My first adventure after moving to Scotland was to take a bus down to northern England to visit Alnwick Castle, famous for standing in as the exterior of Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter movies (along with the set of a Downton Abbey Christmas special!).

I woke up early to catch the hourly bus that ran from my small town to city center. Oh course, this would be the one day the bus doesn’t show up! After waiting until the last possible moment, a friendly neighbor helped me call a taxi and I made it to the bus with seconds to spare! I’m so glad I didn’t miss this adventure, it was one for the books (Harry Potter books to be specific.)

Our group signed up for the Harry Potter tour which included behind the scenes tidbits and flying lessons! (Please note I wore my house colors for the occasion.) I loved casually strolling through castle grounds imagining I was a Hogwarts student.

These clever photo comparisons between the movie and castle are not my photos. They are the work of a well-prepared tourist!

The grassy courtyard above was the setting of the Whopping Willow in the second movie and they brought in 16 different blue Ford Anglias in various degrees of disarray to film the car scene!

The courtyard above was filled with fake snow for a few second clip of Hagrid dragging in the Christmas trees. Months later, staff were still finding bits of fake snow on the ground.

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And finally, time for flying lessons! Up!

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Alnwick Castle is a living castle, which means that a family actually gets to live here. While on our tour of the interior, I was fascinated to see bean bags and family photos amidst the antique furnishings of the castle.
After a perfect day at Alnwick Castle, we took a stroll around the town and, of course, ended up in a bookstore to get some warm tea.