The Best: Places to Pretend you're Harry Potter

Who hasn’t dreamed of stepping into Harry Potter’s shoes? The robes, the wand, the magic of it all, who wouldn’t want to wake up one day to find they were in fact a wizard. Or a witch. 

The Great West Way offers plenty of opportunities to step into the magic and pretend that letter from Hogwarts has simply got lost in the owl post. The Great West Way is where many of the scenes from the films were shot and a potter around in these locations is sure to get your wand-waving hand twitching. 

Virginia Water
This manmade lake in Windsor Great Park was created as a Royal pleasure ground but is today better known for its appearances in the Harry Potter films. In the Prisoner of Azkaban it did a star turn as Hogwarts School’s lake, when Harry soared above the waters riding a Hippogriff, while in the Goblet of Fire it appears in the scene when Harry has fallen out with Ron, and Hermione must ferry messages between them. You may not be able to saddle a Hippogriff here but there is a lovely walk around the lake’s edge and a gorgeous cascading waterfall. 

Swinley Forest
The atmospheric pine, beech and oak forest of Swinley, right next door to Windsor Great Park, was the setting for several outdoor scenes from the first Deathly Hallows film, when Harry, Ron and Hermione took refuge in the woods. There’s no need to hide here today – this is one of the best places along the Great West Way to grab a bike and fly down mountain biking trails. Granted, it’s not quite the same as a broomstick, but you can still get off the ground – if you’re brave enough to tackle the jumps. 

12 Picket Post Close, Bracknell
Ok, so it’s not the most exciting Potter spot but the three-bedroom suburban house at number 12 Picket Post Close caused quite the stir when it went up for sale in 2016. That’s because it starred as 4 Privet Drive in the films, the home of the evil Dursleys, the family Harry lived with before he knew he was a wizard. The house even features a cupboard under the stairs just like the one Harry slept in – though we don’t suggest you knock on the door asking to see it.

Ashridge Wood 
This pleasant area of untouched and rather sleepy woodland just north of Newbury saw plenty of action in the Goblet of Fire, when it appeared as the setting for the Quidditch World Cup. Even muggles can take part in this sporting spectacle today, though the bi-annual competition (most recently held in Florence) sadly still hasn’t quite figured out how to make a broomstick fly. 

Lacock
Lacock has long been the darling of film and TV set designers and the cast and crew of the Harry Potter films certainly spent plenty of time in this Wiltshire village. 
The ancient Abbey was the focus of all the attention and where you’ll want to potter about in Harry’s footsteps. Wander through the 15th century cloister and you can almost see Hedwig stretching her wings in the grassy central courtyard, while in the Sacristy you can feel the force of Professor Snape, bursting through the door to teach Harry’s very first Potions class. 

Make time for a moment of reflection in the Chapter House, where Harry finds the Mirror of Erised in the Philosopher’s Stone and sees his parents, his heart’s true desire. This Medieval vaulted room, with its slender columns and fluted archways, also appeared as Professor McGonagall’s classroom. A more inspiring place to learn is hard to imagine.

Finally, don’t miss the Warming Room, aka Professor Quirrell's Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. The cauldron used in these scenes remains here at Lacock, having had a platform built around it for the film. Quirrell is seen standing here when McGonagall interrupts the class to "borrow Oliver Wood for a moment", introducing him to Harry, the  Gryffindor Quidditch team's new seeker.

Side trip: Oxford
Just off the Great West Way, the beautiful city of Oxford and its world-famous university offer the chance to step inside Hogwarts once again. At Christ Church College you can sweep up the stone staircase into the Great Hall, seen on screen as the entrance to Hogwarts in the Philosopher's Stone. The dining hall here inspired the one at Hogwarts and you can almost see the floating candlesticks and Hagrid sitting at the top table as you walk along the wooden floor past panelled walls and the long tables students and academics still dine at today. 

The Duke Humfrey's Library is the oldest reading room at the Bodleian Library and here you can pretend to be Harry in the Philosopher’s Stone, sneaking into the restricted book section under a cloak of invisibility. Also in the Bodleian is the Divinity School, where Harry wakes up at the end of the film, and also where Ron recovered after being poisoned in the Half-Blood Prince.