Confessing my Harry Potter addiction...
Looking back over this blog, I find it VERY difficult to believe that I have never written about Harry Potter before. In fact, I did start writing a post last year but looking back it only contained one sentence, so no wonder I didn't post it!
Anyway, the daughter and I are HUGE fans of Harry Potter. I couldn't wait until she was old enough to 'get into' Potter and now she is like a walking encyclopedia. We have loads of the books - original, illustrated and Kindle in Motion version, plus house colours (Ravenclaw) and an American Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I have a Hogwarts and Slytherin 'goblet' from the original WB store and we were given the original Lego Hogwarts and Hagrid's Hut. As I write this, I'm in my Hogwarts hoodie and I'm being to see how obsessed we seem...
But before this turns into a list of stuff, this post is all about indulging in your Potter addiction by visiting some of the best Potter attractions. Now having an obsession like this can be pricey, so I'm going to start with cheaper activities and work my way up.
The Potter Trail - Edinburgh, Free
Ok, so getting to Edinburgh might cost you a bit but if you're heading there anyway, then a 2.5 hour walking tour visiting the places of JK Rowling's inspiration should be on your list of things to do. We loved our walking tour around the city which took in the private school that inspired Hogwarts and the graveyard where you'll see the grave of Tom Riddell (rather muddy when we were there). We also saw several of the famous coffee shops where JK Rowling was said to have written parts of the books and the Edinburgh street that inspired Diagon Alley (although if you listen to London tour guides, there is also a street like this in London.) Perhaps the best thing about this tour is that, in a city where many of the other attractions are quite pricey, this is free. The tour guides are really enthusiastic and really know their Potter stuff. They give you a homemade wand to use during the tour, so that you can join in spells (to change the traffic lights for example) and award House points, although our guide clearly favoured Slytherin! If you wanted to indulge in your Potter addiction even more and have a spare £1,000, you could stay at The Balmoral Hotel where JK Rowling finished The Deathly Hallows. She signed a bust which can be found in the now named J K Rowling Suite.
The House of Mina Lima - London, Free
Back down South, you can find this gem of a visit. This is absolutely my favourite Potter thing that we have done, with the Studio Tour coming a close second. I love graphic design anyway, so three floors of beautiful design is right 'up my street'. It's close to The Palace Theatre (if you're heading to see The Cursed Child) and easy to find. The ground floor has a shop with some unusual badges, posters and cards - definitely some different merchandise to the things you find everywhere else. Upstairs there is a Fantastic Beasts room, a 'library' and a section dedicated to The Weasleys. My favourite room was the library which had all the book designs including 'When Muggles Attack' and Rita Skeeter's book on Dumbledore. You can also buy beautiful exclusive prints in premium and non-premium designs - search the folders and you might find something in your price bracket. If you can't afford to take one home, you can take photographs of the displayed work and you are encouraged to tweet your favourite photos.
The Muggle Tour - London, £12-£14
Anyway, the daughter and I are HUGE fans of Harry Potter. I couldn't wait until she was old enough to 'get into' Potter and now she is like a walking encyclopedia. We have loads of the books - original, illustrated and Kindle in Motion version, plus house colours (Ravenclaw) and an American Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I have a Hogwarts and Slytherin 'goblet' from the original WB store and we were given the original Lego Hogwarts and Hagrid's Hut. As I write this, I'm in my Hogwarts hoodie and I'm being to see how obsessed we seem...
But before this turns into a list of stuff, this post is all about indulging in your Potter addiction by visiting some of the best Potter attractions. Now having an obsession like this can be pricey, so I'm going to start with cheaper activities and work my way up.
The Potter Trail - Edinburgh, Free
Ok, so getting to Edinburgh might cost you a bit but if you're heading there anyway, then a 2.5 hour walking tour visiting the places of JK Rowling's inspiration should be on your list of things to do. We loved our walking tour around the city which took in the private school that inspired Hogwarts and the graveyard where you'll see the grave of Tom Riddell (rather muddy when we were there). We also saw several of the famous coffee shops where JK Rowling was said to have written parts of the books and the Edinburgh street that inspired Diagon Alley (although if you listen to London tour guides, there is also a street like this in London.) Perhaps the best thing about this tour is that, in a city where many of the other attractions are quite pricey, this is free. The tour guides are really enthusiastic and really know their Potter stuff. They give you a homemade wand to use during the tour, so that you can join in spells (to change the traffic lights for example) and award House points, although our guide clearly favoured Slytherin! If you wanted to indulge in your Potter addiction even more and have a spare £1,000, you could stay at The Balmoral Hotel where JK Rowling finished The Deathly Hallows. She signed a bust which can be found in the now named J K Rowling Suite.
The House of Mina Lima - London, Free
Back down South, you can find this gem of a visit. This is absolutely my favourite Potter thing that we have done, with the Studio Tour coming a close second. I love graphic design anyway, so three floors of beautiful design is right 'up my street'. It's close to The Palace Theatre (if you're heading to see The Cursed Child) and easy to find. The ground floor has a shop with some unusual badges, posters and cards - definitely some different merchandise to the things you find everywhere else. Upstairs there is a Fantastic Beasts room, a 'library' and a section dedicated to The Weasleys. My favourite room was the library which had all the book designs including 'When Muggles Attack' and Rita Skeeter's book on Dumbledore. You can also buy beautiful exclusive prints in premium and non-premium designs - search the folders and you might find something in your price bracket. If you can't afford to take one home, you can take photographs of the displayed work and you are encouraged to tweet your favourite photos.
The Muggle Tour - London, £12-£14
For this tour, we met our tour guide Steph Black at London Bridge Station. This was perfect for Borough Market which was the film location for the Knight Bus scene, when it pulls up at The Leaky Cauldron. Steph told us that the original plan for the Potter films was for Steven Spielberg to direct, in the US with the first three books made into one film. Thank goodness JK Rowling insisted that the Potter films be filmed here in the UK, otherwise things might be very different (particularly for the UK economy!). The tour was again around 2.5 hours with a 'comfort break' halfway through. It took in actual filming locations, including the entrance to the Ministry of Magic and 'inspirational places' such as outside The Clink Museum, where we learnt about the inspiration for Azkaban. This tour limits the amount of people in each group to around 15, so it feels intimate and you can always see and hear the guide. The tour offered some nice touches too, like quiz questions before and after sent via e mail and a sorting hat quiz on the tube.
Shopping - London, whatever you're willing to pay
A new range of Harry Potter merchandise seems to have been recently released, so you can find bits and pieces all over the shops. I wish I'd thought to go in the Lego Shop or Hamleys when we were in London, as I imagine there must be some good displays of the new Lego sets. Instead we went to Primark to see what new clothing and accessories they had - my favourite currently being the Honeydukes range. The Primark at Tottenham Court Road has a huge section dedicated to Harry Potter and you can find stuff in all the house colours.
We also visited Forbidden Planet where my daughter was in heaven: Potter, Pokémon and Avengers all under the same roof! Lots of collectables, cuddly toys and clothing - you can definitely spend more time than you mean to browsing here!
I should also mention Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station. If you're prepared to queue, you can have your photograph taken with the 9 3/4 sign wearing a Hogwarts scarf. The shop is also jam packed with merchandise and has expanded over the last few years to include more and more. Be warned though, items here are rather pricey and there is often a queue to get into the shop - it can get very crowded at all times of the day. One thing that is beautiful about this shop is the Potter fans. At certain times of the year, you will find floral tributes outside with the word 'Always' displayed, as fans remember Alan Rickman who played Professor Snape.
Harry Potter inspired afternoon tea - Norwich, £20 per adult, £12 per child
The Philosopher's Scones were probably our favourite part of the tea, the savoury scone being particularly yummy. I missed out on the tankard of Butterbeer though and should have spent more time looking at the drinks menu. I was a little jealous when the next table were served it and presented with some Harry Potter specs!
The shop is also brilliant here - don't be tempted to spend all your money half way round at the 9 3/4 shop, as there are lots of treats to buy at the end. Again be warned that it is expensive, worth saving up before you go.
The Cursed Child Play - London, Prices vary
Now this is one trip I wouldn't be able to organize as a teacher because of the difficulty in getting tickets and the fact that it's in two parts. This makes me a little bit sad because it means lots of children and young people won't get to see the play, it's not very affordable even though they release cheaper tickets as part of the 'Friday Forty'. Anyway, we were very lucky to get tickets - my husband sort of got them by accident. After being way back in the online queue, he logged off and checked back later only to be in with a chance! Our seats were in the balcony, so we were as high up as we could be! We had a bit of a restricted view which I was disappointed by but the play itself was magical. I won't say too much as #keepthesecrets but the performance of the spells was brilliant and I almost cried in the bits with Snape. The second part is definitely darker than the first and this is also reflected in the merchandise available.
So, that's my round up of all things Harry Potter. There are of course loads more things you can do including special events at the WB Studio - check their website and staying in a Harry Potter themed hotel but these things can be expensive and you may want to put a limit on how much your Potter addiction will cost you. If you want to keep up to date on events, I suggest joining Pottermore first then relevant Facebook pages and other fan sites. Potter fans are dedicated lot!
We also visited Forbidden Planet where my daughter was in heaven: Potter, Pokémon and Avengers all under the same roof! Lots of collectables, cuddly toys and clothing - you can definitely spend more time than you mean to browsing here!
I should also mention Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station. If you're prepared to queue, you can have your photograph taken with the 9 3/4 sign wearing a Hogwarts scarf. The shop is also jam packed with merchandise and has expanded over the last few years to include more and more. Be warned though, items here are rather pricey and there is often a queue to get into the shop - it can get very crowded at all times of the day. One thing that is beautiful about this shop is the Potter fans. At certain times of the year, you will find floral tributes outside with the word 'Always' displayed, as fans remember Alan Rickman who played Professor Snape.
Harry Potter inspired afternoon tea - Norwich, £20 per adult, £12 per child
If this had been a London based afternoon tea it would have cost much more. In fact there is a Cutter and Squidge one you can do in Soho but it was fully booked for the dates we wanted. Instead, we opted for this more local themed afternoon tea, for the daughter's birthday. When we arrived at The Assembly House in Norwich, we were greeted by this cake sculpture of Hagrid which was created by one of the Bake Off finalists.
The Assembly House had house decorations and played Harry Potter music whilst we had our afternoon tea which included finger sandwiches, scones and a selection of themed desserts. The Sorting Hat chocolate mousse was very chocolatey but good fun with different coloured 'sauce' inside (I was a Ravenclaw)
The Assembly House had house decorations and played Harry Potter music whilst we had our afternoon tea which included finger sandwiches, scones and a selection of themed desserts. The Sorting Hat chocolate mousse was very chocolatey but good fun with different coloured 'sauce' inside (I was a Ravenclaw)
Whilst you're in Norwich, you could also check out the 'GoGo Hares', which are around until early September. Our favourite was Haremione (of course)
WB Studio Tour - Near London, around £40
I've been lucky enough to visit this several times and I never get bored of it! As a teacher, I often organise a trip so that students can see behind the scenes of a big film set. Trips with the students are often cheaper than going alone, so if your son or daughter has a chance to go with school, it will cost much less money. The Studio Tour is particularly magical nearer to Christmas and The Great Hall is always decorated for the festive season. You are allowed to take photographs of all the props and special effects. You can also ride a broomstick and dress up in robes (again photographs of these activities are cheaper with a school party). Top tips for this attraction include taking loads of time - notice all the details, if it's your first time consider getting an audio guide, these contain lots of information. Also if you're not with a child, see if you can get one of the 'passports' that they give out to younger visitors (and school groups), use these to collect 'stamps' but remember to press really hard! Don't forget to ask the staff lots of questions - they have a huge amount of Potter knowledge and are really happy to share it with you.
WB Studio Tour - Near London, around £40
The shop is also brilliant here - don't be tempted to spend all your money half way round at the 9 3/4 shop, as there are lots of treats to buy at the end. Again be warned that it is expensive, worth saving up before you go.
The Cursed Child Play - London, Prices vary
Now this is one trip I wouldn't be able to organize as a teacher because of the difficulty in getting tickets and the fact that it's in two parts. This makes me a little bit sad because it means lots of children and young people won't get to see the play, it's not very affordable even though they release cheaper tickets as part of the 'Friday Forty'. Anyway, we were very lucky to get tickets - my husband sort of got them by accident. After being way back in the online queue, he logged off and checked back later only to be in with a chance! Our seats were in the balcony, so we were as high up as we could be! We had a bit of a restricted view which I was disappointed by but the play itself was magical. I won't say too much as #keepthesecrets but the performance of the spells was brilliant and I almost cried in the bits with Snape. The second part is definitely darker than the first and this is also reflected in the merchandise available.
So, that's my round up of all things Harry Potter. There are of course loads more things you can do including special events at the WB Studio - check their website and staying in a Harry Potter themed hotel but these things can be expensive and you may want to put a limit on how much your Potter addiction will cost you. If you want to keep up to date on events, I suggest joining Pottermore first then relevant Facebook pages and other fan sites. Potter fans are dedicated lot!
.JPG)
Comments
Post a Comment