Where was Harry Potter filmed? UK filming locations from Alnwick Castle to Glenfinnan Viaduct - and how to visit

Harry Potter is the biggest movie franchise in the UK and one of the most successful worldwide - the films have grossed more than $9 billion worldwide, beating the next highest-earning British franchise, James Bond by more than $1 billion.

It's hard to believe that the last Harry Potter film before the Fantastic Beasts spin-off was released more than a decade ago. In the years since, the franchise has continued to grow in popularity, with up to 6,000 people visiting Harry Potter studios in London each day.

It has now been announced that a new HBO series based on the original JK Rowling books is in the works with seven seasons slated to be released over a decade. Last month, all of the Harry Potter films and the first two Fantastic Beasts movies landed on Netflix - this is the first time the 8 Potter films have all been available on one streaming platform.

Since landing on the site, the movies have dominated the Top 10 Films list every day, suggesting that Netflix made the right decision in securing the streaming rights. As the biggest British pop culture export, Harry Potter features many iconic locations from across the UK. These are the most iconic British filming locations that feature in the Harry Potter films:

Where was Harry Potter filmed?

King’s Cross Station, London

King’s Cross is the location that Harry and the rest of the Hogwarts students head to in order to depart for Hogwarts - it features heavily in the first two movies. To get to the Hogwarts Express, students have to run full pelt at Platform 9 ¾ and are then magically transported to a secret section of the station.

You can visit both King’s Cross and Platform 9 ¾ - it is located to the left of Platform 9 and is hard to miss because there is usually a queue of tourists lining up to take photos. The ‘platform’ which is actually a photo stop, features a half a luggage trolley which has half-disappeared into the wall.

Alnwick Castle, Alnwick

Alnwick Castle is the most iconic Harry Potter filming location as it stands in for none other than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and features in some of the most well-known shots from the franchise.

The first two films were shot on location at the castle - Harry and his friends had their first broom lesson, and Harry learned how to play Quidditch at the outer bailey. You can visit the castle - tickets are £19.50 for adults and £10.25 for children.

Glenfinnan Viaduct, West Highland Line, Scotland

Glenfinnan Viaduct is one of the most well-known Harry Potter locations, having featured in three of the films. Its most famous scene comes in The Chamber of Secrets as Harry and Ron take a flying car to Hogwarts having missed the Hogwarts Express.

As the pair fly over the viaduct they realise that the train is hurtling along behind them and narrowly avoid a devastating collision. It features in later films as a backdrop to the students’ journey back to Hogwarts for another eventful year. You can actually ride along the viaduct on the Jacobite steam train, which was used as the Hogwarts Express in the films. Prices for a return ticket from Fort William To Mallaig (crossing the viaduct) start at £57.

Picket Post Close, Berkshire

Harry Potter’s childhood home of number four, Privet Drive was actually 12 Picket Post Close. The interior of the Berkshire property was used in the first film with exterior shots featured throughout the series.

The property last sold for £435,000 in 2018 and has been a niche tourist site for die hard Potter fans - the previous owner told The Mirror in 2016 that she had greeted tourists from the US, China, the Netherlands, and the Philippines. You can visit the street yourself, but you won’t be able to go inside as it is a private property.

Durham Cathedral, Durham

Durham Cathedral appears in Harry Potter several times over the series - scenes of Harry, Ron and Hermione walking between lessons were shot there, and Ron’s backfiring ‘eat slugs’ curse in Chamber of Secrets was fired at the Cloister Garth.

A replica of the Cloister was created as a set for the scene where Harry frees Dobby, much to Lucius Malfoy’s annoyance. Minerva McGonagall's transfiguration classroom was filmed at the Chapter House for the first two films. Other major movies filmed there include Avengers: Endgame and Elizabeth. You can visit the cathedral - it is free to enter though a £5 donation is recommended for those who can afford it. 

Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester

Another cathedral that pops up in the franchise, Gloucester features most often in the first film but also appears again in Chamber of Secrets, and The Half-Blood Prince. It serves as the girls’ bathroom, in the scenes where the troll attacks Hermione, and when Harry first encounters Moaning Myrtle.

It also serves as the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, the place where the warning about the chamber of secrets being opened is written in blood on a wall, and the setting for Snape and Malfoy discussing their uneasy alliance. Like Durham Cathedral, Gloucester is free to enter but a donation is recommended.

Leadenhall Market, London

Leadenhall Market stands in for Diagon Alley, the street where wizards do most of their magical shopping, in The Philosopher’s Stone. Harry and Hagrid head to Ollivander's wand shop, and Hagrid buys Harry an owl in scenes shot outside the market.

It is often mistakenly assumed that The Shambles in York is where the Diagon Alley scenes were filmed. And whilst the street may have been JK Rowling’s inspiration for the street, and now boasts several Harry Potter merchandise shops itself, no scenes for the movies were shot there. Leadenhall Market is open seven days a week and is free to look around.

Goathland Station, North Yorkshire

Goathland Station in the North Yorkshire Moors serves a dual role in Harry Potter as both the Hogwarts Express station at Hogwarts, and the station at Hogsmeade village, where the students go on a school trip.

The station has also featured in All Creatures Great and Small, Heartbeat, and Keeping Mum. The station is on a heritage railway line - daily services are run from Whitby to Pickering and in the other direction. Return tickets can be bought for £45.

Oxford University, Oxford

Oxford’s famous university is a major feature throughout the Harry Potter films. The Bodleian Library, which first opened in 1602, is the setting of Professor Trelawney’s divination classes, as well as Hogwarts’ own library where Harry searches for information on Nicolas Flamel. 

The New College Cloisters provide the backdrop for the scene where Mad-Eye Moody (technically Barty Crouch Jr.) turns Draco Malfoy turns into a ferret in The Goblet of Fire, and Christ Church College appears in various scenes, including when Harry first discovers his father’s quidditch trophies.