The Potter Trail (no longer here)

After almost 10 years of doing this tour we’ve only just noticed these initials on the gates of George Heriots. Looks like Harry Potter was here all along… #linkinbio #thepottertrail #edinburgh #tours #tourguides #travel #tourism #harrypotter #pottertour #scottishtourism #magic

For the past 3 years we’ve had the privilege of being the subject of a PhD thesis into our relationship with TripAdvisor, conducted by the wonderful Kath. This week we made Kath our first ever honorary guide and presented her with the customary black cape and chopstick wands.

Around 5 years ago the grave of Thomas Riddell got covered in love letters and poems to the Dark Lord and it seems it might be starting to happen again… This one we’re fairly convinced might have been written by William McGonagall himself!

No more masks on our tours from Monday! Most loyal venue of the Fringe opens tomorrow! Greyfriars Bobby has a smile on his face and so do we.

It gives us enormous pride to announce we are now the number one tour in Edinburgh on TripAdvisor! We’d like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who has ever reviewed us. And what better day for us to discover this than on Harry Potter’s birthday! BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER.

The latest instalment in our series of things people bring on the tour to use as wands… These specific ‘wands’ didn’t work too well in changing traffic lights but did conjure up a delicious array of cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties!

The Potter Trail is never complete! We cover 3 writing locations on the tour but here's a 4th - the Traverse Theatre Cafe. Rowling spent many hours here in the 1990s and it was also the place where she first met John Tiffany who later directed The Cursed Child.

Since we paused giving out wands on our tours we’ve been encouraging everyone to bring their own. We’ve had everything from toothbrushes to rolls of tinfoil but this might be a personal favourite!

Which ill-tempered character would you choose?

Time to win yourself some house points! Did you know that Quidditch is played here in Edinburgh too? The Edinburgh team can often be spotted practicing on the Meadows, brooms between their legs. An extra 20 house points for anyone who can name the Edinburgh team too...

Our advert bike disappeared again last week. Thankfully we were able to find out where it went this time... 50 house points for anyone who can comment below and tell us how many bike puns we've worked into this one!

Our real life tours are back in full swing! Book now at pottertrail.com. Keep your eyes on here over the next few weeks for a chance to meet our guides and win yourself some house points. #HarryPotter #Edinburgh

Haggis Tours do a 1 day trip around Scotland! It includes a ticket on the real life Hogwarts Express, visits the Glenfinnan Viaduct and Glencoe among many more stunning locations, all kicking off from May 16th! Book your slice of the magic here: haggisadventures.com/1-day-tours/1-…

Our new magic advert bike! We *think* our last bike was taken by the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Thankfully we had the foresight to use the Gemino curse on it. Our tours start again tomorrow and you’ll find this bike next to the statue of Greyfriars Bobby where we start!

Good news! Professor Trelawney's prediction about when we can reopen was correct! We'll be running our real life tours again from April 26th. These can be booked at pottertrail.com. Bottles of cooking sherry all round!

Our Public Virtual Tours are back! We’re collaborating with ThingstodoDC.com to make these extra magical. They'll be organising some live magic shows and HP themed scavenger hunts to follow on from our tours depending on when you book. Booking: pottertrail.com

For #WorldBookDay Will is attempting to re-read all the Harry Potter books. It’s going well.

Professor Trelawney, in her new role as adviser to the Scottish Government, has made a new prediction about when we can restart our tours in Edinburgh: “26th of April, my dears!” We all know to take her predictions with a pinch of salt though... pottertrail.com!

The weather in Edinburgh is only getting colder and wetter - we’re almost glad to be remaining virtual until at least the end of February. Check out our website to book a virtual tour! pottertrail.com

Mainland Scotland is officially back in lockdown, meaning our real life tours are officially on hold until at least January 31st. Our tours can still be booked virtually from anywhere in the world through our website: pottertrail.com/videotours. Keep smiling! Photo: @kathr_ithm