Find A Guide | Popular Tours
Edwin Lerner

August 16, 2017

Harry Potter Is Twenty Years Old

The first Harry Potter book was published in 1997 with a hardback print run of just 500, each of which is now worth £40-50,000. Since then the seven Harry Potter books have sold nearly 500 million copies and the eight films based on these books have grossed £6.5 billion, making J. K. Rowling the world’s richest author with a fortune of around £600 million.

TRAINS – King’s Cross Station

Trains have always been important in the Harry Potter stories. J. K. Rowling’s parents met on a train and she had the idea to create the character while travelling on one. Due to logistical problems, the space between platforms four and five in King’s Cross Railway Station was used in the Harry Potter films when trainee wizards take the Hogwart’s Express at 11 am on 1 September. A platform 9 3⁄4 sign and half-disappeared trolley were erected inside the station in 2012 and this has since become one of London’s most popular photo opportunities.

Harry Potter: Platform 9 3/4 at London's Kings Cross Station Harry Potter fan at Platform 9 3/4 at London’s Kings Cross Station Photo Credit: ©Edwin Lerner.

PLAY- Harry Potter And The Cursed Child

The eighth instalment of the Harry Potter story takes place nineteen years after the final book. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a two-part play by Jack Thorne opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre a year ago and is scheduled to open in the Lyric Theatre on Broadway in the spring of 2018. All performances are sold out but there is a lottery every Friday at one pm offering forty low-priced tickets.

STUDIO TOUR – The Making of Harry Potter

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter has been the highest-rated attraction on Trip Advisor since it opened five years ago in what was once the world’s largest aircraft-making factory at Leavesden in Hertfordshire. It is still a working film studio that has been used in the making of James Bond and Star Wars films.

Visiting the Warner Bros. Studio, King’s Cross station and other iconic London sites referenced in the Harry Potter books and movies are all possible on our popular London Harry Potter Tour lead by a knowledgeable Blue Badge Tourist Guide.

Edwin Lerner

Named Edwin (an early king of Northern England) but usually called ‘Eddie’, I conducted extended tours around Britain and Ireland for many years and now work as a freelance guide and tour manager with a little writing and editing on the side.  I specialise in public transport and walking…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like

09 January 2022

Big Ben Restoration: London's Most Famous Bell And Clock Can Be Seen And Heard Again

London saw in 2022 to the traditional sound of the bells of Big Ben at Westminster. Although the annual fireworks display which is a part of the New Year festivities was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, Londoners and visitors to the capital were able to see as well as hear Big Ben for the first time in four years since it was covered with scaffolding and silenced as a result of the restoration programme at the Palace of Westminster, better known as the Houses of Parliament.

Read more
01 March 2021

Islington - A Diverse And Distinctive Part Of London

When Henry VIII dissolved England’s monasteries in 1534 he handed over Islington and Archway to Thomas Cromwell. However, the unfortunate Cromwell had little time to enjoy his acquisition as he was beheaded in 1540. Today, Islington is a part of London supposedly full of well-off people living in expensive homes who like to feel they are spokespeople for those less fortunate than themselves. In fact, over 40% of Islingtonians live in social housing and almost 30% live in privately rented flats, so homeowners make up only 30% of this diverse Borough. Some of those houses are now very expensive!

Read more

London Bloomsbury Midtown Tour

Explore the refined squares of Bloomsbury – home to radicals and pioneers

Bloomsbury in London is a sort of urban oasis sandwiched in between…

VIEW TOUR NOW

Beyond London Tours

Facebook

Guide London

Twitter