We pile out of the car
A Trip to Harry Potter World, Leavesden, Hertfordshire - 16th February 2020
Part of the Boys' Christmas present was tickets to Harry Potter World - the tour of the actual sets and props at the Warner studios in Leavesden. The tour is on the Sunday afternoon, but it's half term so we stay over at a Premier Inn which is just off the M25 and only a few miles away. It's a surprisingly interesting tour, and some of the sets are highly impressive in their scale and attention to detail. Hogwarts' Great Hall, for instance, has a real stone floor, whilst Gringott's bank is full of realistic fake marble and massive chandeliers. One of the highlights is the model at the end of the whole of Hogwarts - the detail is just stunning - whilst the lowlight has to be the weather on the way out: the rain is horizontal and shreds our faces as we walk across the exposed car park back to the car. But first we get a late lunch in the next-door Beafeater, where the service is sporadic but the location is great, as it's in an old mill with a still working (well, it goes round) waterwheel.
next album: HMS Belfast and the South Bank, Southwark, London - 17th February 2020
previous album: Clip and Climb, The Havens, Ipswich - 15th February 2020
Isobel looks back as we check in
Harry installs himself in the room
Heading off to the restaurant in the rain
The mill's water wheel
Fred and Nosher play dominoes
A duck waddles around outside
Fred roams around getting some photos
We head back to the room for a bit
Abbey Road outside the studios
Harry and Fred
Isobel takes a photo of Harry
Tourists do selfies outside the studio
One of the Wizard Chess pieces
A massive dragon hangs in the entrance
One of the many 'shopping opportunities'
The sweet shop
Sweet flavours, including Rotten Egg and Soap
The gang looks at wands
Fred looks at wands
Harry Potter's home under the stairs
Harry looks at photos of the film's cast
The entrance to the great hall
Hogwart's Great Hall
Some of the film costumes on display
A big fireplace
The Great Hall
Dumbledore's lecturn
There's some impressive tapestry around
A prop in the style of Brighton Pavillion
The boys look around
Harry's dormitory
The set outsides are like unfinished buildings
Fred in the mirror
One of the prop makers talks about wands
The common room
A sign from the film
Dumbledore's office
Snape's lab
The Ford Anglia
Tom Riddle's grave
Impressive fake tiles in the Ministry of Magic
Harry and Fred pose by Buckbeak
Fake King's Cross station, real train
Fred pushes his trolley through the wall
The Hogwart's Express
Outside the Railway Shop
Stuffed versions of Harry and Ron
An impressive King's Cross
The Knight Bus
Fred and Harry on the Knight Bus
Harry on the bus
Beds on the bus
Privet Drive
The house set only goes so far
A recreation of the letters
4 Privet Drive, and next door
Fred on a motorbike
The gang in the Ford Anglia
A shelf full of troll heads
More prop limbs
The amazing set of Gringott's bank
Fred poses
The locking was so well made it is still going
A pile of treasure
Harry and Isobel in treasure
Fred grabs a sword
Gringott's is destroyed
A dragon convincingly destroys Gringott's Bank
Diagon Alley
Harry presses his passport
Roaming around on Diagon Alley
A story-board artist shows off some stuff
Harry and Isobel look at story boards
The amazing Hogwart's model
The model detail is incredible
A collection of paints and textures
Millions of wands in boxes
We get a foretaste of the lashing rain
We warm up a bit in the bar
Harry and Fred are on devices again
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We pile out of the car
We pile out of the car
Isobel looks back as we check in
Harry installs himself in the room
Heading off to the restaurant in the rain
The mill's water wheel
Fred and Nosher play dominoes
A duck waddles around outside
Fred roams around getting some photos
We head back to the room for a bit
Abbey Road outside the studios
Harry and Fred
Isobel takes a photo of Harry
Tourists do selfies outside the studio
One of the Wizard Chess pieces
A massive dragon hangs in the entrance
One of the many 'shopping opportunities'
The sweet shop
Sweet flavours, including Rotten Egg and Soap
The gang looks at wands
Fred looks at wands
Harry Potter's home under the stairs
Harry looks at photos of the film's cast
The entrance to the great hall
Hogwart's Great Hall
Some of the film costumes on display
A big fireplace
The Great Hall
Dumbledore's lecturn
There's some impressive tapestry around
A prop in the style of Brighton Pavillion
The boys look around
Harry's dormitory
The set outsides are like unfinished buildings
Fred in the mirror
One of the prop makers talks about wands
The common room
A sign from the film
Dumbledore's office
Snape's lab
The Ford Anglia
Tom Riddle's grave
Impressive fake tiles in the Ministry of Magic
Harry and Fred pose by Buckbeak
Fake King's Cross station, real train
Fred pushes his trolley through the wall
The Hogwart's Express
Outside the Railway Shop
Stuffed versions of Harry and Ron
An impressive King's Cross
The Knight Bus
Fred and Harry on the Knight Bus
Harry on the bus
Beds on the bus
Privet Drive
The house set only goes so far
A recreation of the letters
4 Privet Drive, and next door
Fred on a motorbike
The gang in the Ford Anglia
A shelf full of troll heads
More prop limbs
The amazing set of Gringott's bank
Fred poses
The locking was so well made it is still going
A pile of treasure
Harry and Isobel in treasure
Fred grabs a sword
Gringott's is destroyed
A dragon convincingly destroys Gringott's Bank
Diagon Alley
Harry presses his passport
Roaming around on Diagon Alley
A story-board artist shows off some stuff
Harry and Isobel look at story boards
The amazing Hogwart's model
The model detail is incredible
A collection of paints and textures
Millions of wands in boxes
We get a foretaste of the lashing rain
We warm up a bit in the bar
Harry and Fred are on devices again