Harry Potter filming locations. Interesting facts about how the Harry Potter movies were made

The real Diagon Alley. The artists were inspired to create this street by the books of Charles Dickens.
Warner Brothers spent 10 years at Leavesden making eight Harry Potter films. Five pavilions were used for filming. At the studio, an animal department, a fantastic creatures department, a visual and special effects department, and so on were created.
Recently, journalists visited all these studios, photographed everything they could find interesting and found out all the secrets. Here they are:

During the holiday in the movie "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" the tables are bursting with mountains of all sorts of sweets. Most of the goodies were made from dyed resin, but there were plenty of edibles for the crew to indulge in.

Harry's room in Gryffindor changes from movie to movie. The artists filled it with little things that the characters were supposed to like - sports posters, for example, and prizes for winning competitions. Only the beds remained unchanged. By the end of filming last movie Daniel Radcliffe and other older boys had to curl up so that their legs would not stick out.

The filmmakers came up with an intricate design for Dumbledore's office: for several hundred books donated for filming, they made leather bindings, hung 48 portraits of "former directors of Hogwarts" on the walls. The office where Dumbledore showed Harry his memories was adorned with over 800 tiny vials, each labeled by hand.

The potions class really grew in size from movie to movie. The producers had to push the boundaries to fit new details into the class. Hundreds of glass bottles were filled with whatever they could - from feathers to offal and bones obtained from local butchers.

To make Hadrid look like a giant, the producers found him an understudy with a height of 210 cm. In addition, Hagrid's huts also had two. One larger one, which made Harry and company look "normal" in size, the other smaller, next to which Hagrid looked huge.

Hagrid mask

The Diagon Alley where Harry got his wand changed from movie to movie. It was built "based on" the works of Charles Dickens, taking into account the descriptions given in the Harry Potter books.

Animals during the filming were handled by a specially created team of specialists. They trained all the animals that appeared in all eight films. Harry's owl named Hedwig was played by four different birds, each trained in their own special tricks. The role of the rat named Scabbers was played by a good dozen rodents. Hermione's pet Crookshanks was played by four cats, and Hagrid Fang's mastiff was played by as many as nine dogs.

To make Ron Weasley's parents' house look untidy, not a single wall was set at the right angle.

The game of Quidditch is the result of collaboration between the special effects and visual effects teams. The broomsticks were hung against a green screen, which the visual effects team later replaced with a digital image. The ball (snitch) with wings was created in several versions, but in the end they settled on a golden version.

It took five huge warehouses to store all the props that were used during the filming of Harry Potter. It included 5,000 pieces of furniture, 12,000 handmade books, 25,000 printed pages of the Pickpocket magazine, and 40,000 merchandise from the Weasley's Magic Wreckers of All Kinds.

The height of the goblet of fire is more than one and a half meters, the material for it was elm, all the carvings are made by hand.

18 vehicles were used to film Harry and Ron's escape in the Chamber of Secrets.

For the moving staircase scenes at Hogwarts, one real staircase and a small model from many staircases were used. The actors were filmed on this single moving staircase, the rest were added after filming was completed.

Moving portraits - a mix of fragments real paintings and green screens, which were later replaced by moving pictures. The portraits depict all the filmmakers who worked behind the scenes.

The Ministry of Magic was huge - it took hundreds of extras to fill this entire space with life. I had to include a film crew.

In one of the films, Harry goes to the Ministry of Magic and discovers hundreds of divination balls there. For this scene, the designers made 15,000 glowing balls. But the studio decided that this whole scene would be drawn on a computer and real physical balls were never useful. Now they are shown to tourists.

When filming the first movie, the flying candles in the lobby were hundreds of real candles hanging from strings. The rope was then removed using a computer. However, since the candles often burned through the rope and fell on the tables, in subsequent films it was decided to add all the candles using a computer.

The crushed-up Muggle "Magic is Power" monument that adorned the Ministry Hall after Voldemort came to power is made of foam and hand-painted.

The evil Dolores Umbridge always wore pink, and her office at the Ministry of Magic was also pink. Decorative plates with cats are hung on the walls. Only cats are not drawn here. The creators made several cat portraits, and then added them to the painted interior on the computer.

As more power was concentrated in Umbridge's hands, pink color her outfits became more and more saturated.

Harry Potter filming locations have long attracted the interest of millions of fans of this story of a young wizard and his friends. Books and films are distributed all over the world in huge circulations, and the most ardent idols are actively interested not only in the storyline, but also in the personal lives of the actors, the filming process, and even the places where each of the seven films was shot.

The filming locations of "Harry Potter" are visited by many tourists every day, but to find full list the internet is hard enough. Usually on sites you can find no more than 10-15 points from all filming locations. But in this article, you can immediately learn about 53 places by reading their brief description and seeing visual, real photos. An interactive map will help you get as much information as possible about each point, so the article will be a real find for true fans of the novels and will become a mini-guide for those who want to personally visit all the Harry Potter filming locations.

The Dursleys' home where Harry lives in the closet under the stairs before being invited to Hogwarts is actually a private house in Berkshire (12 Picket Post Close, Martins Heron).

Before Harry finds out that he is a wizard, he talks to a huge snake ( , Regent Street).

During the filming of Philosopher's Stone, this pub was located on the Ledengol market, and the entrance to it was just an empty store. However, now it is the optics store “The Glass House” (42 Bull’s Head Passage, Leadenhall Market and then 7 Stoney St., London).

The Gringotts Bank scenes were filmed in the Australia House showroom. Although you won't be able to enter the building, you can look through the window and see the room that was used for filming the movie.

The platform that the wizards and sorceresses used to get to platform 9 ¾ is actually located between platforms 4 and 5 at King's Cross Station.

The station serving Hogsmeade and Hogwarts is actually Goathland Station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (Goathland Station, North Yorkshire).

The corridor that leads to the fat lady and the Gryffindor common room is in the cloister of Gloucester Cathedral. In Chamber of Secrets, this is the same hallway where Ginny Weasley writes "The Chamber of Secrets is open again" in blood on the wall.

In Goblet of Fire, in the scene where everyone is wearing badges that say "Potter Stinky", the shooting took place within the walls of the College New monastery in Oxford. In the same place, Mad-Eye Moody turns Draco Malfoy into a ferret.

The snow-covered courtyard where Harry releases his owl Hedwig (Hedwig) for the first time is actually part of Durham Cathedral. This is also where Ron Weasley spews slugs in Chamber of Secrets.

The office of Snape, a gloomy Potions teacher, is located in the sacristy of Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire (The Sacristy, Lacock Abbey).

Also located in Wiltshire Abbey. Here is an authentic cauldron ((The Warming Room, Lacock Abbey).

The room where Harry finds the mirror that showed him his dead parents in Philosopher's Stone is again in Lacock Abbey. In The Chamber of Secrets, the same room is used by Professor McGonagall for lessons on turning animals into goblets (Chapter House, Lacock Abbey).

Madame Trick's first lesson is outside of Alnwick Castle in Northumberland (The Outer Bailey, Alnwick Castle).

Professor Flitwick's office, in which Hermione very successfully masters the levitation spell "Wingardium Leviosa" on the pen, is located at Harrow School, Middlesex (Fourth Form Room, Harrow School).

The school library is located at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. In The Chamber of Secrets, Hermione finds information about the Polyjuice Potion here, and in The Half-Blood Prince, she and Harry discuss Horace Slughorn's Christmas party here (Duke Humphrey's Library, Oxford University).

Hogwarts Hospital is actually located in one of the buildings of Oxford University. Here, in Goblet of Fire, Professor McGonagall teaches Ron ballroom dancing before Christmas (Divinity School, Oxford University).

In Chamber of Secrets, Harry sees a flashback of Tom Riddle and Professor Dumbledore talking. This was filmed at Oxford University (Christs Church, Oxford University).

Although in the film it seems that the car takes off from outside King's Cross station, in fact the scene was filmed in the vicinity of St Pancras International (London).

The house of the Weasley family was specially built for the "Chamber of Secrets" right in front of the main building of Leavesden Studios (the studio that made the film) in Hertfordshire. However, in The Half-Blood Prince, the Burrow was located near the city of Weymouth, in the habitat of swans (Gypsy Lane, Abbots Langley, then the Swannery, Abbotsbury).

Hurrying to school, Harry and Ron nearly crash over a train on the Glenfinnan Viaduct, Lochaber.

At first, Hagrid's hut was located in Black Park Country, Buckinghamshire. Here she was in the Goblet of Fire when Hagrid shows Harry the dragons before the Triwizard Tournament.

In "Order of the Phoenix" she moves to (Black Park, Buckinghamshire, then Clachaig Gully, Scotland)

The lake on the shore of which Hogwarts stands is actually Loch Shiel in Scotland (Loch Shiel, Glencoe).

This is Virginia Water in Surrey, over which Harry Potter flies on a hippogriff in Prisoner of Azkaban. In Goblet of Fire, this is where Hermione mediates between Harry and Ron after their fight, and where Mad-Eye Moody argues with Barty Crouch Sr. (Virginia Water, Surrey).

In Prisoner of Azkaban, a bus picks up Potter from the side of Dowding Way, an apartment complex next to Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire (Dowding Way, Hertfordshire).

After landing, the bus takes Harry on Green Lanes to Palmers Green (), passes through Bourne Hill, and then turns left into Park Avenue before dropping him off at the Leaky Cauldron (Green Lanes, Bourne Hill, Park Avenue, Lambeth Bridge) .

In Goblet of Fire, on their way to the championship, Mr. Weasley and Harry Potter run into Cedric Diggory. It takes place in Ashridge Woods (Ashridge Woods, Hemel Hempstead).

At the beginning of the Goblet of Fire movie, Harry and the Weasleys find an old shoe that turns out to be a portal. This scene was filmed in Beacon Hill, near the town of Berkhamsted (Beacon Hill, Berkhamsted).

After moving through the portal, everyone ends up at the Seven Sisters Cliffs, Sussex.

Harry fights a dragon in Glen Nevis, Scotland (Steall Falls, Glen Nevis).

At the beginning of The Order of the Phoenix, Mad-Eye Moody and his friends take Harry from his house, flying on broomsticks along the Thames (Canary Wharf, the HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament).

After these dizzying flights, they end up at the house of Sirius Black, which is used as the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. The house is located on the south side of Claremont Square, Islington.

The Ministry of Magic is located between and the Houses of Parliament in Westminster (Whitehall, London).

When Mr. Weasley takes Harry to the Ministry of Magic, they end up at Westminster Station. “Trains underground! They are brilliant, these Muggles!” he exclaims (Westminster Station, London).

AT real life this booth does not exist at that location, the filming location was not far from Scotland Yard. Here, Harry, Ron and Hermione "knock out" three Ministry employees in order to obtain the ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion in "The Deathly Hallows: Part One" (Great Scotland Yard, London).

In Order of the Phoenix, Harry has a flashback of his father bullying Snape. The scene was filmed in Woodstock, the birthplace of Winston Churchill (Blenheim Palace, Woodstock).

At the beginning of The Half-Blood Prince, a group of Muggles see Death Eaters fly past their office building. This is City Hall in London city ​​hall, Queen's Walk).

After the destruction of the Millennium Bridge, they end up on Great Newport Street, which is the entrance to Diagon Alley (Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross Road, Garrick Theater and Leicester Square Station, Great Newport Street, the Millennium Bridge).

The cafe where Harry reads The Daily Prophet is actually Café Chaud on platforms 1 and 2 of Surbiton Station. Harry notices Professor Dumbledore standing on platform 3 (Platform 1, Surbiton Station).

After meeting at the train station, Dumbledore takes Harry to Horace Slughorn's house in Wiltshire (Chapel Hill, Lacock).

The cave where Dumbledore and Harry Potter are trying to get the Horcrux is at the foot of the Cliff of Moher, on the Atlantic coast of County Clare (Cliffs of Moher, Ireland).

Although the scene in which the two hunt the Horcrux was filmed on the Cliff of Moher, the rock they appeared on is 90 miles away. This is Lemon Rock, off the Iverah Peninsula (Lemon Rock, County Kerry).

The heartbreaking scene in which Hermione erases herself from her parents' memories in The Deathly Hallows: Part One was filmed in the London suburb of Heathgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb.

In The Deathly Hallows: Part One, Snape goes to Malfoy Manor to meet with Voldemort. This mansion is Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.

When Hagrid is chased by Death Eaters in the first Deathly Hallows, he flies into the south side of the Dartford Tunnel, which runs under the river. However, inside this is another tunnel - the Queensway Birkenhead Tunnel under the Mersey River (Dartford Tunnel, London, and Queensbay Birkenhead Tunnel, Liverpool).

The toilet in which Ministry employees flush themselves is located at the intersection of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall Street. There are no toilets in real life (gentlemen's toilet, Horse Guards Avenue).

After obtaining the Horcrux in Deathly Hallows: Part One, Rhona splits when transgressing to Burnham Beeches, South Buckinghamshire.

The only Harry Potter scene filmed outside of . In "Half-Blood Prince" we see a train moving along the Raumabanen railway between Oslo and the Norwegian fjords.

The saga of the boy who survived is loved by children and adults around the world. Over the years of the franchise's existence, the paintings have completely changed style and focus. From children's fairy tales, "Harry Potter" has transformed into a serious movie about good and evil, where there is a place for both love and cruelty.

Perhaps one of the reasons for the enormous popularity of the saga is the landscapes and scenery that amaze the imagination. They create the very feeling of magic that leaves no one indifferent. However, not all fans of the franchise know where Harry Potter was filmed. About the most beautiful places that everyone dreams of visiting, we will tell below.

Where was Hogwarts, the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, filmed in the Harry Potter films?

Hogwarts is a famous school where the boy who survived studied for seven years. In the film adaptations, we see a huge medieval building with hundreds of rooms, high ceilings and magical staircases that can change their direction.

In reality, Hogwarts was filmed in several locations. The main inspiration for the creators was the Enik (Alnik) castle of the 11th century. A huge building stands on the border of Great Britain and Scotland.

The castle as we saw it on the screen

This place has a very rich and tragic history. The fact is that the de Vessy family, who owned the castle for several centuries, was in confrontation with the ruling dynasty of English kings. As a result, the descendants of Ivo de Vessy now and then raised uprisings that invariably ended in bloodshed.

Now its owners live in the castle, so travelers can only visit some of its sections. The ticket price is 12.5 euros.

It was in this place that many of the outdoor shots of Hogwarts were filmed, as well as the famous first flight of the young wizard from the movie "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

This is where many of the Hogwarts outdoor shots were filmed, as well as Potter's famous first flight.

Quidditch competitions from books were also recreated on ideal lawns in front of the castle. By the way, an interesting attraction has been invented here for tourists: they can jump on broomsticks on the lawn in front of Enik, and even take part in a Quidditch match.

Of course, set designers had to rack their brains over how to recreate JK Rowling's fantasies in all their glory on screen. That is why many important fragments of the films that took place at Hogwarts were actually filmed far from Enik's castle. Where else can you find familiar corners that have become part of the school of witchcraft and wizardry?

1. Oxford University. Numerous dining room scenes were filmed in the university's dining hall, as were the Harry Potter receptions. The scenes on the stairs were also filmed here. The hallways of Britain's oldest university have also been used repeatedly to create key movie scenes.

   
   Oxford University

2. Bodleian Library. It was here that scenes were filmed in the library with the participation of the main book fan of the saga - Hermione and her friends. The library is also located on the grounds of Oxford University. It contains more than 11 million books, including unique and extremely rare specimens medieval era.

   Bodleian Library

3. Gloucester Cathedral. It is located just two hours from London. The covered galleries of this marvel of architecture were often used to recreate the corridors of Hogwarts. The Gryffindor boys' dormitory, the scenes with talking portraits - these moments were also filmed here.

   Gloucester Cathedral

4. Leavesden Studio. Unfortunately, the creators could not get by with just shooting on location in the most beautiful places in Great Britain and Scotland. That is why a huge set of Hogwarts was erected within the walls of Leavesden Studio, striking in its scale. Now tours are being conducted around this studio, because there are collected unique scenery that recreates the most famous moments from films.

Hagrid's Hut and the Forbidden Forest

Hagrid's hut

True friend Harry Potter's Rubeus Hagrid lives in a tiny hut, which is located in an incredibly picturesque place among green meadows.

It was not easy to find such a magical place, and therefore the creators of the paintings went to Scotland, namely to the Glencoe Valley. Many travelers call this place the most unusual in Scotland. This is where Hagrid's hut was built. Now, of course, it is not there, but the picturesque views have been preserved.

Finding such a magical place for the forester's hut was not easy.

Forbidden Forest - a place where centaurs, unicorns and other magical creatures live. According to the plot of the film, it is located next to Hogwarts, and students are strictly forbidden to visit the forest.

forbidden Forest

In fact, this magical place is located in Buckinghamshire, 32 kilometers from London. It is not easy for the Black Park to get its gloomy name, because even in the most sunny days there is total darkness here.

Hogsmeade and the railway leading to Hogwarts

Hogsmeade is a small village located near Hogwarts, where students usually arrive by train from platform 9 ¾.

The location was inspired by the village of Gotland and the local train station, which was greatly transformed by special effects.

The village is located in North Yorkshire, and its population is only 500 people. To the disappointment of rabid tourists, there is not a hut with funny name and notoriety, no grand candy store.

The same railroad

The same railway, along the route of which the Hogwarts Express follows, deserves special mention. It was filmed in the UK, and the West Highland Line itself is officially the most beautiful railway in the country. There is indeed a 21-arch bridge in the Glenfinnan Valley, which is known to fans from the films.

West Highland Line and famous bridge

The most interesting thing is that every traveler can feel like a student of Hogwarts. To do this, he needs to take a ticket for a real London steam locomotive, following the route "Fort William Mallaig" from London. Before the trip, you need to consider the following nuances:

• the magic steam locomotive runs along the tourist route only from May to mid-October;
• an adult train ticket will cost 34 euros;
• local wagons were produced back in 1956, so they look authentic, but also go slowly;
• in car D, the atmosphere of the Hogwarts Express is completely recreated. There is even a cart with a variety of sweets.

Of course, the locomotive travels very slowly, so the tourist has the opportunity to see all the sights.

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley from the movie

It was in this mysterious and noisy place that wizards from all over the country bought the magical artifacts they needed. Ollivander's shop was located here, as well as shops with pets, sweets and potions.

Diagon Alley was filmed on the site of London's famous Lindenhall Market. And the Leaky Cauldron bar, through which one could get to Diagon Alley, was filmed in an optics store, also located in this market.

Diagon Alley of Reality

Some of the scenes associated with this location were recreated on the old Shamblay street in the heart of York.

For the third film, the shooting of Diagon Alley moved to another market, Borough Market, also located in London. Fortunately, it turned out to be no less picturesque.

Ministry of Magic

If the traveler dreams of finding the real Ministry of Magi, he will be disappointed. The fact is that everything shown on the screen is a giant and very complex scenery located in the pavilions of Warner Bros Studio London. Now tourists can visit these scenery, see the very fireplaces through which one could get to the ministry, and appreciate the scale of the famous sculpture from the last parts of the film.

But the entrance for visitors in the form of a telephone booth really exists. It is located in St. James on Great Scotland Yard.

It was through this entrance that Harry Potter first entered the Ministry of Magic.

Yew Alley and King's Cross Railway Station

Yew Street - the place where the wizard spent his entire childhood

Harry Potter's childhood home is actually located on Picket Post Close in Little Winging. Here the action of all those scenes that unfolded during the period summer holidays famous wizard.

Anyone can be photographed running into the wall

Another major attraction for fans of the saga is the King's Cross railway station. It was here that the magical adventures of the heroes invariably began. The station is located in the London station building. There is even a recreated platform 9 ¾ inside where you can take pictures with the Harry Potter cart. On the territory of the station, next to tracks 9 and 10, there is a souvenir shop where you can buy numerous artifacts from the films.

Of course, there are many more places where the shooting of the saga of the boy with a scar was organized, and it is almost impossible to tell about all of them in detail. That is why excursions to the places of the beloved saga are so popular in the UK. The main advantage of such a trip is not beautiful views, but the opportunity to plunge into a fairy tale for at least a few hours.

Films about Harry Potter, based on the book series of the same name, are almost the most popular films in the world, both among children and adults. Various museums and parks are dedicated to Harry Potter, but real fans love to travel to the places where this amazing movie was filmed. Since the book about the young wizard is English, the shooting took place on the territory of this country.

Hogwarts

Hogwarts from the outside, for the most part, was filmed near the ancient Enik castle. This 11th century castle is located on the border of England and Scotland and is famous for its history full of various interesting events.

It was Enik's castle that served as the basis for filming Hogwarts from the outside, although it had to be significantly changed with the help of computer graphics. Some of the interiors of the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were also filmed here.

In the courtyard of this castle, Hogwarts students comprehended the difficult art of flying on a broom, and a game of Quidditch took place over the local lawns. Here and now you can see fans jumping on panicles on the lawns of the courtyard of the castle.

Enik Castle

The interior of the castle

However, it will be much more interesting to look at Hogwarts not from the outside, but from the inside. Most of the scenes from the life of young wizards were filmed within the walls of Oxford University. For example, the Great Hall, where all important and solemn moments took place, was filmed in the dining hall of Christ Church, the most prestigious and oldest college of the University of Oxford. Also, many scenes from the films were filmed in the courtyard of this college and on its stairs.

Oxford is worth a visit not only because of the filming of Harry Potter here. Beautiful area, old buildings, Gothic architecture, medieval patterns, museums - all this, no doubt, deserves special attention.

Christ Church Dining Hall

Hogwarts Library

Hogwarts Library with its huge rooms and numerous books filmed at the Bodleian Library, Oxford's largest library. More than 11 million books are stored here, among which there are real rarities. And of course, the interiors of the library will not leave anyone indifferent, in which you can easily recognize the Hogwarts library.

Bodleian Library

Hogwarts corridors

After visiting Oxford, be sure to visit the town of Gloucester, located just two hours from London. This town is home to one of the most beautiful cathedrals in England - Gloucester Cathedral. In the corridors and covered galleries of this religious building, many episodes from the films that took place in the corridors of the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were filmed.

Troll and haunted scenes, secret door to Gryffindor common room, Harry Potter bedroom, talking pictures and even schoolwork - all this took place within the walls of Gloucester Cathedral.

Gloucester Cathedral is a really beautiful landmark located in a very picturesque corner of England. A walk in its vicinity and in the Cathedral itself, like nothing else, will plunge you into the atmosphere of magic and Harry Potter.

Gloucester Cathedral

Professor McGonagall's office

Transfiguration classes led by Professor McGonagall were filmed at the Durham Cathedral of Christ, the Virgin Mary and St. Cuthbert, near Scotland. The cathedral is distinguished by interesting architecture, beautiful stained-glass windows and amazing nature, which makes it very popular with tourists. By the way, not far from the cathedral is Durham Castle, which is also interesting as a tourist attraction.

Durham Cathedral

Flitwick's office

The spell classes taught by Professor Flitwick were filmed at Harrow School, one of the oldest public schools for boys. This school, located a few miles from London, produced many famous figures in science, culture and politics, for example, Winston Churchill graduated from it.

Hagrid's hut

The Valley of Glencoe, located in Scotland, is one of the most beautiful places in this area of ​​England. Some of the scenery around Hogwarts was filmed in this valley: Steel Falls and Mount Glen Nevis will be recognizable by any fan of the Harry Potter films. It was also in the Glencoe Valley that the hut of Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of the keys and forester of Hogwarts, was recreated.

Unfortunately, the hut has not survived to this day, but you should definitely admire the landscapes of Glencoe.

Valley of Glencoe

forbidden Forest

Filming of the Forbidden Forest, which is home to various magical creatures, took place in Buckinghamshire's Black Park. Twilight always reigns in it, and due to such a mysterious atmosphere, various films are often shot there.

Hogsmeade Station

According to the film, Hogsmeade is a village located near Hogwarts with a railway station. It is here that the students of the wizarding school come by train before getting to Hogwarts itself. Hogsmeade is mostly artificial scenery, but the railway station was filmed in the picturesque village of Gotland, at the local station.

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley is the place where wizards, including Hogwarts students, can purchase a variety of magical items necessary for study and for life. Much of Diagon Alley was filmed at Lindenhall Market, London's covered market. You can get to Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron bar, which is actually an optics store in the same market.

Some scenes in Diagon Alley were filmed in York City, on the old Shambla Street with traditional black and white houses.

Lindenhall Market

Gringotts Bank

According to the book, Gringotts Bank is located where Diagon Alley and Dire Alley intersect. In reality, this bank is the representative office of Australia in London, or, as it is also called, Australia House. Of course, it will not be possible to get inside, but it is quite possible to admire the building from the outside.

Yew Alley

On this street at number 4, Harry Potter lived before going to school and during the summer holidays during his studies. In fact, this street is called Picket Post Close and is located in the city of Little Winging.

Godric's Hollow

Harry's parents and himself lived in this small settlement before the attack on their family by Voldemort. Godric's Hollow was filmed in the vicinity of the town of Bath in Wiltshire, in the town of Lacock Abbey. This abbey is really picturesque - narrow streets and old stone houses make it truly magical.

real places

Mostly in the books about the wizard Harry Potter everything is fictional, but the book describes several places in London that actually exist.

London Zoo

This zoo is the oldest science zoo in London and one of the largest zoos in the world. His visit is interesting in itself, but it was here, in the House of Reptiles, that Harry discovered magical abilities and the ability to understand snake language.

House of Reptiles

Bridges of London

Many scenes from the films took place on the London bridges. For example, a scene with a magical bus being squeezed was filmed on the Lambert Bridge, and the Millennium Footbridge is destroyed by Voldemort's minions, the Death Eaters.

King's Cross Station

A very important place for all young wizards is King's Cross Station. It was from him, from platform 9 ¾, that the young wizards went by train to Hogwarts. The station really exists in London, and entering it, you can see the familiar interiors. And at the entrance to platforms 9, 10 and 11, you can even see a cart that disappears halfway into the wall, and a sign "Platform 9 ¾". And outside is another memorial place for fans of Harry Potter - the neo-Gothic St. Parkras station, against which Harry and Ron flew by on the magic Ford "England".

King's Cross Station

Traveling on the Hogwarts Express

The Hogwarts Express train is also a very real train that runs along the viaduct over the Glenfinnan Valley. This train and this route were chosen because of the amazing beauty of these places.

By the way, today, from May to October, anyone can ride along this route from William to Mallaig on a real Hogwarts Express - an old train with an old steam locomotive. True, you will have to worry about tickets in advance, as they are sold out very quickly.

As we remember from books and films, Hogwarts is a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in which children from all over England with magical abilities were taught magic.

The school was located in the mountains of Scotland in an old eight-story castle. As you can probably guess, in reality, the Hogwarts school building in the form in which we see it in the film does not exist.

And for the most part, Hogwarts was built at a studio in Leavesden (Leavesden) and exists there as a set for the filming of the Harry Potter films. Enough impressive in size with the help of special effects, they create the feeling of a very real castle. But we will talk about this later when we go to the Harry Potter Museum in Leavesden.

And now we will go to those places that really exist and that inspired the film crew to create an unforgettable image of Hogwarts and its environs.

In fact, there are a lot of such places where the shooting of various scenes that took place in a magical school took place in the UK.

Let's imagine ourselves for a moment as students of Hogwarts school and continue our journey in the footsteps of our favorite characters.

Traveling on the Hogwarts Express

Let's use one of the vehicles that students of the magical school used very often. This is the Hogwarts Express, which ran from London to Hogsmeade.

The Hogwarts Express scenes in the Harry Potter films used Britain's most scenic West Highland Line, a real train route and a very real London engine.

This route was chosen for the location of the Harry Potter films because of the extraordinary beauty of the local places and the famous viaduct with 21 arches in the Glenfinnan Valley (Glenfinnan Viaduk).

It was on this bridge, built at the beginning of the 20th century, that the magic train to Hogwarts rushed at full speed, throwing out clouds of smoke.

At one time, the construction of this bridge caused a lot of controversy about its feasibility. Serious fears were even expressed that this huge viaduct would not be able to organically fit into the surrounding natural landscape, which could harm the beauty of the surrounding places.

Fortunately, fears did not come true. And today, visiting these places, you can appreciate the beauty of the viaduct by riding along it in one of the old cars, which are driven by the same old steam locomotive that played the role of the Hogwarts Express in the filming of the film, and it is called Jacobite Steam Train in reality.

And now, from mid-May to the end of October, the magic engine runs on the route Fort William - Mallaig (Fort William - Mallaig). Therefore, if you want to ride this train in the north of Scotland, you need to take care of tickets in advance. You can book a ticket on the website: https://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/.

Route schedule for 2019:

In the morning (departure at 10:15):

• From April 22 to October 25 - from Monday to Friday
• From May 4 to September 29 - on Saturdays and Sundays

In the afternoon (departure at 14:30):

• From May 13 to September 13 - from Monday to Friday
• From June 15 to September 1 - on Saturdays and Sundays

Ticket prices for 2019:

• Adult (standard / 1st class) - £37.50 / £59.95
• Child (up to 16 years old) (standard / 1 class) - £ 20.75 / £ 32.90

This train has completely restored pastures from 1956.

And in the magical car D, the atmosphere of the Hogwarts Express is fully reproduced - all luggage racks are completely crammed with suitcases, and a cart with various sweets rides around the car.

The low speed that the locomotive develops allows you to admire beautiful scenery outside the window: numerous lakes, very beautiful mountains, medieval castles, waterfalls and see the places where the filming of the Harry Potter movie took place.

On the way, the steam locomotive makes stops: in the village of Ariseig, you can ride a boat to the very western coast of Scotland, and at Glenfinnan station you can visit an interesting railway museum.

Hogsmeade Station

Traveling on the Hogwarts Express, one cannot fail to mention Hogsmeade.

According to the film, this is the nearest railway station to Hogwarts and a village inhabited only by wizards. And here the Hogwarts Express train brings students to the station. Harry Potter and his friends often went to this magical village, which houses the Three Broomsticks Beer Bar, Boar's Head, Sweet Kingdom Confectionery, and the Shrieking Hut.

Filming location railway station in Hogsmeade took place in the picturesque village of Gotland with a population of only 500 people in North Yorkshire at the local station (Goathland Station, North Yorkshire).

And here we are at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - Hogwarts

To do this, we need to go to old castle Enik (Alnwick Castle) and its environs. The 11th century castle is located on the border of England and Scotland. The history of its existence is full of interesting events and has more than one century.

Mysterious and gloomy castle in which is located magic school Hogwarts, with its outlines, is very reminiscent of Enik Castle, which served as the main decoration during the filming of the Harry Potter films.

The medieval gloominess of the castle and its architecture, interiors and courtyards have attracted the attention of many directors who made historical films before. They did not bypass him when filming the Harry Potter films.

It was here that Harry flew on a broomstick over perfectly trimmed lawns around the castle, participating in Quidditch competitions, and in the courtyard of the castle, the heroes of the film learned to control naughty brooms.

The castle is inhabited, but some of its halls are open to the public. Therefore, do not be surprised if you see numerous tourists jumping on panicles on the lawn near the castle, who still want to master the art of magic.

You, just like Harry, can try to learn how to fly on a broomstick (albeit not a magical one, in a completely ordinary way) while visiting the castle.

In addition to visiting places associated with Harry Potter and Hogwarts, you can go on an interesting excursion to the Museum of Antiquities, founded in the first half of the 19th century.

After visiting the castle, getting acquainted with its history and admiring the beauty of these places, we go to the oldest university city in England - Oxford, which is located about 90 kilometers from London.

You can get to Oxford either by train (departs every half an hour), or by bus, which also very often leave from several places in London, or by taxi.

Oxford University

Many scenes from the life of Hogwarts school were filmed in this famous educational institution.

The famous Great Hall of Hogwarts, in which the most solemn and important moments in the life of the school of wizards took place, was filmed in the dining hall of the oldest and most prestigious college at Oxford University, Christ Church (Christ Church).

Some scenes from the films were filmed on the stairs and in the courtyard of this college.

Interest in this place is caused not only by the fact that Harry Potter films were filmed on the territory of this college, but also by the uniqueness of Oxford University.

Its territory with the finest college buildings, Gothic architecture, stained glass windows and medieval patterns on the interior walls, numerous museums and the unique Bodleian Library are worthy of attention in themselves.

And the next episode from the films about Harry is the shooting of scenes in the Hogwarts library.

Hogwarts Library

As you may have guessed, this took place in the largest library in Oxford, the Bodleian Library, which houses over eleven million copies of books, among which there are simply priceless treasures and many medieval manuscripts.

The building of the library, its luxurious interiors amaze visitors with their magnificence.

Hallways of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Having visited Oxford, it would be nice to stop by the town of Gloucester (just 2 hours from London) and visit the most beautiful cathedral in England - Gloucester Cathedral.

Its magnificent interiors, luxurious corridors and covered galleries will surely remind you of various episodes from the Harry Potter films that happened to him and his friends in the corridors of Hogwarts.

The old Norman Cathedral was turned into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during filming. Secret door of Gryffindor house, Harry's bedroom, scenes with ghosts and troll, talking drawings on the wall, classes at Hogwarts school - all this was filmed within the walls of the magnificent Cathedral.

The places where the shooting took place are unusually beautiful, here you can spend hours just walking around enjoying nature and the surroundings. Gloucester Cathedral is an architectural structure of striking beauty that you can admire and admire.

And the time spent in the Cathedral in the Harry Potter filming locations will further enhance the impression of the events that were told in books and films.

Professor McGonagall's office

The office of the strict but fair Dean and Transfiguration Professor McGonagall was filmed at Durham Cathedral of Christ, Mary and St. Cuthbert (Durham Cathedral), which is located near the border with Scotland.

The magnificent cathedral of the 11th century on the top of a cliff with powerful walls shot up into the sky is striking in its beauty and size.

Interesting architecture, stained-glass windows, amazing nature around, which you can admire by climbing the tower of the cathedral - all this makes this place one of the most visited in England.

Opposite the cathedral is the castle of the same name (Durham Castle), which further enhances the impression of visiting these places.

Hagrid's hut

Once you are close to Scotland, you can’t help but look into the picturesque Glencoe Valley, which is located in the southwest of the Highlands. This place is often called the most breathtaking and beautiful place in Scotland.

And we also ended up here for a reason. It was here that scenes from the Harry Potter films were partially filmed with the participation of one of the main characters - Hagrid.

For the filming of the film, Rubeus Hagrid's cabin was built in the Glencoe Valley, who taught the care of magical creatures at the school, was the keeper of the keys and the forester.

Unfortunately, the hut is not there now, but here you can have a great rest and admire the beauty of these places.

Returning to London, you can still visit several places associated with the filming of films about our hero.

Flitwick's office

Filming of the office of Professor Flitwick, Dean of the Ravenclaw School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, took place in one of the classrooms of the oldest public school for boys.

Harrow School is located a few miles from London and is famous for the fact that many people who later became famous, cultural, scientific and political figures studied within its walls. Among them is Winston Churchill.

forbidden Forest

A mysterious place inhabited by all sorts of unusual creatures: huge spiders, unicorns, thestrals, centaurs. In this dark and scary forest Hogwarts school students were forbidden to go unaccompanied by adult wizards.

Filming of this place took place in Black Park in Buckinghamshire (Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire), about 32 kilometers from London. The territory of the Park is often used for filming movies. And it is no coincidence that the choice fell on this place when filming a series of films about Harry Potter. In the Black Park, even on sunny days, twilight always reigns.

Yew Alley

On this street in the house at number 4 in the family of my aunt (the only relatives of Harry Potter) we first met Harry. Here he lived from the moment when he, small child, brought Hagrid to this house, until his flight to Hogwarts school for 9 whole years, that is, until he found out about his magical abilities.

In reality, this old street is located in the town of Little Winging in the county of Berkshire (Berkshire) and it is called Picket Post Close.

Godric's Hollow

And we will complete our journey by visiting the place where the story of the boy who survived began.

This is a small settlement where they lived as ordinary people, and magicians: Harry Potter's parents and he himself until the moment when, at the request of Albus Dumbledore, Hagrid did not take him from his destroyed parental home to his aunt's house.

To do this, we will go to Godric's Hollow in Lacock Abbey in the vicinity of Bath, Wiltshire, which is located approximately 2 hours from London.

This is one of the oldest and most picturesque places in England. Ancient stone houses, narrow streets, the history of the 13th century abbey make spending time in these places fascinating and educational.

This is where we end our tour today. I hope you enjoyed our trip and learned something new for yourself.

And in the following articles we will visit, which was opened in 2012 at the Warner Bros. film studio, and. But we will talk about this next time.