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Transcript
The first stop on our Harry Potter tour is a little café in the heart of Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh. This is the place where JK Rowling used to come to write the Harry Potter books. And she'd sit in this exact seat. Now people come from around the world to visit it. And if you look out of the window from this spot, there's one pretty big clue about where the idea for her wizarding school came from.
Our second landmark: Edinburgh Castle, the inspiration for Hogwarts. 'Perched atop a high mountain ... its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.' Yep, pretty accurate!
Three. Greyfriars Kirkyard. Yes, a graveyard. The books are packed full of characters with unusual names: Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore, Narcissa Malfoy. Some of them she got from the names of flowers, stars or Latin, which she studied. Others she got from places like this.
Four. The reptile house at London Zoo. Potter fans will recognise this as the first place where we really get an idea of what Harry can do. 'It was cool and dark in here, with lit windows all along the walls. Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.'
Five. King's Cross station, London, where our journey comes to an end but where Harry's really begins. Not only does he meet his best friend Ron here, but it's also the spot where he takes the Hogwarts Express for the very first time. 'He opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock ... with the words Platform 9¾. He had done it.' I wonder if I can get there too?
© BBC
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