We made our way to various historic sights in Edinburgh all the while listening to informative stories that will certainly delight seasoned wizards or simply Muggles looking to learn more about British culture.
Having been to many Harry Potter related activities (Universal Studios, The Cursed Child, etc), I can confidently say this is one of the top Harry Potter experiences!
Our tour had children, adults and seniors and all of us found something to enjoy. There is a lot of walking involved and at times you will need to listen carefully, but you will certainly be delighted that you did this. Sam's creativity is contagious!
Make It Epic
In Edinburgh, you can step from the page's sketches to skylines mushroomed with stone Wizard towers in the twinkling of an eye. But what's inside a mind that's personally earned us over a billion in taxes? How does it work & how does it think?
Explore the literary witchcraft of the world's most beloved novels on Edinburgh's speediest Potter tours.
The Potter tour hallows
Disaster & blood ties propelled JK Rowling to a new country. Love, generosity & a Christian community nurtured Harry through a difficult labour; Harry haunted by tragedy much as Rowling was. Edinburgh's cobbled closes, stone turrets, higgedly piggedly slate roofs nourished Harry's burgeoning kingdom.
Explore the themes of kinship, love, poverty & transcendence through The Boy Who Lived & the Mother he saved.
As reported in:
JK Rowling is a moderately influential woman who's sold a few books & lives in a tepee... in... Bangalore? No?... Alaska??
On this tour we dive deep into her history.
Learn to use failure as a springboard, be inspired, stay committed & conquer the world. Discover the revelations that enthused her & the cafés which fueled her. Experience how, through grit & failure, buoyed by friendship & love, JK Rowling left footprints upon the world.
Over 4¼ hours learn the entire genesis of Harry Potter, from lightning striking on a Manchester train to becoming a pillar of British culture & shaping a generation.
Edinburgh's cobbled streets, winding alleys, our looming dramatic castle. The city offers many Potteresque vistasCower in terror as we meet dragons, sphinxes & a unicorn. (outside mating season)
They only gore folk they like. Now lie still, we'll have you up & galumphing in a shake of me brollyWouldn't it be cool if Rowling's thoughts and example could empower you to lead a more fulfilling, rewarding life? Wouldn't it be cool if there was a tour that showed the way?*
We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already* I want to go on that tour.
If you're considering a tour for somebody you love, who has read the books and loves Harry Potter, then you tread in the footsteps of others, they are legion. No terrible reviews so far (touch a wand, all the wands).
The more difficulties a person has overcome, the more you can learn from them. My tour has darker stories from Rowling's potentially instructive biography, which I hope will inspire those ready to achieve more.
Private tours were chosen by the staff of:
If you book through my website and at the end you feel my tour pongs like Merlin's saggy pants I want you to ask for your money back. I want my fellow Potter-heads to have a 'Theôria', a sacred journey & a singular experience; it can be useful to know when I fall short.
We visited parts of the city we hadn’t before and really got a feel for the place & were able to see the inspiration behind so many famous locations in the Harry Potter books. Sam had great little magical twists & unexpected surprises (that I won’t ruin!) & it was thoroughly enjoyable. I don’t think there’s anything Potter/Rowling related that he does not know!
Definitely worth doing if you are interested in the writer’s life or are a Harry Potter fan. Would definitely recommend.
His ability to recount endless historical facts/figures while drawing connections to Harry Potter and JK Rowling was impressive. The tour was thorough, but never seemed long due to Sam’s complex understanding of the series and city at large.
Furthermore, he is humble. I had planned to tip as customary, especially considering how much I enjoyed the tour, however, before any of us could pull out our wallets, he was gone! Welp, until next time Sam! Highly recommend.
He really loves what he does and it’s infectious. He walks SUPER fast, but in the hustle and bustle of the city, you understand why.
He was so much fun and even wrote the sweetest e-mail afterwards with a Hogwarts poem and extended his thanks. Great tour! Thanks Sam!
We got to see places in Edinburgh that I could not have found on my own and it was constantly fascinating!
I would recommend this tour for children and adults alike. Sam was very accommodating with times and let us join a private tour as he was booked out for the days we wanted!
Thanks Sam- you were a highlight of our trip to Edinburgh.
Then a long and fast paced trot through cobbled streets, down winding alleys, nooks and crannies and even across a graveyard! Ride on a broomstick if you've brought one, otherwise a lot of walking is necessary.
Sam is a delightful fountain of knowledge on everything linked to Harry Potter - the books, films and the author's publishing journey to phenomenal success.
Suitable for young and old Potter fans alike, with plenty of interesting
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Sam shared lots of knowledge, which kept us all interested. Also gives you a good idea of geography of Edinburgh if you do it at start of your visit.
10/10 - don't think twice - just book and enjoy.
Keep it up you’re the best bit of our trip and a memory we will have forever!! Thank you so much!!!
We mentioned we wanted to see Dolly the Sheep in the National Museum, so he took us there as we passed by it so we wouldn't have to come back later!
If there's one thing I learned on the tour, it's that I need to re-read the books. Sam knew absolutely EVERYTHING about Harry Potter and he writes great poems.
If you want the best Potter experience, book this tour!!
I would recommend this tour to absolutely anyone who is a fan.
That being said, if you are not very fluent in English things might be a bit hard to follow because Sam gets so excited by it all and speaks a bit fast. :)
Even if you only have a passing interest in Harry Potter this walking tour of Edinburgh makes for a good day out with some magic thrown in.
Trophy room
Reconsider Harry's saga from a newer perspective, based upon Joanne Rowling's trials and tribulations.
If you book via my website I lose 8% in transaction fees, if you book via international tour platforms they take a 26% cut...
So I'd love you to book here.
For this long tour to break even on Tripadvisor, their resales are priced at a premium; Tripadvisor doesn't want me undercutting their resale price here, thus, off-peak, it's a tour for ardent fans who priotise their Edinburgh Potter experience.
If you have time to arrange a private tour for a family group, my rates are kinder than those Tripadvisor lets me offer publicly. If they're book loving fans maybe enquire about my 5½ or 8 hour tours.
It's a niche tour, if you're travelling solo booking me off-season can be tricky. If someone's already booked it is possible to book for one.
You're most welcome to...
Contact SamI wrote this tour for you.
This tour has a good amount of stairs up the side of a volcanic vent to Edinburgh Castle's esplanade. Don't worry, if we need to amputate your legs the Royal Infirmary will give you a Mad Eye too. If you make it down again and survive to graduate you'll have seen over 50% of Edinburgh's gothic fantastic, the Hogwartian Old Town.
In addition to all that's on the shorter tours this includes:
Inhale the sweet scents at our Witches fountain (fires of execution usurped by the water of life) & discover how Rowling used our witch trials to add a texture of reality to the Wizarding World.
Book a Thursday & we can even drink the blood of Christ like Rowling (& Sanguini?), when booking simply ask for the JK Rowling Eucharist™
It has more on JK's writing process:
It's been popular amongst generous parents seeking an entirely forgettable rite of passage, visiting teachers who teach the books and passionate fans on a pilgrimage wanting a thorough exploration of Rowling's influences.
Sam surpassed our expectations, delivering a fabulous Harry Potter tour! He was a cauldron of information and pulled surprises out of his knapsack to surprise and entertain.
As a writer I appreciated his knowledge of JK Rowling and her writing process, and my teenagers loved his trivia about the books. We saw parts of Edinburgh we’d never know about on our own. I recommend him and the tour to any HP fans!
I thought I knew a lot about Harry Potter but was BLOWN away by Sam’s extensive knowledge and insight. We went all over Edinburgh to see some of the most significant aspects of JK Rowling’s creative journey towards the development of the series.
Sam was so excited and passionate about the tour and sharing his insight it was hard not to meet his enthusiasm. I would HIGHLY recommend this tour.
I did a lot of research looking at the various tours and reading reviews. I was so fortunate to find the tours that Sam Stratford does.
I began corresponding with him on email to arrange for the tour. I have to admit I did not read the books & although I had heard a lot about it from my daughter & saw some of the movies, it was my daughter who was the fan.
Sam was very responsive and so "Harry Potter" entertaining that I smiled with every correspondence.
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...read the full review on T.A.
I absolutely loved Sam's tour. He is an incredible wealth of knowledge and left no stone unturned in his tour through Edinburgh. We visited places we never would have discovered and learnt so many Potter facts plus it served as a bonus history lesson.
It made me want to race back to the hotel and curl up with the book. Thanks for a great adventure... top of the Hogwarts class Sam!
Well done, Sam. You deserve a full tour every time.
Sam was an excellent Edinburgh ambassador for our Seattle family of 5 - sharing his wealth of knowledge about the city and it's intimate connection to J.K. Rowling and the world of Harry Potter. Even my reluctant 17 year old son had a fabulous time.
We were able to see many city sites during the tour that we would never have found on our own. Sam did an excellent job of guiding our group around the city streets and finding quiet spots to fill our heads with Potter knowledge.
My only regret is that I do not have a pensieve in which to store the memories! Thank you Sam.
Sam was a delight and interacted with the whole group very well. We were sorted into our houses and earned points answering Sam's questions along the way, this was really exciting for the child in our party who became more excited after the chocolate frog at the end.
Sam not only informed about Harry Potter/JK Rowling, but also about the history of the area too, which was an added bonus. I would really recommend this tour. Thank you Sam.
Sam is a great tour guide who really knows how to keep us entertained and his bag is full of surprises. It was a magical afternoon.
Thanks so much Sam, you made my birthday magical!!!!!
It stops at Nicolsons (maternity ward of the Philosopher's Stone) or the Elephant house cafe (Chamber of Secrets) for games, a great feast &...
Why?
I like doing this tour because it's special for me. I like the magic, I like the extra stories & hell, to me the creative heavy lifting is in the writing, the books are not unimportant, I think their creation & inspirations merit scrutiny.
Pricing
Warner Brother's Harry Potter studio tour like my tour is luxurious & fills a day, their complete adult package totals £57.50, a ticket for a family of 4 is £172.
Neither is the Potterhead inexpensive. For 1 person it's £110 🤯 For 2 it's £135, £67.50 each 😱 But the price increase is astronomical minimal for each further person, upto 8.
The better question is "It's 8 hours, do they have the interest?"
For booking or questions...
Contact SamIf you just thought 'But they were in different years!', then you are truly, insufferably, insane.
You should come on my tour.
A lot of JK Rowling's story, a touch of mythological inspirations, but a larger proportion of Edinburgh's well trod, traditional 'Harry Potter trail'.
We'll visit the 'Harry Potter cafés' & learn why Rowling loved them so intensely. We'll see McEwan Hall where Rowling graduated. My neighbour Otis was also there, graduating with a degree in Education, he says he was honoured to graduate with her; you'll learn JK's thoughts on life.
A key part of Edinburgh's 'Harry Potter trail' is Greyfriars Kirkyard. Rowling has disowned, we'll explore this. We'll see Hogwarts, no more! You'll learn Rowling's true association with the school.
We'll visit the library Rowling armoured up for rejection in and learn the daily rituals she exercises to honour her desired epitaph.
High above twisty Victoria Street we'll see why proprietors crowned it Diagon Alley, fans greeted it as a homecoming, & explore why Rowling decapitated it. We'll visit 16th century townhouse Riddle's Court - I wonder why? Finally we'll witness why Rowling's hands cause such a stir.
Lit by a torch of truth & motivated by a fan's heart of love we'll see everything whimsical bloggers write about & a few things stranger. A decent arc of our historic Old Town Rowling wandered betwixt museums, writing & cheap coffee.
It's been most popular with seniors, leaving them the time & energy for cafés & castles. And guardians of pre-teen boys who'd most like 10 hours of dueling lessons followed by Dragon wrestling, bless them.
Drink in the scenes & atmospheres JK Rowling broadly credits for gifting a more tart gothic flavour to Harry's true home.
Afternoon bookings are less expensive.
For groups greater than six please
Contact SamAs featured in the:
Do you visit the grave of He Who Must Not Be Named? You bet your Longbottom. But gain a more meaningful experience from the journey of the world's most renowned author:
Art Credits
Disclaimer The tour is a scripted tour which is my highest achievement and due to the passage it took to create it, my life's work. Please do not reproduce or copy my tour, if you wouldn't want to be stolen from and devastated please don't help the Dungs of this world do so to me. Review it instead, that's the greatest tribute and help. Potter guides & aspiring guides, please go elsewhere. As a fellow human I love you and want the best for you, but becoming successful as a Potter guide is a struggle, it's Tri Wizard tournament competitive and it's hard to be as big as Cedric Diggory, and look! He ended up deid. Magic ✨ May Merlin bless us all. Tap, tap, tap the wand that's eldest of them all If your clumsy magic puts you in the wringer
The Elephant House cafe where Rowling wrote Harry Potter battling the Basilisk
Where Rowling graduated
Meet the Baxter's Dragons & a distant poetic relative of Prof McGonagall
Lady Stair's mansion & its Edinburgh writers' tradition
JK Rowling's true relation to George 'not the Hogwarts' Heriots, a casteled school with a peculiar loving cup
The scene of Rowling's writer's block & the "maternity ward" of Harry Potter
Victoria Street & its Harry Potter shops, drummed as 'Diagon Alley' by proprietors & not a few fans. Alas Rowling confesses her wild imaginings cannot claim anchor there
The community that helped Rowling reach her potential
Parliament Square: JK Rowling's Europhilia - Oh my!
Britain's most seductive restaurant & JK's good man. Lesson: stay away from bass players, seek keyboardists
Harry Potter & Edinburgh Castle
16th century townhouse Riddle's Court where the sun seldom reaches
JK Rowling's Edinburgh award
Old Parliament Hall illustration from the magazine The Graphic, volume XIX, no 479, February 1, 1879.
Harry Potter in the style of weeping Jesus came via a blog & is by an unknown artist. If it's you, I bow to your talent, please contact me.
The talented Jonathon Higgins for the dragon flyby of Edinburgh Castle. Sweet riding skills bro.
While this tour is inspired by Harry Potter and designed for Harry Potter fans to have the best visit, it is not endorsed by or affiliated with Warner Brothers.
While I'm a fan, and would love to go on a tour of Edinburgh with Rowling or even Pottermore, I'm not associated with them, or JK Rowling's publishers' either.
Besides I want her to keep writing fantastic Fantastic Beast's movies.
The magic on this tour is simply that, magic. All magic is illusion and any Potter style claptrap I may say on the tour should be taken in the spirit of fun and does not DOES NOT overturn the laws of physics or finger God.
Poisonous roots & hollow branches,
sculpted Death's divine tool.
Limber up that magnificent index finger.