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Harry Potter Road Trip: 15 Days from London to the Highlands

schedule15 daysplan for pin_drop12stops directions_car~1,870 kmon the road flight_landLondon (LHR)fly into

The real places from the Harry Potter films, on one road trip from London and back. It starts at the Platform 9¾ wall in King's Cross, walks through Diagon Alley in Leadenhall Market and visits the Great Hall at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. Then the car takes over: the Hogwarts staircase in Oxford, the Potters' village in Lacock, Hogwarts corridors in Gloucester and Durham, and the castle lawn in Alnwick where Harry learns to fly.

In Scotland you walk the street said to have inspired Diagon Alley in Edinburgh, stand where Hagrid's hut stood in Glen Coe and watch the Hogwarts Express cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Plan it between May and October: the Jacobite steam train and Alnwick Castle close in winter.

Day 1–4

London

3 nights · Travel guide
Fly into London and check in near King's Cross. Start where Hogwarts starts: the Platform 9¾ wall in the station, with the trolley halfway through it. It is free, so come early or expect a queue.
A Potter walk through the City. Leadenhall Market is Diagon Alley in Philosopher's Stone, and the blue door in Bull's Head Passage is the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. Walk on to the Millennium Bridge, which the Death Eaters destroy at the start of Half-Blood Prince. On the Strand, Australia House is the inside of Gringotts.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London in Leavesden, under an hour from King's Cross. Walk into the real Great Hall, down Diagon Alley and onto the platform of the Hogwarts Express. Book weeks ahead.
Things to do
Nearby: Platform 9¾, King's Cross · Leadenhall Market · Millennium Bridge · Australia House
Day 4–5

Oxford

1 night · Travel guide
Pick up your car and drive to Oxford, about 1.5 hours. At Christ Church, climb the staircase where McGonagall welcomes the first years. In the Bodleian Library, the Divinity School is the Hogwarts infirmary. At New College, the cloister with the old oak is where Moody turns Malfoy into a ferret.
Things to do
Nearby: Christ Church · Divinity School, Bodleian Library · New College
Day 5–6

Lacock

1 night · Travel guide
Drive to Lacock, a National Trust village. A cottage here is the Potters' house in Godric's Hollow in the first film, and the village is where Slughorn hides in Half-Blood Prince. The cloisters and rooms of Lacock Abbey are Hogwarts classrooms.
Things to do
Nearby: Lacock Abbey
Day 6 · on the way

Gloucester

On the way · about 90 min
On the way north, stop at Gloucester Cathedral. Its cloisters are Hogwarts corridors in three of the films: Harry and Ron run along them and hide from the troll.
Nearby: Gloucester Cathedral
Day 6–8

York

2 nights
A long drive north to York, about 3.5 hours from Gloucester. Walk the city walls and the old streets around York Minster in the evening.
Day out to the North York Moors. Ride the steam railway from Pickering to Goathland. Goathland station is Hogsmeade station in Philosopher's Stone, where the first years get off the Hogwarts Express.
Nearby: Goathland Station · Pickering Station · York Minster
Day 8 · on the way

Durham

On the way · about 90 min · Travel guide
Stop in Durham on the way to Alnwick. In the cathedral cloister, Harry lets Hedwig fly in the snow in Philosopher's Stone. The Chapter House is McGonagall's classroom.
Things to do
Nearby: Durham Cathedral
Day 8–9

Alnwick

1 night
Alnwick Castle is Hogwarts in the first two films. On the lawn of the Outer Bailey, Madam Hooch gives the first flying lesson. You can take a broomstick lesson on the same spot, free with your ticket.
Nearby: Alnwick Castle
Day 9–11

Edinburgh

2 nights · Travel guide
Cross into Scotland to Edinburgh, about two hours. J.K. Rowling wrote much of the early books in this city. Walk down Victoria Street, the curved street of colorful shops that is said to have inspired Diagon Alley.
In Greyfriars Kirkyard you find the grave of a Thomas Riddell, who died in 1806, and more names you may know. Rowling never confirmed the link. At the Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street she finished Deathly Hallows, in room 552.
Things to do
Nearby: Victoria Street · Greyfriars Kirkyard · The Balmoral
Day 11–12

Glencoe

1 night
Drive into the Highlands, about 2.5 hours, across Rannoch Moor into Glen Coe. For Prisoner of Azkaban, Hagrid's hut stood on the hillside above Torren Lochan. The hut is gone, but the view is not: park at the Clachaig Inn and walk up.
Nearby: Hagrid's hut site, Torren Lochan
Day 12–14

Fort William

2 nights · Travel guide
A short drive to Fort William. In the afternoon, walk up Glen Nevis to Steall Falls, the backdrop of the dragon task in Goblet of Fire.
Glenfinnan day. Watch the Jacobite steam train cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct from the viewpoint trail, or ride it from Fort William to Mallaig and book months ahead. Drive on to Loch Eilt: its small island is Dumbledore's grave in Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Nearby: Steall Falls · Glenfinnan Viaduct · Loch Eilt
Day 14–15

Windermere

1 night
The long road south, about five hours to Windermere in the Lake District. Stretch your legs by the lake and stay the night.
Day 15 · on the way

London

On the way · about 30 min · Travel guide
Drive back to London, about five hours, and fly home from Heathrow.
Things to do
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