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Our overnight stay at Hogwarts was very much an impulsive adventure after scrolling through Facebook a holidaypirates post popped up “Calling all Harry Potter fans Did you know you can stay at Hogwarts?!”. Includes breakfast in the Great Hall, so you can dine like true witches and wizards ”. £120 per night bed and breakfast. 2 Nights booked! Dates however were limited and unfortunately they did not fit neatly with our already paid for Christmas Market plans in Edinburgh. So our stay at Hogwarts became like the finale to an unintentional Harry Potter tour of the UK.
Our adventures do start as a bit of a shambles after leaving our Hogwart’s school scarves behind during a last minute rush to our morning flight to Edinburgh. Possibly on purpose by Fanfan who’s not fussed for my cheap Hufflepuff scarf bought from Amazon (my Weasley-scarf) with awesome custom patches. But we’d also be passing through Edinburgh anyway where Fanfan bought her favourite official Gryffindor scarf at a shop on the real Diagon Alley (Victoria Street). At least with its curving colourful shopfronts, Victoria Street was the original inspiration of Diagon Alley for JK Rowling.
The Journey to Hogwarts (Edinburgh)
In Edinburgh we stay in the Grassmarket area (hotel here) next to Diagon Alley and the Museum Context which is an official Retailer of Harry Potter Merchandise selling custom lanyards and all sorts. We quickly call over to pick out 2 new scarves, Hufflepuff and Sliverin, and bring them to the counter. “That’s £98 quid”. “Seriously?” “Have you Anything from the Weasley collection? Any hand-me downs?” So we didn’t buy our scarves here, given they had doubled in price from our previous visits, but it was good to revisit some of the old Harry Potter haunts in Edinburgh
So Edinburgh is important within the whole Harry Potter story, not so much the movies, but the original literary inspiration for the books. Edinburgh is where JK Rowling wrote the earlier of the Harry Potter book series including the well known Elephant House cafe which unfortunately is currently closed. The inspiration for Voldemort (Tom Riddle) also came at the Greyfriars Kirkyard nearby where you can find his gravestone. Then there’s Diagon Alley, and Grassmarket and Edinburgh Castle, and Edinburgh just fits perfectly with the film franchise (can find them all here). Scotland is also home to many Harry Potter filming locations including the Glenfinnan Viaduct (Hogwarts Express).
The Journey to Hogwarts (London)
Next stop is foggy old London, the muggle side of Harry Potter’s Wizarding World, and the gateway to Oxford. London is also chock-full of Harry Potter experiences in daily life itself like double decker busses, black cabs, the London Underground and the River Thames. Not to forget the miserable weather. There are also many Harry Potter filming locations in London that we’re slowly completing (can check them all here) this time ticking off Leadenhall Market and Platform 9 3/4s. We almost booked Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the West End but you really need to do this in advance. Also, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is a must at Christmas if you haven’t been before.
Otherwise we are still on our mission to find our Hogwarts scarves slightly panicked that we may look out of place at breakfast in the Great Hall during our stay at Hogwarts. We do come across a bunch of Harry Potter inspired shops in London (Wizard’s & Wonders, Magical Platform etc.) but the internet tells us the best value scarves are at Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station. The magical gateway to the Wizarding World, that doubles as a store selling official Harry Potter merch in London. You can also pose with the famous trolley if you fancy queueing an hour or so but we opt for the bus (Oxford Tube) to bring us to Hogwarts.
Welcome to Hogwarts (Christ Church Oxford)
We hop off the Oxford Tube bus (London to Oxford) at St Aldates, literally at the Porter’s Lodge of Christ Church with the porter standing right next to us (location here). “Check in for Hogwarts please!” The porter points us to the connecting reception and we grab our room keys and we now have free reign of Hogwarts (Christ Church). Coincidentally we arrived to this same gate earlier in the year as tourists only to be directed to the visitor centre on the opposite side of Christ Church. But this time we are resident guests at Christ Church and can come and go as we please.
So this would be our 2nd visit to Hogwarts (Christ Church) this year following an impromptu Harry Potter road trip via the Broomstick Training grounds (Alnwick Castle), Godrics Hollow (Lavenham) and a plethora of other Harry Potter experiences in Oxford. However Christ Church (University of Oxford) would be the most significant of these attractions as the inspiration for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as well as the filming location for various scenes in the Harry Potter film series. I’ll share all about this when I get a chance.
Staying at Hogwarts (Bed & Breakfast)
Apparently there are 3 accommodation options at Christ Church only we were late booking and were only offered the option of the 117 St Aldates Building annex. Hence, it maybe best to book (long) in advance from the University Rooms website for alternative options. Otherwise the 3 accommodation options at Christ Church are:
- Christ Church (on campus grounds)
- 117 St Aldates Building (where we stay)
- Liddell Building (1km away in East Oxford)
We weren’t really sure what to expect with accommodation at Christ Church but I didn’t expect a four poster bed in the Gryffindor tower dormitory. Otherwise it was ‘University Rooms’ we booked through which literally lease out student accommodation between university terms so we kind of expected traditional student digs. Obviously we did hope to be housed within the Christ Church compound but we instead find our room in an annex between a Sainbury’s Local and a Chinese chicken joint opposite.
How Much to Stay at Hogwarts (B&B)?
We paid £120/night and booked 2-nights bed and breakfast through University Rooms (or book direct here). This was for a 1 bedroom apartment in the 117 St Aldates Building annex outside/opposite the Porter’s Lodge Entrance of Christ Church. Prices include buffet breakfast each morning in the Great Hall of Christ Church and we have 24-hour access to the campus buildings and grounds. We are given a key fob for entry to the various buildings and an access card for breakfast in the Great Hall. So you can go and explore as you please. (Note, tourist tickets to visit Christ Church cost up to £20 alone so it is great value for money).
117 Saint Aldates Annex
We were more than happy with our room in the St Aldates annex, a short minute or so walk from the Christ Church entrance, with views overlooking the Victorian Gothic architecture of the Oxford Town Hall. A magical setting in itself. The ‘student digs’ are more like a 3 star hotel with a comfy double bed, your usual comforts and amenities, daily housekeeping etc. Only there’s no TV but so instead it was a 10-hour loop of the Harry Potter Hedwig’s theme on YouTube. There’s also a communal cooking area for those that fancy rustling up some cheap student grub and a Sainsbury’s next door.
Breakfast in the Great Hall
This experience was what decided our stay at Hogwarts. Breakfast in the Great Hall! The inspiration for the Great Hall in the Harry Potter film franchise only with fewer ghouls, owls, or floating candles (we popped these ideas into the suggestion box). We’ve otherwise been to the actual filming location at the Warner Bros Studios. So breakfast takes place between 7:30AM – 9:00AM each morning before a rushed cleanup in time for the multimedia visitor tours of Christ Church open at 10:00AM. Be sure to bring your access card to breakfast when staying in outside annexes. And of course your Hogwarts house scarves.
Breakfast is a semi self-service buffet canteen thing offering both British and continental breakfasts so you can fill your plate with all those English breakfast staples (our British breakfast guide here). Seating is then reserved to one side of the Great Hall which may alternate between days, as, staying 2 nights, we were seated at different ends of the hall each day. We find a mix of tourists and campus residents/workers, with the tourists roughly 80% Asian, and 75% female during our stay. Which I kind of expected because Harry Potter.
Otherwise the Great Hall has been famous in the literary world since long before Harry Potter was ever imagined. References to Lewis Carroll, a former campus lecturer, are more obvious with many Alice in Wonderland inspired baubles on the Christmas tree during our visit. But I was otherwise more excited in showing of our awesome new scarves having just scoured the UK for them “You think there’ll be more Sliverin or Hufflepuff scarves?” “Don’t be silly. They’ll all be Gryffindor!” Turns out only one other Potterhead turned up in Hogwarts garb (Gryffindor) and we felt a bit out of place sporting our spanking new Sliverin and Hufflepuff scarves. Go Hufflepuff!
Christ Church Cathedral
You are free to explore the grounds anytime of the day at your will. There are also events you can join including the daily services in the Christ Church Cathedral. These take place at 4-difference times of the day including morning song (7:30AM), maybe a midday-ish Eucharist or communion, and the Choral Evensong (6:00PM). We are lucky to be there on the Sunday for the special Choral Evening on Sundays at Christ Church. Note, no photography is permitted during services.
Religion doesn’t really exist in Harry Potter but the strict and rigid social constructs do fit well with the daily life at Hogwarts. The choral evensong was otherwise a rather jovial service, aside from the Old Testament readings, and the rather glum looking congregation. I also got a scolding from a McGonagall-like partitioner for taking a photo during the service. “She rushed the whole aisle” and “it was embarrassing” apparently (Fanfan told me). I skulked out of there like a mischievous Weasley.
Exploring Christ Church
For wider interests in Christ Church I recommend following the multimedia tour from the Visitor Centre (full info here) as we did earlier in the year. While it doesn’t give you any additional access on the compound the audio headsets do give you in-depth insights into each room including references from Harry Potter and beyond. Otherwise we already covered it during our previous visit so we instead went around trying to access random areas with our key fobs “Professor Slype’s office? Alohomora!” No luck. So we’re pretty much restricted to the same as the tour and you’ll probably need to upgrade to Alohomora level 2 for full access. “Mine now demiguise!”
For Harry Potter fans there are also the wider attractions of surrounding Oxford which is about as close as it comes to Hogsmede itself with the architecture, boutique shops, and cosy taverns. There are also famous filming locations nearby which I won’t go into in full detail (can find them all here) but after Christ Church I would definitely check out New College Oxford with the cloisters and the iconic courtyard tree where Mad Eye Moody turns Malfoy into a ferret. Among other smaller filming locations
