Where was Harry Potter filmed?

Last Modified Mar 31, 2025 07:33 EDT
Where was Harry Potter filmed?
Harry Potter (Source: Wizarding World)


The film saga Harry Potter is based on J.K. Rowling’s novels of the same name. The film series consists of eight films produced and distributed by Warner Bros Pictures. It begins with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and concludes with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).


The series' filming took place at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England, from September 2000 to December 2010, with post-production on the last movie continuing until the summer of 2011. The primary location for the Harry Potter production was Leavesden Studios, which reopened as Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, to the public in 2012.


Harry Potter filming locations


Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone


Where was Harry Potter filmed?
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Source: Prime)


Principal photography for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone began on 29 September 2000 at Leavesden Film Studios. The other locations where filming took place are as follows:


  • North Yorkshire's Goathland railway station

  • Canterbury Cathedral

  • Alnwick Castle

  • Gloucester Cathedral

  • Harrow School

  • Durham Cathedral

  • Oxford University's Divinity School

  • London's Australia House

  • Christ Church, Oxford

  • London Zoo

  • King's Cross Station

  • GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall


Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets


Where was Harry Potter filmed?
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Source: Prime)


Principal photography for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets began on 19 November 2001, only three days after the wide release of the first film. Three weeks before, work on the second unit had begun, mostly for the flying car scenario. The main locations used for filming were the Isle of Man and Leavesden Film Studios in Hertfordshire. Additional filming locations are as follows:


  • King's Cross railway station

  • St Pancras railway station

  • Gloucester Cathedral

  • Durham Cathedral

  • Alnwick Castle

  • Lacock Abbey

  • Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.


Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban


Where was Harry Potter filmed?
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Source: Prime)


Principal photography for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban began on 24 February 2003 at Leavesden Film Studios and ended on 28 November 2003. Since the majority of the first two movies had been filmed in a studio, the third movie was the first to make significant use of real-life locations. Three sets were built in Glen Coe, Scotland, near the Clachaig Inn. The other locations are as follows:


  • Virginia Water Lake

  • Loch Shiel, Loch Eilt and Loch Morar in the Scottish Highlands

  • Palmers Green

  • Borough Market and Lambeth Bridge in London

  • University of Oxford

  • Divinity School


Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Where was Harry Potter filmed?
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Source: hotstar)

The principal photography for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire started on May 4, 2004, but filming with the main cast did not begin until June 25, 2004, at Leavesden Studios in England. The filming was completed in March 2005. The additional filming locations for the movie are as follows:


  • Ivinghoe Beacon

  • Ashridge Wood

  • Seven Sisters Country Park in Seaford, East Sussex

  • Oxford University

  • Virginia Water Lake in Surrey

  • Black Park

  • Steall Falls in Glen Nevis

  • Black Rock Gorge



Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix


Where was Harry Potter filmed?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Source: Prime)


Order of the Phoenix rehearsals started on January 27, 2006, and principal photography started on February 7 and ended in November 2006. Even though the producers looked into filming abroad of the UK, many of the interior sequences, such as those in the Great Hall, Privet Drive, and Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, were once again filmed at Leavesden Film Studios in Watford. Here is a list of all the additional locations of filming:


  • River Thames

  • London Eye

  • Canary Wharf

  • Big Ben

  • Buckingham Palace

  • HMS Belfast

  • Scotland Yard

  • Westminster tube station

  • Oxford

  • Blenheim Palace in Woodstock

  • Glenfinnan

  • Glen Coe, Clachaig Gully

  • Glen Etive


Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince


Where was Harry Potter filmed?
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Source: Prime)


Following a week of rehearsals, principal photography for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince began on 24 September 2007 and ended on 17 May 2008. Like all previous films of the franchise, the filming took place at Leavesden Film Studios in Watford. Other than that, the following locations were also used for the filming:


  • Cape Wrath in Scotland

  • Glen Coe

  • Glenfinnan

  • Fort William, Scotland

  • Lacock and Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, England

  • Surbiton railway station

  • Gloucester Cathedral

  • Millennium Bridge

  • Rauma Line, Norway


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows


Where was Harry Potter filmed?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Source: Prime)


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2 were shot concurrently from February 19, 2009, to June 12, 2010, with the epilogue scene reshot at Leavesden Film Studios on December 21, 2010. Other than that, the following locations were also used for the filming:


  • Pinewood Studios

  • Swinley Forest

  • Village in Lavenham in Suffolk and the streets of the city of London

  • King's Cross Station


Also Read :
harry potter books in order
where to watch harry potter
harry potter houses
who played hermione granger in harry potter

FAQs about Harry Potter

A. The Harry Potter film series was mostly filmed in Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden.


A. There are eight Harry Potter movies, adapted from seven books.

A. Hogwarts Castle was filmed in Alnwick Castle in real-life.


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