Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and is rich in history. People come from all over the world to visit the incredible castle and walk the Royal Mile, but there is a subset of tourists who make a pilgrimage here for a different reason. They are the Potterheads, those people who love Harry Potter so much that they would travel thousands of miles to visit a location tangentially associated with the series. And waiting to greet these enthusiasts in Edinburgh is the Potter Trail Tour.
As you might have guessed from the few Harry Potter themed travel posts I have written, I am one of those fans. I certainly didn’t travel Scotland just for the Harry Potter sites, but they were on my must see list for while we were there. Going on the Potter Trail Tour was the best way to make this happen.
Why Edinburgh?
The uninitiated may wonder why anyone would be going on a Harry Potter tour in Edinburgh. After all, even though it is generally accepted that Hogwarts is located somewhere in Scotland, there is no part of the books that takes place in Edinburgh. London is the capital city much more closely associated with the series.
That unless you know that J. K. Rowling lived in Edinburgh while she was writing the Harry Potter books. Since she was living there it is natural that many pieces of inspiration for the Harry Potter stories were pulled from the city around her.
The pieces of inspiration are what you will see if you go on the Potter Trail Tour.
How to Get to the Potter Trail Tour
The Potter Trail Tour starts from one of Edinburgh’s famous landmarks. No, not the castle or the palace. No, not the parliament. It begins at the Greyfriar’s Bobby, which happens to be a very famous statue of a tiny little dog, with its nose almost rubbed off by tourists seeking good luck.
This little statue is found at the juncture of Candlemaker Row and George IV Bridge. It is also important enough to be a landmark on Google Maps, so you can look for it that way.
The tour times can be found on their website. It is best to arrive a few minutes early so that you don’t get left behind. Also there is not actually that much space around the Bobby’s statue, and when we went it got pretty crowded there.
When you get there wait a watch for someone in a robe to come up, that will be the tour guide. We had Richard when we went last summer, but from their website, which was recently redone, it looks like they have expanded to more tour guides.
What to Expect on the Potter Trail Tour
The Potter Trail Tour is a walking tour. If you have been traveling around Europe there is a good chance that you have done some of these already, but just be prepared that you won’t be riding on a bus, or a train, or anything. Your own feet will take you to all the locations.
The tour is completely free, but at the end you can give a donation if you wish. I won’t tell you too much about the places you will see because I don’t want to spoil it for you.
At the beginning of the tour you will get some safety instructions, and house-colored wands will be passed out to those who want them (to be returned at the end). You will then be instructed on the spell for changing cross walk signs, and then you will be off to see the sites.
Your tour guide will take you to a number a different spots around Edinburgh that are associated with J. K. Rowling and her writing of the Harry Potter books. They will tell you about how each one is related (some of which is speculation). It is all done in a fun, albeit somewhat cheesy way.
Sum Up
The tour takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to complete. You walk about a mile and a half during it. If you are a Harry Potter fan you really should go on this tour. If you are not then it probably won’t be very good for you.
