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The real magic of Harry Potter on screen wasn't conjured at Leavesden Studios. It was filmed in a medieval abbey in Wiltshire and in the dining halls and cloisters of Oxford, both within two hours of central London. If you're planning a Harry Potter day trip from London and you want to walk the actual stones the cast walked on, this is where you go.
Here's what's there, why it matters, and how to see both in a single day.
Oxford: the city that built Hogwarts on screen
Oxford's colleges and libraries were filmed for some of the most iconic scenes in the early Harry Potter films. You don't need to imagine it: the spaces are largely unchanged.
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Christ Church College The grand staircase at Christ Church is where Professor McGonagall greets the first-year students in Philosopher's Stone. Christ Church Hall, the dining room with its hammerbeam roof, was the direct inspiration for the Hogwarts Great Hall, though the on-screen Hall itself was built as a set at Leavesden. Stand in the real one and the resemblance is immediate. The Bodleian Library Duke Humfrey's Reading Room in the Bodleian was filmed as the Hogwarts Library, including the Restricted Section in Philosopher's Stone and Hermione's study scenes throughout the early films. The Divinity School next door, England's oldest purpose-built lecture room (completed in 1488), appears as the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, and is also the room where Professor McGonagall teaches the boys to dance ahead of the Yule Ball in Goblet of Fire. New College The cloisters at New College are where Mad-Eye Moody turns Draco Malfoy into a ferret in Goblet of Fire. Look for the gnarled holm oak in the courtyard: it's the exact tree Draco is perched in right before the transformation happens. |
Lacock Abbey: the most filmed Harry Potter location outside the studio
Forty miles west of Oxford, Lacock Abbey is a 13th-century former nunnery now owned by the National Trust. Its cloisters appear as Hogwarts corridors throughout the first two films, the dimly lit, vaulted stone passages the trio walk between classes.
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The Sacristy Professor Snape's potions classroom. The Warming Room Where Professor Quirrell teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts. The Chapter House Where the Mirror of Erised stands in Philosopher's Stone. The room itself is unaltered. |
Step outside the abbey and the village of Lacock appears in Half-Blood Prince as the Cotswold village of Budleigh Babberton, where Slughorn hides from Dumbledore. A few doors down is the cottage used as James and Lily Potter's home in Godric's Hollow during the flashback scenes in Philosopher's Stone. The entire village is owned by the National Trust and has barely changed since the 18th century. There are no satellite dishes and no overhead wires, which is why it's been used as a filming location for decades.
Why this is the best Harry Potter day trip from London
The Warner Bros Studio Tour at Leavesden is brilliant for props, costumes and sets, but it's a museum, not a real place. Alnwick Castle, which doubled as Hogwarts' exterior in the first two films, is in Northumberland, a six-hour drive from London.
A combined Oxford and Lacock Abbey tour is the only way to see two of the most significant on-screen Harry Potter locations in a single day, on actual filming sites, without overnight travel. You walk the same cloisters Daniel Radcliffe walked. You sit in the hall the wizard dining scenes were modelled on. The buildings have been there for 700 years; they'll still be there long after the franchise.
It also gives you a proper day in the English countryside. Lacock is a working village with a 14th-century church, a tithe barn, and tea rooms. Oxford has 39 colleges and one of the densest concentrations of medieval architecture in Britain. You're seeing two of the country's most beautiful places.
Practical details
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From London Roughly 1 hour 20 minutes to Oxford, 1 hour 50 minutes to Lacock. Both are most easily reached by guided tour or hire car. Best time to visit Spring through autumn for Lacock village. Oxford colleges have restricted public access during term time, which a guide can navigate on your behalf. What to bring Comfortable shoes, layers, and a copy of the books if you want to identify scenes precisely. |
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Book the tour Our Harry Potter Filming Locations tour from London covers both Oxford and Lacock Abbey in a single day, with a guide who knows the films, the buildings, and the history behind both. Small group, departing central London. Book your date |
