The Harry Potter Tour

This is a great educational tour that combines fun yet informative visits to Harry Potter film locations, with trips to sites of cultural and historical interest.

Travelling across the UK the tour takes in the magical sites that create the universally popular Harry Potter films, providing insight into the history and beauty of these locations.

There are many other stops during the tour to enjoy medieval architecture and history and the excitement of getting a little spooked too!

Itinerary at a Glance

Day One: Arrive in London

  • Arrive at London Heathrow airport and transfer by coach to the hotel.

Day Two: London

  • Enjoy a full day’s sightseeing tour of London with a specialist guide. In the morning take in the iconic London sights including the River Thames, Tower of London, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral, City of London and the West End.
  • In the afternoon the focus will be on Harry Potter sites such as Kings Cross Station the departure point for Hogwarts’ Express, Australia House the location of Gringots Bank and London Zoo Reptile House where the snake escape scene took place.

Day Three: London

  • A free day at leisure, perhaps to enjoy some of London’s ghoulish attractions such as the Tower of London, the London Dungeon or Madame Tussauds Chamber of Horrors. Join a ghost or Jack the Ripper walk, or in the evening go to the theatre to watch a spine chilling performance of ‘Woman in Black’.

Day Four: Salisbury/Stonehenge/Lacock Abbey

  • A specialist tour manager will now join the group and take them to Salisbury.
  • Enjoy this interesting medieval city with its fascinating Cathedral home to the Magna Carta and the option of taking a guided ghost walk.
  • Visit prehistoric Stonehenge with its associations with druids and pagan ceremony and then on to Lacock, a beautifully preserved medieval village, dominated by Lacock Abbey.
  • Visit Lacock Abbey, once the home of Fox Talbot a pioneer of photographic technique, Lacock Abbey also provided the Harry Potter settings for the Mirror Room, some classroom scenes and the passageway scene with Mrs Norris the Cat.

Day Five: Bristol

  • Today is spent in the Bath and Bristol area.  A visit to ‘@bristol’ is hugely appealing to school age children and can easily occupy a full day; there is an interactive science museum, a rain forest, a 360 degree cinema and an IMAX 3D cinema.

Day Six: Gloucester/Oxford

  • Travel first to Gloucester to visit the Cathedral, whose façade serves as the entrance to Griffindor dorm.
  • Continue through beautiful Cotswold villages such as Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water to Oxford.
  • In Oxford visit the famous medieval University and Christ Church College, whose great hall was used to depict the dining room at Hogwarts, as well as the Bodlean Library, the location for Hogwarts Library.

Day Seven: Stratford-Upon-Avon/York

  • Stop in Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon, to visit the sites associated with ‘The Bard’ such as Shakespeare’s birthplace and Anne Hathaway’s cottage.
  • Continue north to York for a guided tour and visit to the Castle Museum.  The museum is housed in the City’s old prison buildings and gives an impression of prison life 200 years ago.  A replica Victorian street and Edwardian pub give the visitor a vivid impression of the past.

Day Eight: Return Home

  • Venture into the bleak North Yorkshire Moors to Goathland’s railway station, used as Hogsmeade Station and the chance to ride on a steam train.
  • Visit the nearby seaside town of Whitby, home to an atmospheric port and ruined abbey with Count Dracula associations.
  • Explore the museum and get spooked by the ‘Hand of Glory’, which is said to have been cut from the body of an executed criminal, while the corpse was still hanging from the gibbet!
  • Continue to Durham for an overnight stay.

Day Nine: Hogwarts and Quidditch !

  • Visit the 11th Century Cathedral at Durham, used in the Harry Potter film for the interior scenes at Hogwarts.
  • Continue to Alnwick Castle, home of the Duke of Northumberland and the setting for many of the outdoor scenes at Hogwarts, particularly the Quidditch match.  After a tour of Alnwick Castle continue through border country to Edinburgh.

Day Ten: Edinburgh

  • Enjoy a tour of Edinburgh viewing many famous and important Edinburgh landmarks including a visit to Edinburgh’s imposing castle.
  • A free afternoon for shopping on Princes Street.
  • An overnight stay in Edinburgh.

Day Eleven: Departure Flight Home

  • Departure flight home from Edinburgh Airport.