At the foot of Ben Nevis, amid enchanting pine forests and waterfalls bathed in silvery light, is where Harry Potter once fought a dragon. Steeply pitched Glen Nevis, which is within easy reach of lochside town Fort William, is a major stop for hikers, climbers and bikers seeking adventure in the Highlands’ outdoor capital.
These days, however, it’s an equally popular spot for visitors with a different reason for coming. It was here, beside the thunderous 120m-high Steall Falls, that the world’s most famous boy wizard once defeated a Hungarian Horntail – or “a right nasty piece of work”, as half-giant gamekeeper Hagrid put it.
Yes, Harry Potter came to Glen Nevis and, ever since, the area has been one of many set-jetting stops in the West Highlands, where fans can see where the books were brought to life. There are several such magical places, and the best time to visit them? Harry Potter Day on 2 May, of course, the annual homage and celebration when all Potter fans unite.
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Despite years passing since the last film and book in the series, Harry Potter remains big news. HBO has announced a whopping great decade-long, seven-series adaptation of JK Rowling’s saga, with filming due to begin this autumn.
Universal is also betting big on its fourth Florida theme park, Universal Epic Universe, by debuting a whole new whizz-bang, Potter-themed land: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, opening on 22 May. And the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play continues to break records and launch new productions (the latest being in Brazil and the Netherlands). So, what better way to relive the original magic than by returning to the franchise’s roots to see where the Harry Potter universe was born?
To start with, the aesthetic of Edinburgh is vintage Potter. The Old Town’s salvo of narrow wynds, lopsided spires and wonky tolbooths is pure Gothic romance and, often, there are little glimmers of the city buried in the books’ pages like clues. Cobblestoned Victoria Street, now with Potter-themed emporia, is Diagon Alley. George Heriot’s School doubles as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Grave-spotting is a curious obsession in the city and Greyfriars Kirkyard is where JK Rowling wandered between stints writing her first chapters at The Elephant House café on George IV Bridge (now relocated to Victoria Street following a devastating fire). Several tombstones inspired character names in the books, so seek out those of the Potter family, Tom Riddle, McGonagall, Black, Moodie, Scrymgeour and Cruikshanks. The graveyard, the story goes, is also the inspiration behind the ghostly resting place of Harry’s parents in Godric’s Hollow.
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For those with the sort of money the author now earns from her series, The Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street is the only place to stay. The JK Rowling Suite, where the author finished the last book in 2007, is a grand apartment with owl door knocker, vintage typewriter, star-pervaded hall and turreted alcoves.
For the film viewer, meanwhile, it’s the countryside that forms the spectacular backdrops for many of the exterior shots of the films, and there is always a lingering sense of the rugged ferocity of the Highlands. The star turns are Glenfinnan and Loch Shiel, 16 miles west of Fort William. With low-cut hills, the landscape is the perfect foil for the 21-arch Glenfinnan Viaduct railway bridge on the West Highland Line. Whether you’re a Potter obsessive or not, it’s instantly recognisable as where Harry and friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger ride a steam-powered locomotive to Hogwarts in four of the movies, most memorably in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In summer, the Jacobite Steam Train lets trainspotters and Potter fans live out their fantasies by riding the rails – these days, you can rent a private compartment with full afternoon tea service.
Despite or perhaps because of it having a dragon-scale monster of its own, Loch Ness never made it into the Potter universe. And yet, there is something almost as fantastic settled on the lochside: Fort Augustus Abbey, with enough stone spiral staircases, Gothic spires, arched cloisters and quadrangles to make it feel like a wizards’ college. First established by Benedictine monks in 1876, it became a Hogwarts-type private boarding school and has since been turned into a series of luxury holiday apartments.
To top it off, it has its own Gryffindor-type games room, an atmospheric graveyard and a giant chess board (one of these should be familiar from the climax to the first book and film). Certainly, it’s the closest you’ll get to falling into the pages of a Potter novel in the Highlands.
Many locals find absurdity in all of this fandom, particularly so farther south around Ballachulish and Glencoe, where the hippogriff-eyed will recognise plenty of top Potter spots. There’s Glen Etive and Torren Lochan (often used as a backdrop for the quidditch matches), but also Signal Rock forest and the slopes above Clachaig Inn. Filming for much of the movie series, most notably Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, took over the hillside for months.
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The other draw of the area – a short 23-mile drive to the southwest in Appin – is The Pierhouse, a one-of-a-kind waterfront inn close to island-topped Castle Stalker. While the hotel is a celebration of just-shucked seafood at its most memorable and the perfect west coast pitstop, the lonely keep evokes thoughts of the Hut-on-the-Rock, where Harry was introduced to Rubeus Hagrid in the opening of the first Potter novel.
Ultimately, almost nowhere does magical landscapes like Scotland and long-time Edinburgh resident JK Rowling knows this. If you come to understand her stories better, either on the page or on screen, it’s because you also know that Scotland is a destination riddled with soaring glens and bewitching lochs, crooked castles, turreted schools and eerie kirkyards. As you can probably now tell, Harry Potter couldn’t have been conjured up anywhere else.
Where to stay
For a city break in the Scottish capital, you’ll find where to stay in our guide to the best hotels in Edinburgh.
In Fort Augustus, stay in a one, two or three-bed self-catering apartment at The Highland Club.
If you’re visiting the village of Port Appin on the shores of Loch Linnhe, book The Pierhouse.
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