|  | | All images © Aleney de Winter |
| Harry Potter adventures in Britain
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| To celebrate 20 years of Harry Potter, Aleney De Winter and family head to Britain on a wizarding adventure. | | |
| On a scale from one to 10, my son’s obsession with
Harry Potter comes in at a wizardly 9¾. So, on informing
him we’re off to Britain, he conjures a little magic of
his own, casting an Imperius Curse to coerce us into
turning the fictional world into reality. But the spell is
superfluous. His sister Marlo and I are just as wild about
Harry and his hocusy-pocusy pals and are just as eager
to explore the locations that inspired and featured in the
Harry Potter books and films. | | |
| London calling
Where better to begin a Potter pilgrimage than Platform
9¾ at London's King’s Cross Station, where Harry began
his own wizarding journey. In response to the hordes of
visitors seeking out the mythical platform, Kings Cross has
installed lookalike signage along with a luggage trolley
'disappearing' into a wall. They’ve also installed a woodpanelled
cornucopia of wizarding wares. Here, the kids
stock up on Bertie Botts Every-Flavoured Beans and
chocolate frogs. Because what self-respecting wizard
wouldn’t want to shovel mouthfuls of snot, vomit and
dirt-flavoured jellybeans into their gob as they explore the
Muggle world of London?
In lieu of a broom, we take the Tube to Monument
Station and Leadenhall Market. London's most beautiful
Victorian market performed duties as the exterior of
Diagon Alley in the first film and an eagle-eyed Rafferty,
nine, immediately spots the doorway that doubled as the
entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. There are no owl
emporiums or broomstickeries to peruse, but we do
manage to make a platter of fish and chips vanish.
As we explore London, the kids recognise iconic
landmarks including Big Ben and Tower Bridge, due less to
their historical or architectural significance and more to
them both having featured in 'Harry Potter and the Order
of the Phoenix'. Millennium Footbridge, destroyed in 'Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince', is perfectly intact and
completely devoid of Death Eaters when we cross, though
a cautious Rafferty remains on high alert.
In Oxford, ye olde stomping grounds of literary legends
Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Oscar Wilde, we row a boat up river
and soak up the extraordinary atmosphere. But we’re really
here for Harry. The Bodleian Library is home to more than
12 million written items. No doubt if we look hard enough
we'll find copies of Harry Potter, as key scenes of the
movies were filmed within its hallowed halls. Christ Church
is another site beloved of Potterheads, its pretty cloisters
and grand staircase also starring in the films.
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| "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?”
– Albus Dumbledore | | |
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| A hoot of a castle
While it may not be Hogwarts, a stay at Dalhousie Castle,
20 minutes outside Edinburgh, is as close as we’re going to
get. The 13th century fortress is Scotland’s oldest inhabited
castle and, from its vaulted ceiling and winding staircases
to its oak-panelled public rooms, it rocks a suitably
Hogwartsian vibe. It even boasts resident ghosts, though
I’m happy to report they are not of the moaning variety.
We stay in a sumptuous
four-poster themed room with
deep red walls and an elaborate
carved bed where a tartan-clad
teddy awaits. In lieu of a great
hall, dinner is served in the
castle’s original barrel-vaulted
stone dungeon where we dine
by candlelight. The wide-eyed kids are already declaring
Dalhousie the best hotel ever, but it still has surprises
tucked away in its bag of tricks.
An on-site falconry takes my apprentice wizards' castle
experience to the next level as they’re invited to hone their
owl handling skills in a private training session. The kids are
smitten by their cuddly new owl pals, Bandit and Bob, who
glide silently through the sky to their gloved hands. Hedwig
who? This is real magic.
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| Behind the scenes
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry
Potter is a behind-the-scenes tour of the studios where the
films were made. Timed-tickets must be booked months
in advance and I am a tad disappointed when confirmation
arrives via email instead of owl post. Any disappointment
is short-lived as we step into Hogwarts Great Hall.
Rafferty’s jaw scrapes the original stone floor as he stops
to take in every detail while six-year-old Marlo is on a
mission, racing off to fill her Potter Passport with stamps.
We visit Severus Snape’s potion-strewn classroom,
peruse Dumbledore’s book-lined chambers, ride the
Hogwarts Express, stroll Diagon Alley and pop into 4 Privet
Drive. Along the way we discover the secrets behind the
movies’ special effects and ride a broomstick (with the aid
of green screen technology). We also encounter incredible
animatronic creatures including the magestic hippogriff
and gruesome five-metre acromantula, Aragog, emerging
from his lair in the Forbidden Forest.
We lose hours inside the walls of the cavernous studios,
stopping only to slurp down tankards of sweet, sticky
butterbeer. When we do leave, through a gift shop piled
with mountains of merchandise, the kids cast a vanishing
spell on my wallet, leaving it empty of cash as they stock
up on wizarding essentials.
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| Edinburgh awaits
It was in the back room of The Elephant House,
overlooking the gothic grandeur of Edinburgh Castle, that J.K. Rowling crafted words that would become one of the most successful books ever published. We pop in for
coffee and to see if some billionaire best-selling author
magic might rub off. Instead I lose the ability to write at all
as the kids abscond with my only pen, to add their bit to
the graffiti odes to Harry and his creator in the cafe's toilet. We spy the fairytale façade of George Heriot's School,
alleged to be the inspiration for Hogwarts, and at Greyfriar’s Kirkyard, we stop by the grave of Voldemort, or
at least that of his real-life namesake, Tom Riddell. We
wander winding streets that inspired J. K. Rowling’s
wizarding world, past bagpipers and street artists, ticking
off iconic attractions including Victoria Street (said to be
the real Diagon Alley) and the Royal Mile along the way.
At the foot of Edinburgh Castle, the kids leap into Camera Obscura, six floors of interactive optical illusions that are nothing if not magical.
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| A hoot of a castle
While it may not be Hogwarts, a stay at Dalhousie Castle,
20 minutes outside Edinburgh, is as close as we’re going to
get. The 13th century fortress is Scotland’s oldest inhabited
castle and, from its vaulted ceiling and winding staircases
to its oak-panelled public rooms, it rocks a suitably
Hogwartsian vibe. It even boasts resident ghosts, though
I’m happy to report they are not of the moaning variety.
We stay in a sumptuous
four-poster themed room with
deep red walls and an elaborate
carved bed where a tartan-clad
teddy awaits. In lieu of a great
hall, dinner is served in the
castle’s original barrel-vaulted
stone dungeon where we dine
by candlelight. The wide-eyed kids are already declaring
Dalhousie the best hotel ever, but it still has surprises
tucked away in its bag of tricks.
An on-site falconry takes my apprentice wizards' castle
experience to the next level as they’re invited to hone their
owl handling skills in a private training session. The kids are
smitten by their cuddly new owl pals, Bandit and Bob, who
glide silently through the sky to their gloved hands. Hedwig
who? This is real magic.
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| Learning to fly
We farewell Scotland for Alnwick Castle (pronounced Annick due to an odd glitch in the English language). The
beast of a castle, dating back to 1096, is home to the Duke
of Northumberland and Alnwick's main attraction. We plan
to explore every pretty nook and historic cranny, though its
age isn't what lured us here. You see, the castle leads a
double life as a movie star, appearing in 'Downton Abbey',
'Transformers' and, of course, 'Harry Potter'. It provided the
celluloid entrance to Hogwarts, the site where Ron
crash-landed the Weasley family's flying car and the sacred
location of Harry's first Broomstick lesson.
Today, under the tutelage of Professor Colin Potshed
and Professor Perry Winkle, it is my kids turn. Broomsticks
tucked between legs, they run about the kid-friendly castle
like loons and quickly nail broom levitating and flight.
Another perfect moment of holiday alchemy and a
flawless finale to a journey through places where the
magical and Muggle worlds collide.
Our very Harry holiday has created magical memories. So
much so that when I ask the kids if they'll remember this trip, my son, channeling Professor Snape, coolly replies, "Always".
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| This article appeared in volume 53 of Holidays with Kids magazine. To subscribe to the latest issue, click here.
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