Following Harry Potter

Number 4, Privet Drive

📍 12 Picket Post Close — Bracknell, Berkshire

On screen

Home of the Dursleys, Harry’s Muggle aunt and uncle. Harry sleeps in the cupboard under the stairs, Dudley counts his birthday presents, and soon the letters from Hogwarts start arriving by the dozen. The front of the house was filmed on a quiet cul-de-sac in Bracknell.

The place today

A private house on a quiet estate in Bracknell, about an hour from London. A family lives here: see it from the street only, quietly, without disturbing the neighbours.

Did you know? The real street appears only in the first film. Filming there again and again was impractical, so for the later films a replica was built at the Leavesden studios.

Sources: movie-locations · Wikipedia EN · AP

The snake at the zoo

📍 The old Reptile House, London Zoo — Regent’s Park, London

On screen

On Dudley’s birthday the Dursleys take the boys to the zoo. At a snake tank Harry discovers he can talk to snakes: the glass vanishes, Dudley tumbles in, and the escaping snake hisses its thanks.

The place today

London Zoo, in Regent’s Park; entry is ticketed. The reptiles moved to a new building in 2024, and in October 2025 the old 1926 Reptile House reopened as ZooTown, a play space for young children.

Did you know? According to London Zoo, the tank used was actually its black mamba’s. The talking snake was computer-generated.

Sources: London Zoo · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

The way to the Leaky Cauldron

📍 Leadenhall Market — City of London

On screen

Hagrid takes Harry to London to buy his school things. They cross a Victorian covered market, and Hagrid steps through a shabby door into the Leaky Cauldron, the pub Muggles can’t see. Behind it, through a brick wall, lies Diagon Alley.

The place today

A Victorian covered market in the heart of the financial district. The arcades are free and open to all, and the shops and bars mostly trade on weekdays. Look for the film’s door in little Bull’s Head Passage, on the edge of the market.

Did you know? Diagon Alley itself wasn’t filmed here: it was a set built at the Leavesden studios. Leadenhall gave the film only the Muggle approach and the Leaky Cauldron’s door.

Sources: movie-locations · Wikipedia EN · Time Out

Gringotts Wizarding Bank

📍 Australia House — Strand, London

On screen

Harry and Hagrid cross the marble hall of the wizarding bank, where goblins write, weigh and count coins. Harry discovers his parents left him a fortune, and Hagrid collects a small package from vault 713.

The place today

The Australian High Commission, a working diplomatic building. The interior is not open to the public apart from rare Open House festival visits; you can see the front from the Strand.

Did you know? According to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, the first film’s banking hall was shot here, in Australia House’s Exhibition Hall. For the final film the hall was built as a studio set.

Sources: Warner Bros. Studio Tour · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

📍 King’s Cross station — King’s Cross, London

On screen

Harry is alone at King’s Cross with a ticket for a platform that doesn’t exist. He follows the Weasleys, runs his trolley at the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10, and comes out on the other side, facing the red train to Hogwarts.

The place today

A working station. The platforms are behind the ticket barriers, but inside the station, next to the Harry Potter shop, there is a free photo spot with a trolley vanishing into the wall. Expect a queue; the paid professional photo is optional. The Google Maps link takes you to this spot.

Did you know? Filming actually used platforms 4 and 5. J.K. Rowling told the BBC in 2001 that she had really been thinking of Euston station, not King’s Cross.

Sources: movie-locations · Wikipedia EN · Historic UK

Arriving at Hogsmeade station

📍 Goathland station — Goathland, North Yorkshire

On screen

The Hogwarts Express pulls into a small country station at night. Hagrid gathers the first-years and leads them down to the boats that will carry them across to the castle.

The place today

A heritage station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway steam line, with a tea room and a shop. Trains run seasonally, and only on special dates in winter, so check the railway’s timetable before you go.

Did you know? British TV viewers also know the station as Aidensfield in the ITV series Heartbeat.

Sources: North Yorkshire Moors Railway · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

The staircase to the Great Hall

📍 Christ Church, the Hall staircase — Oxford

On screen

The first-years climb a stone staircase under a fan-vaulted ceiling on their way to the Sorting. On the stairs Draco Malfoy introduces himself to Harry, and Professor McGonagall greets them: “Welcome to Hogwarts.”

The place today

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.

Did you know? The hall at the top wasn’t filmed: Hogwarts’ Great Hall was built at the studios, inspired by the college’s dining hall. The same stairs return in the second film, inside Tom Riddle’s memory.

Sources: Christ Church · Experience Oxfordshire · movie-locations

The first flying lesson

📍 Alnwick Castle — Alnwick, Northumberland

On screen

In their first flying lesson Neville’s broom runs wild and he falls. While the teacher takes him to the hospital wing, Malfoy snatches Neville’s Remembrall and flies off with it. Harry, who has never flown before, chases him and catches it in mid-air.

The place today

A medieval castle that is still home to the Dukes of Northumberland. It opens to visitors in season, roughly late March to October, with a ticket. In the Outer Bailey, right where the flying lesson was filmed, broomstick training sessions for children are included in the ticket.

Did you know? Matthew Lewis, who played Neville, recalled being strapped to a broomstick hanging from a crane mounted on a pickup truck.

Sources: Alnwick Castle · movie-locations · This is Durham

Wingardium Leviosa

📍 Harrow School, the Fourth Form Room — Harrow on the Hill, London

On screen

In Professor Flitwick’s Charms class the students try to make a feather float. Hermione’s rises, Ron’s won’t budge and another boy’s blows up in his face. After class Ron mocks Hermione, and she overhears.

The place today

A working private school, one of England’s oldest and best known. You can only get in on a guided tour: public tours run a few times a year with tickets, and groups can book private ones.

Did you know? The room dates from 1615 and needed little dressing for the film. Its wooden panels are carved with the names of generations of pupils, including the poet Lord Byron.

Sources: movie-locations · Londonist · Historic England

Hunting the troll

📍 Gloucester Cathedral, the cloister — Gloucester

On screen

On Halloween a troll gets loose in the castle. Harry and Ron realise Hermione hasn’t heard the warning and run through the corridors to find her, hiding behind a stone column as the troll’s huge shadow lumbers past.

The place today

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.

Did you know? The columns they hide behind belong to the Lavatorium, the monks’ medieval washing place in the north walk of the cloister.

Sources: Visit Gloucester · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

Hedwig in the snow

📍 Durham Cathedral, the cloister — Durham

On screen

Winter at Hogwarts. Harry steps into a snow-covered courtyard holding Hedwig, his snowy owl, and releases her to fly over the castle.

The place today

A Norman cathedral begun in 1093 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Entry is free, with donations welcome. The cloister and its central garth are open to visitors, and non-flash photography is allowed except during services.

Did you know? Hogwarts towers were added to the cathedral digitally. The production spent about two weeks filming in Durham in autumn 2000.

Sources: Durham Cathedral · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

The Restricted Section

📍 Duke Humfrey’s Library, the Bodleian — Oxford

On screen

On Christmas night Harry is given an Invisibility Cloak. He sneaks into the library’s Restricted Section, a book he opens starts screaming, and he flees before the caretaker can catch him.

The place today

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.

Did you know? According to the Bodleian, the flame in Harry’s lantern was added by computer: fire is forbidden in the library, and new readers still swear an oath never to kindle one.

Sources: Bodleian Libraries · Experience Oxfordshire · movie-locations

The Mirror of Erised

📍 Lacock Abbey — Lacock, Wiltshire

On screen

Hiding in a disused room, Harry finds a tall, ancient mirror. Looking into it, he sees his mother and father standing beside him. Dumbledore later explains that the mirror shows the heart’s deepest desire.

The place today

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.

Did you know? According to the National Trust, Lacock Abbey served as Hogwarts corridors and classrooms in the first two films. Snape’s Potions classroom was filmed here too, in the abbey’s sacristy.

Sources: National Trust · movie-locations

Detention in the Forbidden Forest

📍 Black Park Country Park — Wexham, Buckinghamshire

On screen

As punishment, Harry, Hermione, Neville and Malfoy follow Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest at night. They find a dead unicorn; a hooded figure drinking its blood goes for Harry until a centaur rescues him.

The place today

A public woodland and lake park right next to Pinewood Studios. Entry is free and parking is paid. According to the county council, it is its most popular filming location.

Did you know? Filming in a real forest the crew couldn’t control proved hard, so from the second film on the Forbidden Forest was built at the studios; that set is now part of the Studio Tour.

Sources: Warner Bros. Studio Tour · Buckinghamshire Council · Find That Location

The flying car takes off

📍 St Pancras, the Gothic front — St Pancras, London

On screen

The way to the platform is sealed and the train leaves without Harry and Ron. They take Mr Weasley’s flying Ford Anglia, lift off outside the station and fly over London after the train.

The place today

The 1860s–70s Victorian building is now a hotel above the Eurostar terminus. You can admire the front free from Euston Road; King’s Cross is a few minutes’ walk away.

Did you know? The “King’s Cross” exterior is really its neighbour, St Pancras: King’s Cross isn’t the most glamorous of buildings, and St Pancras’s Gothic front looks far grander on screen.

Sources: movie-locations · Wikipedia EN · Historic UK

The flying car meets the train

📍 Glenfinnan Viaduct — Glenfinnan, Scottish Highlands

On screen

Ron and Harry follow the Hogwarts Express north. The car drops down onto the viaduct, the train comes up behind them, and Harry is left dangling from the open door until Ron hauls him back in.

The place today

A working railway viaduct on the Fort William–Mallaig line. From the National Trust for Scotland visitor centre car park, a path climbs to the viewpoint in about 15 minutes. The Jacobite steam train crosses in season (in 2026, June to late October; book ahead), and ordinary trains cross all year. Never walk on the viaduct.

Did you know? Built between 1897 and 1901, it is Scotland’s longest concrete railway bridge. According to the National Trust for Scotland, it appears in three Harry Potter films.

Sources: National Trust for Scotland · movie-locations

Crash-landing in the Whomping Willow

📍 Alnwick Castle — Alnwick, Northumberland

On screen

The car finally reaches Hogwarts and crashes into the Whomping Willow. The tree beats it furiously and throws out Harry, Ron and their trunks, and the battered car drives off alone into the Forbidden Forest.

About the place itself: see scene 08 ↑

Did you know? No such tree grows at Alnwick: the Whomping Willow was built separately, at a studio.

Sources: Alnwick Castle · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

Ron’s curse backfires

📍 Durham Cathedral, the cloister — Durham

On screen

The Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch teams clash in the courtyard. Malfoy insults Hermione, Ron tries to curse him with his broken wand, and the spell backfires: Ron starts throwing up slugs.

About the place itself: see scene 11 ↑

Did you know? It is the same courtyard where Harry releases Hedwig in the first film. According to the cathedral, its cloister appears in the first two films only.

Sources: movie-locations · This is Durham · Durham Cathedral

The writing on the wall

📍 Gloucester Cathedral, the cloister — Gloucester

On screen

On Halloween Harry hears a mysterious voice inside the walls. He, Ron and Hermione follow it and find water on the floor, the caretaker’s cat petrified and hanging, and a message daubed in blood: the Chamber of Secrets has been opened.

About the place itself: see scene 10 ↑

Did you know? So that no “blood” touched the medieval stone, the crew built a false wall over the real one.

Sources: Visit Gloucester · movie-locations

The Knight Bus squeezes through

📍 Lambeth Bridge — Lambeth, London

On screen

After accidentally inflating Uncle Vernon’s sister and running away, Harry boards the Knight Bus, a purple triple-decker. It hurtles through London, and on a Thames bridge it squeezes itself thin to slip between two red double-deckers.

The place today

A public road bridge with pavements, free and always open, beside Lambeth Palace and a few hundred metres from the Houses of Parliament. The red buses still cross it.

Did you know? The film’s stunt coordinator, Greg Powell, called it “the most expensive night sequence ever shot in London”.

Sources: movie-locations · London SE1 · Wikipedia EN

The Leaky Cauldron, new address

📍 7 Stoney Street, Borough Market — Southwark, London

On screen

The bus pulls up under a railway bridge by Borough Market and Harry steps off at the Leaky Cauldron. Inside, the Minister for Magic is waiting to tell him he won’t be punished for the inflated aunt.

The place today

A public street beside Borough Market, one of London’s best-known food markets. Under the railway bridge there are restaurants and bars today; the market keeps its own opening hours.

Did you know? The crew filmed here through the night of Saturday 1 March 2003, and a café next door was briefly turned into a wizarding bookshop.

Sources: London SE1 · movie-locations

The climb to the tower classroom

📍 St Paul’s Cathedral, the Geometric Staircase — City of London

On screen

Harry, Ron and Hermione climb a dizzying spiral staircase to a tower classroom, for a lesson with a teacher who reads the future. She studies the tea leaves in Harry’s cup and finds an omen of death.

The place today

The cathedral is open to sightseers with a ticket, and free for services. You can’t climb the staircase itself: you see it only on a special guided tour, at extra cost and booked ahead.

Did you know? The staircase’s official name is the Dean’s Staircase. According to the cathedral, it has appeared in two Harry Potter films, Prisoner of Azkaban among them.

Sources: St Paul’s Cathedral · London SE1

Buckbeak

📍 Virginia Water Lake — Windsor Great Park, Surrey

On screen

In Hagrid’s first lesson as a teacher he introduces the class to Buckbeak the hippogriff. Harry bows, is allowed to climb on, and is carried on a flight skimming the lake. When Malfoy insults Buckbeak, he gets slashed.

The place today

A lake in Windsor Great Park, with a walking path of about 8 km around it. Entry is free and parking is paid. The exact filming spot isn’t documented; the Google Maps link opens the little Cascade at the lake’s eastern end, where the fourth film also shot.

Did you know? An on-set report from August 2003 describes a paddock set on the lakeshore, with doubles for Ron and Malfoy and extras at the fence.

Sources: HPANA · Egham Museum · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

Hagrid’s hut

📍 The hillside opposite the Clachaig Inn — Glencoe, Scottish Highlands

On screen

On the evening of Buckbeak’s execution, Harry, Ron and Hermione visit a despairing Hagrid at his hut, then hide behind the pumpkin patch as the Minister and the executioner arrive. Later Harry and Hermione travel back in time to the same hillside to set Buckbeak free.

The place today

The hut is gone and the hillside is just a hillside again. The spot is right across the road from the Clachaig Inn, at the foot of Clachaig Gully above the little Torren Lochan. The climb is steep and can be boggy, and the inn’s car park is for customers.

Did you know? The hut was one of three sets built here in spring 2003. The production returned to the same spot in October 2007 to film Half-Blood Prince.

Sources: Glencoe Scotland · VisitScotland · Glencoe Museum

The boot on the hilltop

📍 Ivinghoe Beacon — Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire

On screen

At dawn Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys climb a bare hill with Cedric Diggory and his father. At the top lies an old boot: everyone grabs it, and it whisks them away to the Quidditch World Cup.

The place today

An open chalk hill in the Chilterns, owned by the National Trust. It’s free, with wide views from the top, and it marks one end of the Ridgeway, one of England’s oldest national trails.

Did you know? According to the National Trust, the Ashridge Estate, which the hill belongs to, was the World Cup setting in this film; but despite the legend, none of its trees played the Whomping Willow.

Sources: HPANA · movie-locations · National Trust

Draco the bouncing ferret

📍 New College, the cloisters — Oxford

On screen

In an arcaded courtyard Harry warns Cedric that the first task is dragons. Malfoy jeers from a tree, and when he tries to curse Harry from behind, the new teacher, Mad-Eye Moody, turns him into a bouncing ferret.

The place today

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.

Did you know? According to the college’s own visitor leaflet, the holm oak in the corner of the cloister is now best known for its role in Goblet of Fire.

Sources: New College · movie-locations · Visit South East England

The first task: the Hungarian Horntail

📍 Steall Falls — Glen Nevis, Scottish Highlands

On screen

In the first task of the Triwizard Tournament Harry must snatch a golden egg from a Hungarian Horntail. The dragon breaks its chain and chases him on his broom far over the mountains, until Harry doubles back and grabs the egg.

The place today

On foot only: from the car park at the end of the Glen Nevis road it’s about 45 minutes each way on a rough path through a narrow gorge. Wear sturdy shoes. It’s free.

Did you know? Steall is Scotland’s second-highest waterfall, with a drop of about 120 metres; the scenery around it served as backdrop for the task and the chase.

Sources: VisitScotland · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

McGonagall’s dance lesson

📍 The Divinity School, the Bodleian — Oxford

On screen

Before the Yule Ball, Professor McGonagall gathers the Gryffindors in a vaulted hall to teach them to dance, and picks a mortified Ron as her partner for the demonstration.

The place today

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.

Did you know? Built between 1424 and 1488, it is the university’s oldest teaching room. In the first film it played the Hogwarts hospital wing.

Sources: Bodleian Libraries · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

Number 12, Grimmauld Place

📍 Claremont Square — Islington, London

On screen

After a night flight over London on broomsticks, Harry and his guard land in the garden of a quiet square. They walk out through the gate, and between numbers 11 and 13 another house slowly pushes its way into view: number 12, headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

The place today

A Georgian residential square near Angel station. The houses are private, so photograph from the pavement and don’t disturb the residents. The film’s number 12 is a visual effect and doesn’t exist.

Did you know? The grassy “square” is actually a covered reservoir: the New River Company built the first one here in 1709.

Sources: movie-locations · Lights, Camera, Islington · Wikipedia EN

By Tube to the hearing

📍 Westminster station — Westminster, London

On screen

Arthur Weasley takes Harry to his disciplinary hearing by Underground, delighted by every bit of Muggle technology. They come up right beside the Houses of Parliament.

The place today

A working Tube station (Jubilee, District and Circle lines). You need a ticket or contactless payment to reach the platforms. The exit faces Big Ben.

Did you know? According to the BBC, Transport for London closed the whole station on Sunday 22 October 2006 for the shoot, with trains passing straight through.

Sources: BBC · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

The phone box to the Ministry

📍 Great Scotland Yard — Whitehall, London

On screen

Arthur and Harry squeeze into a red phone box on a back street off Whitehall. Arthur dials 62442 and the box sinks below the pavement into the Ministry of Magic.

The place today

A public street between Whitehall and Northumberland Avenue, free and always open. The film spot is the corner with Scotland Place, and Harry Potter walking tours pass by.

Did you know? There’s no phone box here: the one in the film was a prop. The production came back to the same corner for Deathly Hallows – Part 1, where the trio waylay Ministry workers to disguise themselves.

Sources: movie-locations · Wikipedia EN · Free Tours by Foot

Snape’s worst memory

📍 Blenheim Palace, the “Harry Potter tree” — Woodstock, near Oxford

On screen

In a lesson where Snape teaches him to shield his mind, Harry breaks into Snape’s memory. He sees the teenage Snape humiliated by James Potter and Sirius under a tree by the lake, and it shakes everything Harry believed about his father.

The place today

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.

Did you know? According to Blenheim, the cedar had been growing on the estate for more than 250 years before its film role. Blenheim is also where Winston Churchill was born.

Sources: Blenheim Palace · movie-locations · Oxford Mail (HPANA)

Death Eaters wreck the bridge

📍 Millennium Bridge — Bankside, London

On screen

Death Eaters streak over London as black smoke. They twist a footbridge over the Thames until it snaps and falls into the water while people run. It’s the first sign that the war has reached the Muggle world.

The place today

A footbridge, free and always open, between St Paul’s Cathedral and Tate Modern. The collapse was computer-generated; the bridge is still standing.

Did you know? Filming took place over the weekend of 8–9 March 2008, without the main cast; the river was closed to boats so a helicopter could fly low.

Sources: London SE1 · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

Harry at the station café

📍 Surbiton station — Surbiton, south-west London

On screen

Late at night Harry sits in a railway station café reading the Daily Prophet and flirting with the waitress. Dumbledore appears on the platform and takes him away by Apparition.

The place today

A working 1930s Art Deco station and listed building. The café from the film is now a branch of a coffee chain.

Did you know? It was filmed overnight after the last trains, with transport police on site each night. The “Divine Magic” billboard in the scene was built for the film.

Sources: The Leaky Cauldron · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

Finding Slughorn

📍 Lacock village — Lacock, Wiltshire

On screen

Harry and Dumbledore apparate at night into a sleepy English village and walk to the house where Horace Slughorn is hiding, disguised as an armchair. Dumbledore uses Harry as bait to lure him back to teach at Hogwarts.

The place today

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.

Did you know? The first film shot in the village too: according to the National Trust, the house at 20 Church Street is Harry’s parents’ home in Godric’s Hollow. Today it is let as a holiday cottage.

Sources: Wikipedia EN (Wiltshire Times) · movie-locations · National Trust

The “free period”

📍 Gloucester Cathedral, the cloister — Gloucester

On screen

Harry and Ron think they have a free period and wander the corridors. Professor McGonagall catches them and sends them to Slughorn’s Potions class, where Harry gets an old textbook full of notes by “the Half-Blood Prince”.

About the place itself: see scene 10 ↑

Did you know? Filming in February 2008 brought Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Maggie Smith to the cloister, with 174 local children as extras.

Sources: Visit Gloucester · The Leaky Cauldron · movie-locations

The rock below the cliffs

📍 Cliffs of Moher — County Clare, Ireland

On screen

Dumbledore apparates with Harry onto a wave-lashed rock beneath towering sea cliffs. From there they enter a cave to find the locket that is one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes.

The place today

A visitor centre open all year except 24–26 December, with tickets best booked online; hours change with the season. It can close in extreme weather, and the edge is sheer and unfenced: stay on the paths.

Did you know? The rock is really Lemon Rock, off the Kerry coast some 90 miles to the south, placed digitally in front of the cliffs. The cliffs were filmed mostly from a helicopter and a boat in September 2007.

Sources: Irish Times · Ireland.com · movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

Snape arrives at Malfoy Manor

📍 Hardwick Hall — Chesterfield, Derbyshire

On screen

Snape lands and strides up to a forbidding mansion for Voldemort’s council of Death Eaters around a long table. Later in the film Harry, Ron and Hermione are dragged here as prisoners.

The place today

An Elizabethan mansion from the 1590s, run by the National Trust. The park and gardens are open all year and the house seasonally; house and gardens are ticketed, and parking is charged for non-members.

Did you know? Production designer Stuart Craig said Malfoy Manor was based on Hardwick. The real front was filmed and given extra spires and towers by computer; the interiors were studio sets.

Sources: Wikipedia EN (BBC Derby) · movie-locations · National Trust

Landing in Piccadilly Circus

📍 Piccadilly Circus & Shaftesbury Avenue — West End, London

On screen

Death Eaters crash the wedding and Hermione disapparates with Harry and Ron. They land in the traffic by Piccadilly Circus, are nearly hit by a double-decker bus, and walk off still in their wedding clothes.

The place today

A public square, free and always open, at the start of Shaftesbury Avenue and the theatre district. Traffic is very heavy: take photos from the pavement, not the road.

Did you know? In the book they land on Tottenham Court Road. The crew filmed here on April nights in 2009, from 9 pm to 5:30 am, with about 400 extras.

Sources: The Leaky Cauldron · movie-locations

Death Eaters stop the train

📍 Rannoch Moor, Rannoch station — Rannoch Moor, Scottish Highlands

On screen

Death Eaters halt the Hogwarts Express on a bleak moor and board it to search for Harry. Neville stands up and tells them he isn’t there.

The place today

The Glasgow–Fort William railway crosses the moor. See it from the train window, or drive to Rannoch station at the end of the B846. The exact spot along the line hasn’t been published.

Did you know? About 100 pupils from a Fort William high school were extras as the train ran between Tulloch and Rannoch in September 2009.

Sources: VisitScotland · The Leaky Cauldron (Press and Journal)

Into the Ministry through the toilets

📍 Horse Guards Avenue — Whitehall, London

On screen

Disguised as Ministry staff, Harry, Ron and Hermione join officials going down steps to a public toilet in the street. Inside, they flush themselves straight into the Ministry of Magic.

The place today

An ordinary street between Whitehall and the Thames embankment. The film spot is at the Whitehall junction, by the statue of the 8th Duke of Devonshire, a minute’s walk from Great Scotland Yard.

Did you know? There are no toilets here: the stairway was a temporary prop. The big building alongside is Britain’s real Ministry of Defence.

Sources: movie-locations · The Magician walking tours · Finding the Universe

Camping on the cliff top

📍 Malham Cove — Malham, Yorkshire Dales

On screen

After Ron walks out, Harry and Hermione are left alone. They pitch their tent on a vast limestone pavement above a cliff, in the windswept Yorkshire hills.

The place today

Free. Walk from the pay-and-display car park by the National Park Centre in Malham village, then climb about 400 stone steps to the top. The edge is unfenced and the cracks are slippery when wet. There are no toilets at the cove.

Did you know? Filming took place in November 2009. The cliff is about 80 metres high, and the pavement on top is made of limestone blocks split by deep cracks.

Sources: Wikipedia EN (Yorkshire Post) · movie-locations · Malhamdale

Godric’s Hollow in the snow

📍 The Guildhall and De Vere House — Lavenham, Suffolk

On screen

On Christmas Eve Harry and Hermione reach snowy Godric’s Hollow, the village where Harry was born. They find Lily and James Potter’s grave and the family’s ruined house.

The place today

A medieval village of crooked timber-framed houses, free to wander. The Guildhall on the Market Place is a National Trust museum with an entry fee; De Vere House on Water Street is private and seen from outside only.

Did you know? Lavenham was filmed in secret with no actors; Harry and Hermione were added digitally. Which building played the Potters’ house? Sources disagree: a local paper says the Guildhall on the Market Place, while the owners of De Vere House say it was theirs.

Sources: The Leaky Cauldron (Suffolk Free Press) · De Vere House · movie-locations

The chase in the woods

📍 Swinley Forest — Bracknell, Berkshire

On screen

A gang hunting fugitives for the Death Eaters chases Harry, Ron and Hermione through the trees. Just before they are caught, Hermione hits Harry with a jinx that swells his face so he won’t be recognised, and the three are taken to Malfoy Manor.

The place today

Crown Estate woodland, free to walk. The Look Out visitor centre on Nine Mile Ride has maps, parking and bike hire. Don’t look for the film’s rivers and mountains: much of the backdrop was added digitally.

Did you know? The shoot was exposed in June 2009 when a call sheet was left behind at the forest’s visitor centre, even though security had denied any filming.

Sources: The Leaky Cauldron · Get Reading · Wikipedia EN

Dobby’s death

📍 Freshwater West — Pembrokeshire, Wales

On screen

Dobby apparates the escapees from Malfoy Manor to a beach by Shell Cottage, but the knife Bellatrix threw has struck him, and he dies in Harry’s arms. Harry digs his grave in the dunes by hand, without magic.

The place today

A wild beach in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, with parking and toilets. Not for swimming: big swells and dangerous currents. Dobby’s memorial is in the first row of dunes, about ten minutes’ walk from the car park.

Did you know? Fans built a memorial to Dobby in the dunes. In 2022 the National Trust decided to let it stay for now, but asks visitors to take photos only: no socks, no painted pebbles.

Sources: movie-locations · Wikipedia EN · ITV News

Voldemort takes the Elder Wand

📍 Eilean na Moine, Loch Eilt — Loch Eilt, Scottish Highlands

On screen

Voldemort comes to Dumbledore’s white tomb on an island in the lake by Hogwarts. He breaks it open, takes the Elder Wand from the dead headmaster’s hands and fires it into the sky.

The place today

See the island from a rough lay-by on the A830 at the west end of the loch. The path is boggy, there are midges in summer and no facilities: the nearest toilets are at Glenfinnan. The Jacobite steam train runs along the loch, and there is nothing from the film on the island itself.

Did you know? The real island was moved digitally onto a bigger loch, Loch Arkaig, for a grander view.

Sources: Wikipedia EN (Sunday Mail) · Live Breathe Scotland

Shell Cottage

📍 Freshwater West — Pembrokeshire, Wales

On screen

Harry stands by Dobby’s grave in the dunes outside Bill and Fleur’s Shell Cottage. Inside, he questions Mr Ollivander about the wands and strikes a deal with the goblin Griphook to break into the Lestranges’ vault at Gringotts.

About the place itself: see scene 45 ↑

Did you know? Shell Cottage was built at the foot of the dunes for both parts of Deathly Hallows and taken down after filming. What remains is the fans’ memorial.

Sources: movie-locations · Wikipedia EN

Breaking into Gringotts

📍 Warner Bros. Studio Tour London — Leavesden, near Watford

On screen

Hermione, disguised as Bellatrix, walks into Gringotts’ marble hall with Harry, Ron and Griphook. They ride a cart down to the Lestrange vault, find a cup that is a Horcrux, and escape on the back of a dragon.

The place today

All eight films were made here, and this is where the Great Hall, Diagon Alley, the Forbidden Forest and the Hogwarts bridge were built. Today it’s the Studio Tour, The Making of Harry Potter: tickets must be booked in advance, with no sales on the day. A shuttle, included in the ticket, runs from Watford Junction, about 20 minutes by train from London Euston.

Did you know? In the first film the hall was filmed at Australia House in London. For the final film it was built as a set at Leavesden, and today that set, vault included, is part of the Studio Tour.

Sources: Warner Bros. Studio Tour · Wikipedia EN

Nineteen years later

📍 King’s Cross station — King’s Cross, London

On screen

Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, now grown up, bring their children to the Hogwarts Express. On the platform Harry reassures his son Albus Severus, who is nervous about the Sorting, and the parents wave the train goodbye.

About the place itself: see scene 05 ↑

Did you know? The epilogue was first shot in a rushed two days at the real station, then reshot on a Leavesden stage on 21 December 2010. What you see is a blend of both.

Sources: The Leaky Cauldron · Wikipedia EN · VisitLondon