2006 Mugglenet Fan Tour Review

The 2006 Magical Tour of Britain for MuggleNet Fans was a Big Hit!

The first-ever Magical Tour in Scotland and northern England for MuggleNet Fans is a wrap, and the trip reports are in! We understand the Ministry of Magic gave special permission for the tour members to visit Magical Britain; and that the Ministry was not disappointed. Reports are that the visitors managed to behave themselves, leaving MuggleNet’s reputation abroad intact. For a full report read on…

HERE’S THE FULL DAY-BY-DAY TOUR REPORT

Day 1 - Saturday

After our trans-Atlantic flights, today was the first day our MuggleNet fan group actually got to meet each other at a welcoming buffet and tour orientation. We then were taken to the train station and caught the train from Glasgow to JK Rowling’s hometown of Edinburgh. In Edinburgh we checked in at our Scottish Youth Hostel, a great old townhouse near the city center. After we got settled in we went to eat dinner at a really fun Chinese restaurant that was formerly Nicholson’s (the place where JKR wrote the majority of book 1). After dinner (and way too much ice cream) we went on a ghost tour of the underground vaults of Edinburgh. It was really and eerie place. Everyone was ready for taking it easy when we returned to the hostel.

Day 2 - Sunday
After a great breakfast at our Hostel, we headed off to an even more impressive place - Edinburgh Castle, one of JK Rowling’s main inspirations for Hogwarts. The castle was amazing. At first we had a professional castle guide, but later we were able to spend several hours walking around and exploring the different parts of the castle including the Great Hall where JK Rowling first read from Half-Blood Prince at midnight July 16th last year. As we headed up to have lunch in one of the secret towers we were met with one surprise after another. But we were sworn to secrecy so I’m sorry…we were forbidden from discussing the details . Let’s just say that in the end, we were able to be a big help to the magical world. We enjoyed a great buffet meal (the best wizard food around!) The castle felt just like we were really at Hogwarts… without the house elves… or maybe we just didn’t see them! It was so much fun hanging out in our private area of the castle.

Then in the afternoon we went to a wizard’s duel at a lazer tag place. Andrew (aka Viktor Krum) totally destroyed everyone else in both rounds. The manager told us he had met JKR there many times when she used to bring her daughter to play lazer tag. We ended the day with a huge pizza party at the hostel. The place was really starting to feel like home-away-from-home. The whole day was totally amazing!

Day 3 - Monday

After breakfast we started the day with a free morning and then lunch on our own. In the afternoon we went to a 14th century castle near Edinburgh, and visited the Falconry there. We saw falcons, eagles, and several owls in varying sizes. The owl trainer taught us how to call the owls so they would come to us and land on our gloved hands. There were three very different owls we got to fly. The small ones were easier and a bit friendlier. The small owl named Nimue is really talented and has a specialty of delivering the rings in wedding ceremonies at the castle. We also met and flew a large owl like the Weasley’s Errol. After the owl encounter we had a surprise side trip to Rosslyn Chapel, a mysterious place that figures into The Da Vinci Code. The elaborately carved place definitely had a really mystic feeling to it.

Day 4 - Tuesday

After breakfast at the hostel we traveled by train to Alnwick Castle in northern England. At the fabulous Alnwick Castle we saw where many outdoor scenes were filmed for the first two HP movies. We also met “Professor Dumbledore” and “Hagrid” there. We saw magicians, checked out The Knight School, and went on several guided tours. Everyone had lots of fun and felt so much like we were at “the real” Hogwarts.

We rode the train back to our Edinburgh hostel for dinner and some free kick-back time afterward.

Day 5 – Wednesday

Today we went by train to Durham, a charming English town, and the location of some major Harry Potter filming locations. Our guide knew all about the history of Durham Catherdal and gave us a great private tour. We were all anxious to see the filming locations, and we weren’t disappointed! We got private admission to the room used as Professor McGonagall’s classroom – so cool! The cloisters were used as Hogwarts hallways and it was totally amazing to actually be there. We almost expected swarms of Hogwarts students to come around the next corner at any time.

After the cathedral and cloisters tour we went to a surprise place for lunch –
The Hog’s Head! It was cozy & fun, and we decided to stay in Durham longer and catch a later train back to Edinburgh. Then we stayed a bit late and had to make a mad dash for the train. On the way Danielle D’s pouch with all her money, credit cards, and passport bounced out of her bag and wasn’t missed until ‘way later. Ooops.

After a big dinner at the hostel we had an exciting elimination tournament to test our Harry Potter knowledge. Wow, a lot of the questions were so hard. There were lots of bonus prizes like treacle toffee and sodas called “Snog”. In the end, against stiff competition, Evania won first prize: a galleon coin. Some of our MuggleNetters went out on the town after the contest for a last night in Edinburgh.

Tomorrow we head north up into the Scottish Highlands! 

Day 6 - Thursday

We got up pretty early (for us) today to finish packing so we could move on to our next destination. Although it was incredibly sad having to leave Edinburgh behind we were all excited for our rail journey to the Scottish Highlands. The train ride felt just like going to Hogwarts. It wound its way through wild and remote Highland scenery where there are no roads – only the railroad track. We passed time by reading and playing Harry Potter Tops card games, and discussing our predictions for book 7. In the afternoon when we arrived in Fort William we made our way to our cool youth hostel, which kind of reminded a lot of us of a summer camp. It’s located near the base of Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis, in a beautiful forest setting. After a quick grocery shopping trip we all worked together to make a home made dinner of roast chicken and rice. Then after dinner we spent the evening talking and sending
e-mails in the hostel’s common room.

Day 7 – Friday

Today was definitely one of the highlights of the trip – we rode the Jacobite steam train! It may seem like we should be used to trains by now, but today’s was special. We boarded a train almost exactly like the one used as the Hogwarts Express used in the films and taking the same route as in the HP films. As we crossed the Glenfinnan Viaduct it really felt like we were on our way to Hogwarts! The trolley magically appeared to complete the experience.

Back at the hostel, we had a traditional muggle dish called pizza before grabbing our bug spray and heading off into the forbidden forest. (By the way, have you ever heard of midges? They are evil little gnat-type bugs that come out at night to eat people!) As we entered the dark forest we were told to follow the unicorn blood through the trees. We didn’t know why the unicorn blood had started showing up again, but it couldn’t be good. Eventually we made our way out of the forest to the hillside where Hagrid’s hut stood in Prisoner of Azkaban. We were all thankful to have survived the forest since it was getting very dark. From there we were able to walk to a secluded country inn where there was plenty of hot chocolate. It was so fun just hanging out together in this totally of-the-map place. It all seemed surreal. It was a great end to a very full day!

During the day Danielle had travelled to the American Embassy to replace her lost passport, and got some great news. A good Samaritan had found her passport wallet, and had promptly taken it to the police station in Durham – passport, credit cards, CASH, and all! The person didn’t even leave a name. Most excellent folks, those Brits!

Day 8 - Saturday

After a good night’s sleep in the mountain air we woke up early to drive out and take another look at the Glenfinnan Viaduct—this time up close and personal. It’s hard to picture how huge it is until you are actually standing under it looking up! Legend has it that when it was being built, a horse and cart fell down into the forms for the concrete pillars which hold it up. A few years ago a team of researchers x-rayed the structure and sure enough, the bones of the horse along with the cart are still inside. Incredible! Next, we made our way to the location that seves as the backdrop setting for Hogwarts in the films. It was also the filming location at the head of the Scottish Loch where Harry rode on Buckbeak in the third film. We found out parts of movie 5 (OotP) had aleady been filmed nearby a few weeks ago. So we took photographs of us skipping rocks (or at least attempting to…) in the same spot that Harry will be skipping rocks in the upcoming film.

When we had enjoyed a good look around we all took an hour-and-a-half drive to Loch Ness, the home of Scotland’s resident ‘magical’ creature (or pet as Hagrid would call it), Nessie—the Loch Ness Monster. We divided into groups and took turns going out on a boat with a Loch Ness researcher to hunt for the monster and enjoy some time out on one of the world’s most famous and mysterious lakes. Roland, SuperDave, and Toni were even brave enough to jump off the boat and swim in the lake with Nessie. They braved not only the monster, but also the water’s near freezing temperatures (42 degrees!) Each half of the group also took a turn seeing Loch Ness 2000, a multimedia presentation telling all about the Loch and its monster theories. When everyone was dry, and fed and watered we began our drive back to the Hostel.

To our surprsise, we pulled off the road and took a detour to a secret location as we headed back to Fort Willaim. Then, to our excitement, we pulled up right beside the real Hogwarts Express from the films! Wow! We spent so long taking photos and exploring the old caslte nearby (where some unknown HP scenes were rumored to have been shot) that we didn’t get back to the hostel until quite late. We made a great stir-fry Chinese dinner and later sat around and discussed Harry Potter theories, and some very interesting facts about the origin of the Philosopher’s Stone. We talked until we were too tired to talk anymore and straggled off to bed.

Day 9 - Sunday

Everyone was a bit quieter than usual today as we all had begun to realize that it was our last full day together. Morning was spent hiking up to Steall Falls—the filming location for the Harry Potter scenes with the dragon challenge in Goblet of Fire. Though it was a difficult hike, everyone survived and thankfully no one was injured by any dragon’s either. When we got back to the hostel it was time to head back to the train station and make our way to Glasgow. After a few hours on the train we arrived in Glasgow and took taxi’s to our Glasgow Youth Hostel, which was absolutely beautiful. It’s housed in a grand old mansion with so many levels and staircases it seemed like Hogwarts. There was a large common room with couches and computers as well as a game room. Once we had unloaded our luggage we changed clothes and went out to dinner at a restaurant in town to celebrate the end of our trip together. It was a very sad night because I think every person on the trip made friends that they will keep in touch with for a very long time. There is something about Harry Potter that brings people together; and we all automatically had something in common because of our love for the books. Most of us were in our late teens or early twenties so its not everyday that we can find 20 other Harry Potter fans to spend so much time with. We ate dinner, talked some more about Harry Potter, and exchanged contact information. Even when we got back to the hostel it was a while before anyone went to sleep because nobody was ready to say goodbye.

Day 10 - Monday

Today is the day we had all been dreading—time to leave. Some of us had very early flights so we left for the airport by taxi very early in the morning. This was the most incredible Harry Potter tour anyone could dream up. We had the greatest tour guides who not only showed us Harry Potter filming locations and JKR’s inspirations — they brought it all to life. We also had the best group of people imaginable to travel with - because everyone knows that Mugglenet fans are the greatest Harry Potter fans in the world! We are already trying to plan a reunion trip! Thank you Magical Tours and thank you MuggleNet for making this trip possible. None of us will ever forget it!

By Kaitlin Luther and Jolene Stieren