Edinburgh, Scotland
All good stories take inspiration and perspiration, and it is inspiring when you can find sites that are directly related to a beloved story. While we were in Edinburgh, we saw a couple of locations directly related to the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The Harry Potter series began in earnest when J.K. Rowling conceived the story in 1990. Over the next five years, Rowling wrote the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, with much of the story written at The Elephant House restaurant. The restaurant overlooks Edinburgh Castle, an obvious inspiration for Hogwarts, and a place where J.K. Rowling made the magical world of Harry Potter come alive. This world includes multiple books, movies, video games, and toys.
Nearby the Elephant House Restaurant is the Greyfriars Kirkyard Cemetery. Among the old graves is one for Thomas Riddle, whose given name is Tom Riddle, the name of the evil wizard Lord Voldemort. Graveyards have long been the inspiration for artists looking for a name; Eleanor Rigby immediately comes to mind for me, and it was just as cool finding her headstone as it was to find Thomas Riddle’s grave as well.
Edinburgh is starting to lean into its Harry Potter legacy, and one popular way to experience this is through a walking tour. The Potter Trail is a very popular outfit, and we noticed a group in the Greyfriars Kirkyard when we were visiting. On a repeat trip to Edinburgh, I would be very interested in taking one of these trips. However, we were able to see both the restaurant and the grave with ease while we were visiting the nearby National Museum of Scotland.
Harry Potter has become a multigenerational children’s book and movie success story. It was a treat to visit the film studios that brought the books to life; in some ways, it is more meaningful for me as a travel blogger to see the real-life places that inspired another writer to create their fictional universe. For fans of the Harry Potter series, I strongly recommend a trip to Edinburgh to see where the magic comes to life. Either way, Edinburgh has inspired me to keep writing, and I began to understand why Scotland has such a strong storytelling history.