Thursday, 28 October 2021

Diagon Alley

I’m back at the Farringdon Premier Inn for a rest before we go out for dinner with Ally and Cat. My feet are really tired (and in fact my right foot is blistered) after another day of walking.
We walked to Euston Station in the morning and caught a very quick (15 minutes) direct train to Watford Junction, then a shuttle bus to the Harry Potter Studios in nearby Leavesden. It was much quicker and easier to get to than I had thought it would be. These studios are where the films were actually made, apart from a few outside scenes, so there were lots of sets to see, as well as lots of the artefacts like wands and brooms and books and costumes. It was very interesting to see the process by which the books had been translated into films, from initial concept drawings to more detailed plans and then all the skills required to bring it all to life. 
It was amazing to see Gringott’s bank, both before and after its destruction, the huge and extremely detailed model of Hogwarts, the Dursleys’ house in Privet Drive, and of course the famous Diagon Alley. 
It was quite busy but very well organised; there was a subtle one way system but we didn’t feel rushed or overcrowded and it took us about three hours to see everything. There were a lot of dedicated fans there, as you would expect; many children dressed as Harry Potter or other characters from the films, and a fair sprinkling of adults who were in wizards robes. One Dad was even dressed as Mad-Eye Moody complete with terrifying protruding eye which was very impressive. I admired a wee girl’s Gryffindor Scarf and she told me that her Granny had knitted it for her. 

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