We did a 90 minute walking tour around Oxford University which had a Harry Potter flavour, of course! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable on both the history of the uni, as well as the filming, and shared loads of interesting stories and insights. Luckily she also loaned the girls some Harry Potter scarves as we had not thought to pack them! Note that the photos above are Harry Potter related and the photos below are other points of interest from the tour. 

With teaching commencing in 1096, Oxford is the oldest university in the English speaking world, and the second longest continually operating university. Our tour covered the central university area, however there are dozens of campuses, colleges and residences spread across the city.

Although JK Rowling (the author of Harry Potter) didn’t attend Oxford University, she drew much inspiration from it, weaving many features into the series. For example, it was interesting to learn that the iconic scar on Harry's forehead was inspired by a zig-zag etched into a paver (third last photo at the top).

The tree in the first three photos above are where this famous scene from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was filmed. Harry (Daniel Radcliff) and Draco (Tom Felton) argue, then Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson) turns Draco into a ferret and is reprimanded by Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith). It was very noticeable how the lush green grass had been worn down from all of the foot traffic since the movie was released in 2005. Even 20 years on there were still plenty of fans milling around waiting to take photos, including at least one social media influencer.

As it is a working university, access to inside areas was limited, however we were able to explore the beautiful cloisters used in many scenes (photos 4-9 above) and the Balliol College dining hall (photos 10-13 above), which inspired the Hogwarts great dining hall. We also got to see inside parts of New College including the chapel - photos 2-3 below are taken from its foyer.

I was amazed at how many different household names have attended Oxford at one time or another over its long history. This Famous Oxonians list includes so many literary greats, scientists, academics, politicians, Olympians and monarchs – all of whom have made significant contributions to our world. 

We really enjoyed our walking tour and learned a lot about the university and some of the inspiration behind Harry Potter, but also about the lives of the students, the staff and the city that has grown around this incredible institution over the centuries.

Also see posts on the Turf Tavern and Oxford.