United Kingdom

My 30th birthday was approaching fast, so what better way to celebrate the end of my 20’s than living out my childhood dreams & taking a Harry Potter themed trip to London & Scotland!

To all my fellow Harry Potter fans, this is post is for you! Even if you are not a Harry Potter fan (only slightly judging), who doesn’t love the United Kingdom? Especially this time of year!! It only rained once on our very last night in Scotland. Every day it was sunny, warm weather! They said we got really lucky for Scotland!!

We stayed 3 nights in London & 4 nights in Scotland (2 nights in Edinburgh, 2 nights in Inverness) for a total of 7 nights. We went Friday, May 10th to Saturday, May 18th.

FRIDAY NIGHT

London Bound!

We flew on American Airlines from Chicago direct to London Heathrow. We left around 6 pm & arrived the next morning around 7:30 am local time. By the time we were through customs & to the hotel it was about 9:30 am.

We took a traditional Black Cab to the hotel… It wasn’t the cheapest route, but after the long flight we didn’t want to have to mess with taking the train! I must say I liked riding in the cab, they are old school so it made me feel fancy. It was about a 40 minute drive.

We arrive at our hotel, the Crown Plaza London - Kings Cross.

I chose this location since it was about a 15 min walk to the train stations, both London Euston & Kings Cross. It actually ended up being in a cute neighborhood with a few restaurants & pubs right around the corner!

That day we just took it easy… Hello room service! Even though we had the whole day we were tired & wanted to catch up on some sleep for the busy week ahead.

SUNDAY

The next morning we did “The Original Tour” hop-on-hop-off bus tour of London. It was beautiful weather for it. It was Sam’s first time to London, so I thought it would be the quickest & best way for us to see the sights in one day.

We started our tour at the St. Paul’s Cathedral stop. It was only about a mile from our hotel, so we just walked there. The tour route was going towards the Tower Bridge & the Tower of London. We got off there & walked around before we took a ferry down to Westminster Abbey. The ferry rides are included with the tour as part of the hop-on-hop-off experience!

Once we get off the ferry, we hop back on the bus & continue the route towards Buckingham palace. We end up riding it for awhile to see all of the sites from the rooftop. We get off again after Piccadilly Square & go to the House of MinaLima. This is where the graphic art of the Harry Potter films came to life! The nerding out begins!

We head around the corner to find some obligatory fish & chips. We decide on The Cambridge & it just so happened to be right by the theater that is playing Harry Potter & the Cursed Child!

MONDAY

The next day was the day I had been waiting for… Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour!!!

We actually ended up booking through a 3rd party website, Viator since we booked it only about a week before we decided to go!

We met our guide around 11 am at London Euston station. From here we took the train to Watford Junction & then transfered to a bus that will take us to Leavesden. I’m not going to lie on the bus ride to the studio I started tearing up… Tears of joy. Haha

Once we were there we met up with our actual studio tour guide, Kat. They split us into smaller groups of about 10, which made it more personable. This tour was so amazing since it was a guided tour, which I highly recommend! She pointed out so many little details about the films that I had no idea about, & I’m a huge fan of the movies & books!

It says it is only about a 5 hour tour ( 2 hours total travel time & 3 hours for guided tour ) but you end up getting to spend more time there if you like, which is why I recommend this tour! They give you wristbands to skip the lines & go back through on our own after & spend as much time as you want until they close! We spent about an hour of our own time going back through everything.

Cheers to Harry Potter dreams coming true! It was better than I could have ever imagined! 🍻

TUESDAY

We left out of Kings Cross Station to head to Edinburgh, Scotland! First things first… stopping at the Harry Potter shop & Platform 9 ¾ before we go!

Goodbye London, Hello Scotland!

This was a 4 ½ hour train ride. We love taking trains though Europe! It is so pretty, it makes for an enjoyable ride. Our train left around 11 am & we got to Edinburgh around 3:30 pm. 

Edinburgh is very hilly from the train station. One mistake we made was walking to our hotel. We ended up having to take our luggage up about 75 steps after walking uphill… I would suggest taking a cab or Uber!

We get to our hotel, The Radisson Collection Hotel Royal Mile Edinburgh. This hotel is in the heart of everything!

They greeted us with gin & tonics! Then we were pleasantly surprised when they gave us the top floor corner room looking over Edinburgh Castle! Talk about dreamy!!!

It also looked over “Diagon Alley” in Edinburgh, so naturally I was geeking out. 

By the time we were settled it was almost 4 pm & the Edinburgh Castle closed at 5 pm. We were only about 5 min walking away from the castle, so we immediately went on our way.

It ended up being enough time for us to walk around & get some good views of the city. We were also able to go into most of the exhibits in the Castle!

After that we headed over to “Diagon Alley”, then stopped by The Elephant House. They ended up closing early that day, but I knew we would be going back to Edinburgh in a few days.

Instead, we go to Greyfriar’s Kirkyard… This is where J.K. Rowling got some of her inspiration for the films.

Let me just give you a few hints…

Elizabeth MOODIE, William MCGONAGALL, THOMAS RIDDLE, Anne & Robert POTTER

It is also said the inspiration behind the resting place of Harry’s parents, Godric’s Hollow.

RIP to those souls who inspired such an amazing story! 🙏

After that we walked across the street to a Scottish pub, George IV Bar. There we tried our very first Scottish Egg! We ended up going back to this pub again on Friday night for some live music after dinner.

WEDNESDAY

The next morning we leave for our 3-day tour of the Scottish Highlands & the Isle of Skye. I chose this particular one because it included the Glenfinnan Viaduct… After all, this is a Harry Potter trip!

The meeting point was around the corner from our hotel, another reason why I chose this hotel! It’s all about convenience on these types of trips where you are constantly on the go!

A big orange bus called “The Hairy Coo” pulls up & we meet our driver, Brian. He ends up being so funny & sarcastic, telling us stories & jokes constantly! He makes the tour & our trip experience the best time. Highly recommend this tour!

Day 1

We are on our way! Preparing ourselves for 3 long days of riding in a bus, but it ends up being the best part of our trip hands down. 

Our first stop is at the 14th century old Doune Castle. The Game of Thrones pilot scenes for Winterfell were filmed there! 

We continued north to Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park. Then passed through Glen Coe, the most famous valley in Scotland. This served as filming locations for both Skyfall & Harry Potter… Once again freaking out! We got to see the road where Daniel Craig drives in Skyfall & the Forbidden Forrest & Hagrid’s Hut filming locations.

At last we arrive at the Glenfinnan Viaduct to experiences the Jacobite Steam Train aka “Hogwarts Express” cross the bridge!!!

Luckily we literally made it as the train was passing. We were a little behind schedule that day, so we didn’t get there in time to get great pictures of the actual train. We did get to see it though, so there is a silver lining. If you look close enough you can see it below… It only crosses a few times a day! 

Then off to Loch Ness & hear stories of the Loch Ness monster, Nessie!

We arrive in Inverness around 7 pm that night. Check into our hotel the Pentahotel & then hit up the town! I chose this hotel because it was close to the meeting point for our tour, & it is a newer hotel with modern amenities. The whole town is super walkable!

Inverness is such a cute little town! It’s built around a river with another castle over looking the town. You can hear Scottish music everywhere you walk on the streets. 

We went to eat at Hootananny & enjoyed our first live Scottish band. 

THURSDAY

Day 2

Head to Isle of Skye!!!

We cross over to the Isle of Skye! Once we are there we stop at The Sligachan Bridge. Brian told us a tale of how the waters below it are enchanted. It is said if you dip your face all the way in the river water for 12 seconds that you will be granted eternal beauty. Some of the others actually did it! I just sprinkled some on my frown lines & crows feet… Haha 

We stop in a town called Portree for lunch! It is a beautiful little town located right on the water. When we were considering renting a car before we booked the tour, this is the town I was looking into staying at for visiting the Isle of Skye.

From there we venture of to the Old Man of Storr. We got pretty good views from the road! Check out this hunk! 😉

We continue to Lealt Falls. Honestly, this was an amazing surprise. These views are just the beginning.

Then we go to the Kilt Rock & Mealt Falls viewpoint… We were lucky enough to hear some live Scottish bagpipes! Soaked in that moment for sure… Listening to the music while hanging out on the cliffs looking out at the ocean, it was unreal.

Then the famous Quiraing. Probably the best views in all of Scotland. The pictures don’t do justice!

Next we head to the Eilean Donan Castle, which they say is the most beautiful castle in Scotland. I would have to agree… I was so excited to see this castle! Fun fact… it is the castle in the film, Made of Honor!

Last night in Inverness! We ate at Zizzi’s tonight for some garlic bread & pizza! Inside you can watch them making your food with the large brick oven & the restaurant itself has floor to ceiling windows that overlook the river. We got the Fonduta Formaggi & Picante Rustica Pizza, it was really good!

We walked on over to Gellion’s Bar, which is the oldest bar in Inverness for a drink. A lot of the bars there have whiskey on tap! We head back to Hootananny’s to end the night & meet up with some people from our tour group!

FRIDAY

Day 3 

Happy 30th Birthday to me!!!

We start the day going to to the Culloden Battlefield & then go see the “Clava Cairn’s”, 4,000 year old bronze age standing stones. Then we head to the Highland Folk Museum for lunch & get a glimpse into the 17th century highland life. It was pretty to walk around.

Next up is the Dalwhinnie Scotch Whiskey-Distillery tour!

The tour lasted about 45 minutes & included 2 samples with chocolates. Honestly, no matter how much I tried Scotch I couldn’t get used to it. The chocolates helped, haha. It was a cool experience though… We did get some more samples to take to the hotel!

For my fellow Game of Thrones fans… They had a Limited Edition Game of Thrones bottle that is part of an 8 bottle collection of Scottish whiskies! It is the Dalwhinnie Game of Thrones House Stark Winter’s Frost Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey

We continue our way back to Edinburgh stopping at one final stop in Perthshire. We have about 20 minutes here with the option to go see the Dunkfeld Cathedral, but we ended up getting food & drinks in the town instead.

Our journey back to Edinburgh includes passing the famous Forth Bridges & we were back in Edinburgh by 6 pm Friday night!

I would recommend doing a tour through the highlands to anyone! There are so many different tours to choose from. Renting a car has it perks — cheaper, taking your time at places, hiking, etc… but for us the tour was the way to go. We were able to maximize our time & still see everything we wanted without the hassle of driving on the other side of the road & just driving that much in general. We were in the bus multiple hours a day, but it didn’t feel like it since we were truly just along for the ride!

Edinburgh

We check into our hotel this time staying the Radisson Blu Hotel, Edinburgh City Centre. We loved this hotel & location as well!

After we are settled in we head back over to The Elephant House! We got to go in this time & i’m so happy we went back!!!

“To the beautiful little coffee shop where the magic all began.” – J.K. Rowling

We got to see the table where she sat at while writing her first book, Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone! It looks over Edinburgh Castle.

The ladies restroom is covered in Harry Potter quotes.

Leaving on cloud nine, we head across the street for my birthday dinner at the Tower Restaurant. You guys, it was the best lobster I have ever had in my life, seriously! Excellent fine dining service… Sam spoiled me here. I love you babe!

It was the perfect ending to my birthday… I will never forget this trip!

SATURDAY

The next morning we left back to the states. We took Delta Airlines from Edinburgh to John F. Kennedy airport in New York & connected to Chicago! There are direct flights from Edinburgh to Chicago on United, but we fly standby & there was one first class seat to JFK so sometimes it’s better for us to connect! I ended up getting a pretty good seat myself in the back with a foot recliner built in… It’s unlimited wine, beer & liquor as well. Thank you Delta!! 💜

To all of my fellow Harry Potter fans out there, I hope you find this helpful so you can plan your very own trip of your dreams! London is always a good time & Scotland blew me away… It’s such a beautiful country!

This trip was truly magical! ❤️⚡️🏰

Life is short, book the flight!

xoxo, Tarah