The entrance to the Studio Tour at LeavesdenWarner Bros. Studio Tour London
- Best time
- The first slot of the morning, before the Great Hall fills up
- Getting there
- Train to Watford Junction (about 20 minutes from Euston), then the shuttle bus to the studios
Why it’s in the log
The Harry Potter films were made at Leavesden, a former aircraft factory north-west of London, and since 31 March 2012 two soundstages there, J and K, have been given over to what was left behind. You walk into the Great Hall set, down Diagon Alley, and past the 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts that the films used for their exterior shots of the castle.
Platform 9¾ was added in 2015, with Hogwarts Express carriages and the locomotive that played the train, GWR 5972 Olton Hall. Tickets are sold only in advance, for timed entry, and the tour takes most visitors three to four hours.
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