
The vast and remarkably empty Rannoch Moor appears repeatedly along the Hogwarts Express route. It is particularly recognisable from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, when Death Eaters stop and board the train.
8. Glen Etive: Deathly Hallows
Glen Etive appears in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 during Harry, Ron and Hermione’s journey through the wilderness. Its remote single-track road makes it one of the Highlands’ most spectacular Potter detours.
