Harry's world for Muggles

How does a Muggle enter the magical world of Harry Potter? Well, we all know that if you’re a wizard, the first stop has to be King's Cross station between Platforms 9 and 10. Step well back, and take a run-up at a point exactly between the two for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unfortunately for Muggles, this could just end up with broken nose.

To really break into the world of Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, you can catch up with his train a little further north in the village of Hogsmeade (aka Pickering) where Harry alights for Hogwarts (via the North York Moors Railway) which is a splendid way to see some breathtaking scenery.

It runs for 18 miles north east from Pickering through deep and rocky gorges, cuts through woodland, spans valleys and stops a few miles short of the seaside town of Whitby.

You can pass through the Forbidden Forest (Mugglespeak: Cropton Forest) where the train was filmed steaming through on its way to Hogsmeade - or Goathland, to give it its Muggle name. Here, Harry and a couple of hundred extras jump off the train, climb over the footbridge and head off to Hogwarts. Further down the track, at Newton Dale Halt, where Hagrid, the giant Hogwarts gamekeeper, has his hut.

Closer to home however, once Harry has enrolled at school, he needs to get his books. For this it’s off to London's Leadenhall Market, where Harry and Hagrid are seen wandering before entering Diagon Alley and finding the Leaky Cauldron Pub. At the end of the Alley is Gringott’s Bank, (the Wizards’ Bank run by goblins). This is known to London muggles as Australia House (just off The Strand) and is open to the public only one day a year, but you can drive by or have a peak in through the windows from Melbourne Place.

London Zoo was used for the magical scene where Harry realises he has the special powers to communicate with snakes, and in The Chamber of Secrets Harry is seen flying over Big Ben with Ron in the flying car.

In Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban you can spot Borough Market — look out for the Third Hand Book Emporium and the Knight Bus. Green Lanes in Palmers Green, London, also features in the film though what happens here is still shrouded in mystery.

For those wanting to travel a little further afield, many of the scenes at Hogwards school were filmed at Oxford University, Gloucester Cathedral and Bath. Harry Potter tours are organised throughout the year. Visit http://www.britishtours.com/harry_potter.html for more information