7 Harry Potter filming locations you can actually visit

Well there is. And in honour of Harry Potter's birthday, here's how. Help yourself to a slice of bright-pink birthday cake and join us as we explore the UK from top to Longbottom to find some of the most iconic places featured in the films.

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London

London, unsurprisingly, appears in quite a few of the Harry Potter films, so let's step onto the Knight Bus and see how much of London we can fit into this magical tour.

First stop – London Zoo. Where Harry and the Dursleys went to celebrate dear little Dudley's 11th birthday. The reptile house featured quite prominently as it was where Harry had a quick chat with a Burmese python and Dudley found himself on the wrong side of its enclosure.

Next up is King's Cross station where Harry catches the Hogwarts Express. While Platform 9 ¾ has actually been added to the station (kind of) since the films came out, a lot of the scenes featuring the station were shot just across the road at St Pancras, where the facade made for a more iconic shot of the sky-blue Ford Anglia taking to the sky in Chamber of Secrets.

Now on to Leadenhall Market, where a simple optician's doubled as the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron in The Philosopher's Stone. The entrance would later be moved ('cause magic) to Borough Market in Prisoner of Azkaban, giving it an edgier vibe to match the darker tone of that film.

We could spend the whole article talking about places in London where Harry Potter was filmed so to speed things up here's a bit of a lightning round featuring some honourable mentions:

• The Millenium Bridge – which is destroyed by death eaters at the start of Half-Blood Prince.
• Australia House – where the interiors for Gringotts were shot, although you can't actually go inside!
• Scotland Place – the location of the entrance to the Ministry of Magic in Half-Blood Prince.
• Westminster tube station – featured in Order of the Phoenix when Arthur Weasley and Harry are making their way to the ministry.
• Claremont Square – the real-life location of 12 Grimmauld Place, headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.
• Shaftesbury Avenue – where Hermione apparated with Harry and Ron after the attack on Bill and Fleur's wedding in Deathly Hallows – Part One. She recalled going there as a child with her parents to the theatre. On a Holiday Extras theatre break (probably).

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Malham Cove | Yorkshire

The Limestone Pavement along the top of Malham Cove (a vast, amphitheatre-like cliff face in the Yorkshire Dales) doubled as a camp-site for Hermione and Harry while they were searching for horcruxes (Ron was busy throwing a strop somewhere else).

The rugged and dreary landscape matched the tone of the film perfectly, but it's beautiful all the same.

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Glencoe and Glenfinnan | Scotland

The absolutely jaw-dropping scenery of Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands made for the perfect backdrop for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It's all sparkling lakes, tumbling waterfalls and dense, green forests – though they're not actually home to centaurs, unicorns and *shudder* giant spiders. That's one thing the wizarding world can keep thank you very much.

Just a few miles away from this stunning region is the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which featured in four of the films as part of the railway that Hogwarts Express takes to Hogsmeade.

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Alnwick Castle | Northumberland

Alnwick Castle provided some of the iconic exterior locations for Hogwarts in the first two films. It's where Harry had his first ever flying lesson, saved Neville's remembrall from Malfoy and became Hogwarts' youngest seeker in a century. All before he could say 'quidditch'!

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Bodleian Library | Oxford

Among Oxford University's many hallowed halls you'll find the revered Bodleian Library, stuffed to the rafters with books and scholars since the Middle Ages. For the Philosopher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets and Goblet of Fire films it also became the library at Hogwarts where Hermione had the boys looking in the wrong section (how could she be so stupid?) and where Harry snuck into the forbidden section under the guise of his invisibility cloak, only to be detected by Filch and Mrs Norris.

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Freshwater West | Wales

I'm not crying, you're crying!

And I don't mean that the jaw-dropping, serene beauty of the beach at Freshwater West in Pembrokeshire is moving you to tears. Oh no, it'll be the memories of Dobby, a free elf, and his noble sacrifice saving Harry and co from a pretty savage end at Malfoy Manor.

This beach is where Dobby and Harry apparated after their fight with Bellatrix and where, devastatingly, the brave elf died in his best friend's arms. The burial scene was shot here, and since then fans have visited the site to lay painted pebbles, socks and crosses in memory of him. However local authorities prefer you not to litter the beach in honour of a fictional elf – so maybe just opt for a nice selfie instead.

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Gloucester Cathedral

Your earliest memories of the Harry Potter films are probably of the long stone corridors and scenic cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral – whose interiors doubled for those of Hogwarts in the first two films as well as Half-Blood Prince.

The vast hallways here feature the original door to the Gryffindor common room (caput draconis!), the corridor that Moaning Myrtle was falsely accused of flooding, the wall where the Heir of Slytherin left their chilling, blood-scrawled message, and the lavatorium that Harry and Ron hid in after the Halloween feast in Philosopher's Stone (trolllll in the dungeon!).

And yes, lavatorium is a very old world for toilet – specifically those used by monks in cathedrals and monasteries. This one in particular also appeared in Half-Blood Prince, providing a spot for Harry to lurk in while eavesdropping on a plot-thickening chat between Snape and Malfoy.