Hello Young Adventurers!

Locations Visited: Edinburgh, Scotland. Alnwick Castle, England. Loch Lomond, Scotland. Fort William/ Glennfinnan, Scotland.
Languages Spoken: English, Gaelic
Words Learned: Loch- Lake

Magic is something that human beings have always looked for in this world.  It helped us explain the unexplainable back before science had caught up with our knowledge- weather, natural disasters, and other natural functions that surround us everyday,  Magic can also be something as simple as a smile that brightens up someone’s day or an act of kindness for someone.  Magic can be found in hope when things seem hard or rough.  Unexplainable, untouchable, and powerful.  Magic is all around us even today, we just have to know how to see it.  

This magic is exactly why I was so excited to come to Scotland.  Here in this country is a piece of magic that has quite literally changed the world and basically defined my entire childhood personally.  That’s right- here in Edinburgh, Scotland is where JK Rowling wrote the very first adventure to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Yup.  Welcome to the birthplace of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s (Or Sorcerer’s depending on location) Stone.  Marie is back traveling with me for a few days, and we’re so excited about reliving our favorite books!  So, put on your robes, grab your wands, and lets go explore the Wizarding World that lays hidden within Scotland.

Edinburgh, Scotland (3 days)

This place is SO COOL.  This city may have been the nerdiest stop of my life, and I loved every second of it, even if it was absurdly cold.  Edinburgh is the capitol city of Scotland, founded officially around the 1100’s is now part of the greater United Kingdom which includes Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.  This is different than Great Britain which includes all of the same with the exception of Northern Ireland.

The history here is amazing, and I could spend multiple blog posts talking about that, but I’m not here for that today.  This part of my journey is all about seeing and doing as many things that relate to Harry Potter that I can possibly fit in.  Like I said earlier, JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone here in Edinburgh at a cafe called The Elephant House.  JK had hardly any money to her name back then, and would come here to write.  She would order a pot of tea and slowly drink it to make her money last as long as possible so that she could sit by the window that overlooks the city and write.  Her stories would later make her one of the wealthiest women alive, and it all began in cafe.  This view also led to some of the inspirations for many of the characters and settings that we now know so well.  Let’s go and see some!

The view from The Elephant House overlooks a really old graveyard called The Greyfriar’s Kirkyard. (Kirk means church- similar to back when I was in The Netherlands!).  This graveyard is old and mysterious, and it was here that JK Rowling found many inspirations for some of the characters we now know best from the series.  Some of the names inspired from her walks among the graves are Professor McGonnagal, James Potter, Scrymgeour, and even Lord Voldemort himself- Tom Riddle.  Check out the photo’s below!  

Next to the graveyard is also a really large and beautiful school that became the original inspiration for Hogwarts itself!  In this school, the students are divided into four houses, wear uniforms, and is basically the muggle version of Hogwarts.  I obviously couldn’t go inside, but you can definitely see the inspiration from the outside!

There is also a street that supposedly gave the inspiration for Diagon Alley, although JK Rowling herself has never explicitly said so.  But it’s a beautiful street that is filled with tiny shops and restaurants of all sorts.  

While here, I also was able to do plenty of non-Harry Potter related things.  I got to visit the National Museum which was amazing.  Best part, though? It was free!  Inside was a huge exhibit on Scottish History, a Natural History museum filled with information and animals, space, and geology as well as a huge exhibit on science and technology.  I was able to spend a few hours here.

Another sight here in back in the graveyard.  Right outside the gate is a statue of a dog named Greyfriar’s Bobby.  Bobby was a dog who worked in the graveyard many years ago with his owner, the graveyard guard.  Unfortunately, Bobby’s owner passed away and for the next 14 years, Bobby waited next to his owner’s grave.  Bobby was taken care of by the citizens of the city who made sure he was fed and had freshwater, and eventually the mayor granted Bobby a key to the city itself!  He is the only dog in Scottish history who had the right to vote in elections because of it- but something tells me he never quite made it to the polls.

Alnwick Castle, England (1 day)

Okay, so this was the place that I was most excited about.  It’s an old actual castle built in the 11th century in the northeast of England that is still inhabited by the Duke during the winter months of the year.  It’s open to the public during the summer, and we were lucky- we got in the week before the family was to move back in and the doors would be closed.  

But y’all that’s great and all but… THIS IS ACTUALLY HOGWARTS.  I’m not kidding here.  This is where they filmed many of the scenes outside of the castle on the grounds in the first two movies!  The scene where Harry takes flying lessons was filmed right in the courtyard here, as well as scenes of Harry, Ron, and Hermione walking around the grounds throughout the movie.  Obviously, Marie and I brought our wands with us so that we could be ready for any sudden troll or dementor attacks.

Walking around the castle grounds was a dream come true.  I grew up with the Harry Potter books, the first coming out when I was only in second grade, and I dreamt of going to Hogwarts since I first read about it.  I am a proud Hufflepuff who never got his letter (the owls must have messed up somewhere), and to finally walk the grounds that I saw in the movies and read about in the books felt unreal.  We even got to go inside, but we couldn’t take any pictures while exploring the rooms themselves.  Do you recognize any scenes from the movies in these photos?

Loch Lomond, Scotland (1 day)

Loch Lomond, a beautiful large lake in western Scotland tucked in the surrounding hills has been the inspiration for beautiful folksongs and melodies.  Over the years, I have played countless pieces of music inspired by this lake and its surrounding area, so I was definitely excited to go and see it for myself.  Marie and I pulled into a park and castle on the shores of the loch called Balloch Castle.  Unfortunately, you can’t go inside or explore the castle itself, but the star here really is the lake itself anyways.  We enjoyed a beautiful fall (and also quite cold) walk around the park and along the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.  It was nice to just stroll through nature for a while, enjoying the changing leaves and the beautiful scenery.  What do you notice here in Loch Lomond?

The rest of the day we road tripped up to Fort William where we would be staying for the evening.  This car ride was the single most beautiful drive I’ve ever been on in my life, though.  Marie and I were stunned by the Scottish Highlands, and stopped multiple times to take pictures and take in the scenery.  Our favorite part by far, though, was the drive through the Glencoe Caldera.  A caldera is the crater of a volcano.  Yes, that’s right.  This area of Scotland used to be a super volcano that now lies extinct.  The landscape here is unlike anything I had ever seen before, and it was also FREEZING cold.  Giant mountains, waterfalls galore, and one beautiful sunset later, we finally arrived in Fort William. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, so I headed off to bed to get some sleep before an early start.

Fort William/ Glenfinnan, Scotland (1 day)

Fort William itself is a small coastal town in the west of Scotland but was not our reason for coming this way for.  The real reason why we drove this far out of our way was for another Harry Potter inspiration and filming location that we just couldn’t miss.  About 30 minutes away from Fort William is an area called Glenfinnan which was well-known even before Harry Potter for it’s beautiful viaduct and views.  For us Harry Potter nerds, this place is the location that we see of the Hogwarts Express going across the countryside as Harry, Ron, and Hermione make their way to Hogwarts for the first time.  Remember the scene of the train going across the big bridge?  That’s the viaduct!  That alone is a cool enough reason to visit, but now, twice a day, the Hogwarts Express itself drives over the viaduct and you can hike up to watch it cross!  You can also pay to ride it, but time restrictions and money made it too difficult for this trip.  So we hiked up the mountainside and got our view to watch the train cross the viaduct while playing music from the movie soundtrack over our phones.  Friends… it was magical.  It was also freezing cold and a little drizzly… but it was so magical that we were able to power through it.  

On the other side of the mountain is a giant lake as well. This is the same lake that is the Black Lake in Harry Potter that Hogwarts sits along the shores of.  Check out these pictures below!  We also saw some Highland Cows on our way back!

Back to Edinburgh (2 days)

After a long day of driving from Fort William, we ended up back in Edinburgh where Marie and I signed up to do a Ghost Walk in the evening.  Edinburgh is considered to be one of the most haunted places in the world, so we were pumped to get to tour some of the most haunted places here in the city in the dark of night.  I’m not going to go too far into the stories here, but I’ll share all the pictures we took.  The two places we went were the vaults under the South Bridge where many people were tortured and passed away.  It was just one pitch black stone room after another where people were forced to live, many never seeing the light of day.  

Our second stop was back in the Greyfriar’s Kirkyard that we had visited earlier.  In the graveyard, though, is a special area that is normally blocked off to everyone except those who do this specific tour.  Inside the gates lies a tomb that is considered to be the best documented haunting in the world with people getting mysterious scratches, burn marks, bruises, and even passing out as they pass near the tomb.  Naturally, we stood inside the tomb itself at midnight.  Fortunately no one passed out, and Marie and I walked away with no scratches or marks, but friends… it was really creepy in there.  

We are heading next to one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  I visited here about 10 years ago, but barely remember the trip, and there was so much that I missed back then.  The capitol of England, this city houses the Queen’s Palace and countless other famous and beautiful buildings.  Keep your wands handy because there are more Harry Potter locations to explore.  I’ll see you in London!  Until then, cheers!

Have Courage, & Be Kind,

Mr. Weavil