Day 27 - Edinburgh: Harry Potter Tour

While Maggie is playing golf, I immersed myself in more Harry Potter. I just can’t get enough HP (not the steak sauce (A1 steak sauce is called HP here, no idea why)). Again, if you are not a Harry Potter fan, skip this post.

I did a self-guided walking tour with the VoiceMap app. I highly recommend this mode of tour for people who don’t want to be around other people but want to know all of the cool facts.

JK Rowling moved to Edinburgh in 1993 after her separation. She was penniless and had a child to support. She already had the first three chapters of the first book written when she arrived, and the city provided all of the fodder for the remaining stories.

The story is that she sat for hours at the Elephant House cafe and there is a plaque to that effect. The Elephant overlooks the cemetery that I will discuss shortly.

But the real story is she sat at Nicholson Café (now named Spoons) which was owned by her brother-in-law. That cafe does not want the fame, so they don’t publicize the affiliation. JKR sat in the cafe forever without being bothered. She wrote books 2-4 in cafes, but after that, she was too well known to write in public.

There is a museum in Edinburgh dedicated to writers. There are inscriptions in the stones leading to the museum. However, all of the stones are placed posthumously. So, it will be some time before we see some JKR quotes

The inspiration for Diagon Alley (which is really the word diagonally as Nocturn Alley is nocturnally) is Victoria Street.

There was a brush shop that sold broomsticks, hairbrushes, and paint brushes. Now it is the Museum Context which is the best independent HP shop in Edinburgh.

John Kay’s bookstore is the inspiration for Flourish and Blotts. You can now buy special editions of the Harry Potter and other vintage books.

The Enchanted Galaxy was the inspiration for Olivanders and the other shop (no name-just an iconic nose) was the Weasley Joke Shop. Both have been there for more than 40 years.

Maggie has already written about Maggie Dickson. But the tie into HP is that after Maggie D “died” and came back to life, she was known as Half Hanged Maggie. Could that be the forerunner to Nearly Headless Nick?

There is a LONG story about a dog that we heard on no fewer than three bus tours. Suffice it to say that the dog, Bobby, was very loyal to his master, even years after his master died. It is thought that this is where the concept of Dobbie came from. Here is the story if you are interested: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby

The Greyfriars Kirk cemetery provided many of the names for books.

-There is a tombstone for Potter but JKR has stated that name came from a family friend.

-Peter Pettigrew had no gravestone; just a record in the church with the Scottish spelling of the name.

-McGonagall was actually a bad poet.

-Elizabeth Moodie may have been Mad Eye Moody

-And then the pièce de résistance: the tombstone of Thomas Riddell, Esq. Notice I typed Riddell and not Riddle. JKR has not confirmed that this is Lord Voldemort’s tombstone, but so many avid readers think so, that the Council has had to reinforce the surface near the grave due to the traffic. And there is a Riddle Close that could have been the inspiration. Who knows? (Sorry my selfie skills suck, the sun was in my eyes)

There is a Medicinal Herb Garden that may have provided the names for Professor Sprout, Aunt Petunia, Professor Lupin, and Herbology as a science.

Finally, the George Heriot School is just outside the cemetery. It has four dormitories with house colors that conveniently correspond to the four houses of Hogwarts.