Oxford, England (16 Nov 2008)

Radcliffe Square

After Bath, we took a train to Oxford to pay my friend a visit. We crashed at his place to save back on the accomodation and forced him to be our tourist guide..muahahaha.

Oxford is well known for the town where Oxford University is situated. There are many colleges and Christ Church is famous for the dining hall of Hogwarts from the Harry Potter film. And to get into the dining hall, tourists need to pay and queue. Another landmark worth visting is the St Mary's church tower whereby the view from up here was astounding. We could see the whole of Oxford town and the Gothic structures. Hogwarts School from Harry Potter books were inspired from Oxford itself. Oh btw, JK Rowling is from Edinburgh :)

Most of Oxford students travel by bicycle and according to my friend, bicycle theft was quite common here. There is also a famous shopping outlet in Bicester.

famous Jamie Oliver's eatery


Radcliffe square


Oxford is full of Gothic structures




the town


the university bookshop, that's where I gotten my sweatshirt


Christ Church (meadows building)


wet autumn


inside the Christ Church, dining hall not yet opened for visitors


famous Hogwarts dining hall




where the headmaster and teachers sit


inside the church



view from the St Mary church tower








another filming location for Harry Potter

Hogwarts.. Alnwick (4 April 2009)

The famous Hogwarts school created by JK Rowling is based on Oxford University as well as Alnwick castle. Alnwick is pronounced with a silent w..which it sounds like Annick. Alnwick castle is situated near to Newcastle which is about less than 2 hours train ride from Edinburgh. The place is famous for the filming location for Harry Potter's first flying lesson. Remember the scene whereby Harry flew on his broom in the first movie and he caught the magical crystal ball for Longbottom in front of some building...as well as the first flying lesson...

To get to Alnwick, take a train to Alnmouth and then a local bus to the castle. Go for both the castle and the garden though they were quite pricey, it's worth for every Harry Potter fans. Opening times were from April to Oct as the castle will be closed during winter. I think it's the same for most castles in the UK. So when planning trips to castles in the UK, avoid winter time.

This time I went with some classmates for some break before our final exam at the end of April.

the place where Harry caught the crystal ball










the flying scene (see the below photo)


scene from the movie (credit to allmoviephoto.com)




the garden






tree house

How to get there:

Take a train from Edinburgh to Alnmouth and the local bus to the castle.

Alnmouth is quite near to Newcastle.