If you are a Harry Potter fan and enjoy traveling, then a trip to Scotland is probably high up on your bucket list. Especially in the fall, as it becomes time to wear sweaters and the school starts again, it feels like time to go back to Hogwarts. Nothing feels more fall-like to me than cozying up under a blanket and turning on The Prisoner of Azkaban or The Order of the Phoenix (my two favorites). Hopefully you get your letter (plane ticket) soon. Here’s everything you NEED to know and see on your Harry Potter Scotland trip.
Attend Potions Class at The Cauldron
If you’re looking to get an immersive experience and take the closest thing you can get to a real Hogwarts class, look no further! The Cauldron in Edinburgh is an activity for those 18 and up since it takes place in a bar.
When you arrive, they will give you, a wand to cast spells (to get the workers attention) and your potions textbook to pick what drinks to make. If a mocktail is more up your alley, you can make your drink without alcohol. They will give you one drink already made, and after you get to brew two of your own.
This is an activity you should book farther out if you want to attend. They have limited space and sell out quickly! I had a blast at The Cauldron and would highly recommend going.
Take a ride on the Jacobite train
One of the most iconic things you can do on your Harry Potter Scotland trip is to ride the Jacobite train. The Hogwarts Express was based off the Jacobite train and is where many scenes were filmed. On this train ride, you will sit in very familiar cabins and relax while you watch the familiar scenery.
The train starts in Fort Williams and is a round trip into the highlands and back. Each leg of the trip is approximately 2 hours long with a stop in Mallaig for an hour and a half. If you add all that time together, you’ll realize that this is definitely a long day. The easiest way to get to Fort Williams is by taking the train from Glasgow. Unfortunately, there are no trains that can get you from Glasgow to Fort Williams before the first train AND back after. So, you cannot take the Jacobite train in one day using trains or public transportation. If you have a car, you can do it in a day – just prepare for lots of driving and sitting!
My experience / Recommendations
The Jacobite Train sells out very far in advance, so I would recommend booking your train right after booking your flight. The train is also at times unreliable. When I was scheduled to go, there were mechanical problems with the train doors, so my ride was canceled. For some reason, all the morning train rides were canceled that week, but not the night ones! I believe that’s because there are two trains, but I was still devastated to hear that I couldn’t experience it. They only gave us a week or two warning, so just be aware that nothing is set in stone when you book! While I thought this would be the peak of my Harry Potter Scotland trip, I still had a great time doing all of the following activities.
Go shopping at Diagon Alley
JK Rowling was inspired by a street in Edinburgh when coming up with the idea of Diagon Alley. That street is called Victoria Street! It’s a sloped, windy road filled with colorful narrow buildings. It’s a great place to take some time and go shopping. There are multiple Harry Potter themed shops where you can buy merchandise or souvenirs.
There’s also a jelly cat store, if you’re a stuffed animal fan, and the Red Door Gallery, which has art made by local artists. I had a fantastic time at the Red Door Gallery. It’s nice to know you are supporting someone local, and everything they have is enjoyable to peruse through. This is also a great spot to buy a souvenir.
The street in its entirety is a fun place to spend a few hours getting immersed in the Harry Potter world. Since there is no booking needed to visit Victoria Street, I would say this is the BEST Harry Potter Scotland activity to add to your itinerary!
Stop by The Elephant House and grab a coffee
JK Rowling began her writing career when she was X years old. At X years old, she started writing the Harry Potter series, and she frequently wrote outside of the house. The Elephant House was one of the coffee shops where JK Rowling wrote the majority of the first few Harry Potter books.
It’s up to you whether you separate the art from the author, and decide to visit this place or not. I personally am not the biggest JK Rowling fan, so I did not visit. But if you want to visit an important part in Harry Potter history, you can potentially check this place out.
Pay your respects to some familiar names at Greyfriars Cemetery
Greyfriars Kirkland is one of the biggest and most haunted cemeteries in the world! While Greyfriars has 700 marked graves, they have over 8,000 bodies buried there. When JK Rowling was looking for inspiration for what to name her characters, she would walk around this graveyard.
You can walk around the cemetery and find headstones of some familiar names, like Thomas Riddle, McGonagall, and more. The graveyard is quite picturesque and a bit spooky. You can take time wandering through the paths to find the famous names, or look up the directions to find them. Just remember to be respectful since they do belong to real people. They are not just there for the characters!
Go on a Harry Potter Walking Tour of Edinburgh
If you want to learn more about Edinburgh and about some Harry Potter/Edinburgh related facts, sign up for a Harry Potter Walking Tour. Edinburgh doesn’t have a ton of night life, so by going on a tour you can meet other people with a similar interest. There are tons of these types of tours that you can go on if tours are your thing! I wasn’t in Edinburgh too long, so I didn’t have the time to go on one of these. I also felt like I had gone to most of the Harry Potter related stops, so I didn’t feel like I needed to. Though if you are a super fan, there’s potentially much more details and hidden gems you could potentially learn!
Closing Thoughts
Scotland is the ULTIMATE trip for any Harry Potter fan. Whether you go all out and ride the train, or simply wander around Edinburgh, you will get an amazing experience! There is so much to do and see in Edinburgh. If your travel partner isn’t as big a Harry Potter fan as you, check out this Edinburgh guide. Edinburgh feels like you’ve been transported to another time and world. I completely understand how JK Rowling was inspired to write such a magical series based off this city – and hopefully you will too!
