Harry Potter Scottish Road Trip
Harry Potter Scottish Road Trip
Visit filming locations from the world renowned Harry Potter films and novels with Alba Campers.
Harry Potter has been read and watched all over the world and has inspired us mere muggles to ponder a journey into a wizarding world. Scotland is a fantastic place for us Potterhead’s to visit filming locations from the world renowned Harry Potter films and novels.
Harry Potter Locations to Visit
Edinburgh – Greyfriars kirkyard, Tom Riddle’s Grave
Edinburgh – City Chambers, J.K. Rowling’s Handprint
Edinburgh – Balmoral Hotel, J.K. Rowling’s Deathly Hallows
Edinburgh – The Elephant House, Birthplace of Harry Potter
Northumberland – Castle Alnwick, internal scenes at Hogwarts
Durham – Durham Cathedral, external scenes at Hogwarts
Bridge of Orchy- Rannoch Moor, Deathly Hallows
Glencoe – Clachhaig Gully, Hagrid’s Hut
Glen Nevis – Steall Falls, Harry and the Goblet of Fire
Glenfinnan – Glenfinnan Viaduct, Hogwarts Express
Lochaber – Loch Morar, Prisoner of Azkaban
Evanton – Black Rock Gorge, Horntail Dragon
Harry Potter Roadtrip Route
We have created a scenic Road Trip to visit many of the Harry Potter locations and also take in much of the beautiful landscapes surrounding them. We have incorporated both Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national Park and the Cairngorms National Park into our Potterhead Route, which they are both always a joy to travel through. This is only a suggested route and you can choose to reduce or increase your trip length but we hope it at least gives you some magical inspiration on locations to visit.
Alnwick Castle
Starting from our location in Edinburgh, we would head along the scenic coastal road leading South of the border towards Alnwick Castle. This spectacular 11th century castle was used for many of the internal scenes for Hogwarts, School of Wizardry!
Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral is the next stop which you will recognise instantly from many iconic scenes in Harry Potter, like this one of Harry Potter & Hedwig below.
Rannoch Moor
Heading back North of the border to Bonnie Scotland we arrive at Rannoch Moor Viewpoint. Rannoch Moor is a vast, boggy landscape that sits elevated in the Highlands of Scotland in the Bridge of Orchy near Glencoe. You may recognise it from the Harry Potter movies when the Death Eaters stop the Hogwarts Express in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Hagrid’s Hut
Now which Harry Potter fan wouldn’t want to check out the exact spot where Hagrid’s Hut was filmed? That is our next stop on our Harry potter Road Trip! Hiding on the hills above Torren Lochan in Clachaig Gully, this beautiful Scottish landscape was used as a shooting location for the Prisoner of Azkaban, Order of the Phoenix and Half Blood Prince. Hagrid’s stone hut is no longer there as the film makers were asked to leave the area exactly as they found it, however you can visit the very spot and marvel at the surroundings.
Steall Falls
Steall Falls, This is the location where Harry catches the Golden Snitch in the Philosopher’s Stone, battles it out with Draco in the Chamber of Secrets and where Ron gets a little help from Hermione in the Quidditch Tryouts of Half-Blood Prince.
Hogwarts express
Our next location and a personal favourite is the beautiful town of Glenfinnan, home of Glenfinnan Viaduct. One of the more famous scenes involving the Glenfinnan Viaduct comes in the second film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Where Ron and Harry are flying a car over the Hogwarts Express. Glenfinnan is also home to arguably the most beautiful loch in all of Scotland. Loch Shiel has been used as the backdrop of Hogwarts School of Wizarding in several of the films and is one of the locations of the Black Lake in The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Half-Blood Prince.
Loch Morar
Loch Morar is our next stop, not a far drive from Glenfinnan, heading Northwest on the A830 to Mallaig. Loch Morar is the deepest freshwater loch in the British Isles at 310 meters. It is featured as part of Hogwarts Lake in most of the Harry Potter movies. Many of the scenes were a culmination of several Scottish Lochs with digital wizardry merging them seamlessly together.
Black Rock Gorge
Black Rock Gorge is another popular location for us Potterheads as this is the filming location in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! This dark cavern was chosen for the location where the Hungarian Horntail Dragon chases Harry Potter during the Triwizard Tournament.
‘This place has known magic’ – Albus Dumbledore
Birthplace of harry potter
Leaving the Black Rock Gorge we now venture back South and travel through The Cairngorms National Park, the largest national park in the UK and is one of the country’s most special and cared for landscapes. This will lead us to Perth and over the Forth Road Bridge back to Edinburgh.
There are many locations to visit in Edinburgh, this is where J.K. Rowling wrote much of the novels and gained inspiration. Edinburgh is easy to explore on foot or via public transport, parking vehicles in the city centre can be troublesome and expensive. We would recommend doing the Edinburgh locations either before departing on your Harry Potter Road Trip or afterwards. Edinburgh City Centre to Alba Campers is very easy to travel between via public transport with one direct bus.
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[…] and Loch Shiel is truly outstanding and worth the detour! You may recognise Glenfinnan Viaduct from Harry Potter, this was featured in the scene when Harry and his friend Ron flew across the bridge in their […]
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