How to Get to Hogwarts

Hogwarts is situated in Scotland

Here are the directions for taking the train to Hogwarts, or at least one Harry Potter fan thinks so!

RAIL ITENERARY : KING’S CROSS STATION TO HOGSMEAD STATION

1. POINT OF EMBARKATION : KING’S CROSS STATION [LONDON :
YORK WAY @ PENTONVILLE RD.] : SPEC., PLATFORM 9 ¾, TIME :
1100 HOURS GMT. TRAIN : “HOGWORTS EXPRESS” [LISTED AS #5972
ON THE LOCAMOTIVE’S FRONT FACE, BENEATH THE HOGWORTS SCHOOL
CREST]. COLOUR : SCARLET. ENGINE TYPE : “TAW
VALLEY.” VELOCITY : APPROX. 75 MPH / 100 KPH

2. LEAVING AT 1100, GREENWICH MEAN TIME, THE TRAIN
CROSSES “A 406” [MAJOR MOTORWAY], THE FIRST POINT OF INTEREST
IS KNOWN AS “POTTERS BAR.” AT POTTERS BAR, THE “H.E.” CROSSES
THE SIGNIFICANT MOTORWAY, “M 25.”

3. AFTER ABOUT 20 MILES, THE NEXT POINT IS ST. ALBANS. AT
THIS JUNCTURE, THE H.E. RUNS PARALLEL TO A 1 FROM ST. ALBANS TO STEVENAGE.

4. STEVENAGE TO LETCHWORTH.

5. LETCHWORTH TO HUNTINGDON : CROSSING A 1 @ BIGGLESWADE,
AND CROSSING A 14 @ HUNTINGDON.

6. HUNTINGDON TO PETERBOROUGH.

7. PETERBOROUGH : CROSSES A 47.

8. PETERBOROUGH TO STAMFORD.

9. STAMFORD TO GRANTHAM (STILL RUNNING SOMEWHAT PARALLEL TO A 1)

10. GRANTHAM TO NEWARK[-on-TRENT]

11. NEWARK-on-TRENT, TO RETFORD [MOSTLY STILL RUNNING PARALLEL TO A 1]

12. RETFORD TO DONCASTER [RUNNING PARALLEL TO A 1 AND WITH A 638]

13. DONCASTER TO WAKEFIELD TO LEEDS/BRADFORD.

14. LEEDS/BRADFORD TO KEIGHLEY

15. KEIGHLEY TO CARLISLE [RUNNING DISTANTLY PARALLEL TO M 6]

16. CARLISLE [STATION]---IS @ JAMES & CROWN ST. THE
NEXT POINT IS GRETNA.

17. GRETNA TO GLASGOW [RUNS ROUGHLY PARALLEL TO A 74,
THEN M 74, AND A 73, THEN M74 ONCE AGAIN.

18. GLASGOW [CENTRAL STATION, OR QUEEN ST. STATION] TO
CLYDEBANK TO HELENSBURGH (PARALLEL TO A 82, AND THEN A 814 AND A
82)

19. GLASGOW TO RANNOCH STATION [RUNS PARALLEL TO A 82 FOR
HALF THE DISTANCE, THEN BREAKS OFF TO THE RIGHT @ A 45 DEGREE
ANGLE.

20. RANNOCH STATION TO HOGSMEADE STATION. [SPURS RIGHT @
A 45 DEGREE ANGLE, ex post facto, TO RANNOCH STATION.
DISTANCE TO HOGSMEADE STATION IS APPROXIMATELY 12 MILES.

21. *POINT OF DEBARKATION : HOGSMEADE STATION. TIME OF DEBARKATION : 2030 HOURS, GMT

*(NOTE : ALL OF THIS RAILWAY ITENERARY IS FACTUAL AND HAS BEEN
WORKED OUT, PAINSTAKINGLY, FROM THE 2002 EDITION OF MICHELIN’S
ROAD ATLAS FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM. THE ONLY FICTIONAL PART TO
ALL OF THIS IS NUMBER 20 AND NUMBER 21. RANNOCH STATION IS
ON THE MAP AND IS RATHER ISOLATED. IT IS ABOUT 25 MINUTES
FROM BEN NEVIS [HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN SCOTLAND]. THE
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE “TAW VALLEY” LOCAMOTIVE ARE GENUINE, AND
DEPICTS THE ONE THAT WAS USED FOR THE MOTION PICTURE, HARRY
POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE, [RELEASED IN NOV. 2001]

ADDENDUM : THE ACTUAL LAKE AND CONTIGUOUS FOREST, LOCATED AT
THE REAL-TO-LIFE LOCATION COMPRISES : LAKE IS ABOUT 1000
METRES by 1900 METRES AND COVERS ABOUT 6.8 MILLION SQUARE FEET
OF AREA, DUE TO ITS SLIGHTLY UNEVEN SHAPE, AND THE FOREST AREA
THAT IS CONTIGUOUS TO THE LAKE COVERS APPROX. 60.8 MILLION
SQUARE FEET OF AREA.