Touring the World Of Harry Potter

Of course, everyone knows Harry Potter and his world of wizards and magic doesn't really exist. Hogwarts and all it's characters Hogwarts was created by J. K. Rowling in her fantasy series.
But, they had to shoot the movies somewhere, right? So, if your kids (or you, for that matter) are big Potter fans, and your travels are going to take you to London, why not go looking for the real life that helped depict the mythical Harry Potter?

Start in Central London, at Kings Cross Station. You can walk right up to platforms 9A and 9B, and just imagine there's a platform 9 and 3/4 between them. The scene where Harry releases the snake from it's cage was filmed at the London Zoo.

Next stop: North Yorkshire, and the train station in Hogsmeade Village, admirably portrayed in the movies by Goathland Station. Their website lists a variety of other TV shows and movies that have filmed there as well. Hogwarts, the school of wizardry, is actually a combination of several locations across the UK and some movie sets as well:

* Alnwick Castle, home of the Dukes and Earls of Northumberland and the second largest castle in England, served as the Hogwarts exterior in the first two movies.
* 1300 year old Gloucester Cathedral provided several interiors.
* The medeieval village of Lacock and Lacock Abbey provided more of the Hogwarts indoor scenes.
* The massive Hogwarts Library is actually a combination of Duke Humfrey's Library and the Divinity School at Oxford University.
* And the Great Hall of Oxford's largest college, Christ Church, is Hogwarts' principal stand-in.

All of these places have web sites listing their availability for tourism and attractions. So, the next time you're in England, why not try to chase down Harry Potter's stomping grounds...?

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