🎓 Films on the Map · Regional guide
The staircase to the Great Hall at Christ Church, the Restricted Section in the Bodleian Library, the corridors of Gloucester Cathedral and the classrooms of Lacock Abbey: much of Hogwarts was filmed here. 8 places, with itineraries for half a day and a day in Oxford and a second day in Gloucester and Lacock.
Photo: Jonas Magnus Lystad, CC0
The map
The numbers are a suggested walking order. Pick an area to zoom in, and tap a pin to see what was filmed there.
Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
Pin = a filming location from “Harry Potter — the filming locations” · the number = the suggested walking order
Tap a pin on the map
Locations, distances and times are estimates only. Check opening hours, prices, access and safety before you go.
The places
For each place: what was filmed there, what’s there today, an estimate of the visit time, and links to Google Maps and the scene page.
📍 Oxford · ≈ 50 min there
One of Oxford University’s largest colleges. Entry is ticketed and booking ahead online is wise. The visitor route climbs this very staircase into the Hall, which closes during student meals and sometimes at short notice.
📍 Oxford · ≈ 1 h there
A working 15th-century reading room, the oldest in the Bodleian Library. You can only enter on a paid guided tour, best booked ahead, and photography is restricted.
📍 Oxford · ≈ 35 min there
Open daily for a short self-guided visit on a cheap ticket, or as part of the Bodleian’s guided tours. It sometimes closes for events.
📍 Oxford · ≈ 30 min there
A 14th-century Oxford college. Visitors enter from New College Lane with a ticket. Winter hours are shorter and the cloisters sometimes close for events, so check the college website.
📍 Woodstock, near Oxford · ≈ 2 h 30 min there
A cedar of Lebanon on the bank of the Great Lake, below the palace near the Grand Bridge. Reach it on a Palace or Park ticket, or on foot along public rights of way from Woodstock. The tree is fenced, with cables supporting its branches.
📍 Gloucester · ≈ 50 min there
A working cathedral; entry is free, with a suggested donation. The cloister, with its famous fan vaulting, is open in visiting hours, which change around services and events. Harry Potter cloister tours run on some Saturdays.
📍 Lacock, Wiltshire · ≈ 45 min there
A medieval village almost entirely owned by the National Trust. Walking around is free, with a large car park by the abbey. Slughorn’s house and the Church Street cottage are private: look from the street only.
📍 Lacock, Wiltshire · ≈ 1 h 20 min there
A medieval abbey turned country house, run by the National Trust. The cloisters are open all year with a ticket; the upstairs rooms close in winter, from November to March.
Itineraries
All times here are estimates (a rough visit time plus travel by distance). Check opening hours and tickets before you go.
Estimate: ≈ 3 h 20 min
The four central Oxford places are close together: from Christ Church (ticketed, book ahead) it’s a quarter of an hour on foot to the Bodleian, and from there to the New College cloisters. Oxford is about an hour from London by train.
Estimate: ≈ 6 h 20 min
Christ Church’s staircase in the morning (ticketed, book ahead), then a quarter of an hour on foot to the Bodleian: the Divinity School on a self-guided ticket, Duke Humfrey’s on a guided tour only. Finish in the New College cloisters. Blenheim Palace is about 13 km north by bus or car and deserves its own half-day. Oxford is about an hour from London by train.
Day 1 · ≈ 6 h 20 min
Christ Church’s staircase in the morning (ticketed, book ahead), then a quarter of an hour on foot to the Bodleian: the Divinity School on a self-guided ticket, Duke Humfrey’s on a guided tour only. Finish in the New College cloisters. Blenheim Palace is about 13 km north by bus or car and deserves its own half-day. Oxford is about an hour from London by train.
Day 2 · ≈ 4 h 10 min
Gloucester Cathedral’s cloister in the morning (check there’s no event first), then about an hour and a half’s drive south to Lacock Abbey and its village. Park in the big car park by the abbey and walk.
Tips
The Studio Tour sells no tickets on the day, and they sell out. Christ Church, the Bodleian tours and the Jacobite are also best booked ahead.
In London, walk and take the Tube. Oxford is about an hour by train, the Studio Tour is a train to Watford Junction plus a shuttle, and for northern England and Scotland a car is easier.
Cathedrals and colleges are working places: they close for services, exams and events, sometimes at short notice. Keep quiet in churches; some ban photography during services.
The Privet Drive house in Bracknell, the homes on Claremont Square, the houses in Lacock village and De Vere House in Lavenham are people’s homes. Photograph from the street, quietly, and don’t enter gardens.
FAQ
This guide has 8 filming locations in Oxford, Gloucester and Lacock, from the “Harry Potter — the filming locations” collection, where 10 scenes were filmed. Each place has what was filmed there, what’s there today and a Google Maps link.
In many places. The flying lesson was shot at Alnwick Castle, the staircase to the Great Hall at Christ Church in Oxford, the corridors in Gloucester and Durham cathedrals, the classrooms at Lacock Abbey and Harrow School, and the library at the Bodleian. The castle you see from outside was built as a model at the Leavesden studios.
The guide has ready itineraries for half a day, one day and two days. As a rough estimate, all the places together take about 11 h 45 min of visiting and travel at a normal pace. The planner splits them into one to five days, at the pace you choose.
Yes. In the trip planner you pick the number of days, a pace and how you’ll get around, and get a day-by-day plan with time estimates, a map for each day and Google Maps directions. The plan is saved in your browser, and you can send it as a link.
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