Warner Bros Studio Tour - Hogwarts in the Snow

Hi there everyone

Welcome to Life of Pottering for 2018

It has actually been three weeks since I last posted, which isn't really that long, but feels like an absolute age.

We are trying, not that successfully I must add, to get into the swing of the 2018. Both Martin and I are feeling just a bit listless and not as excited and motivated about the New Year as we normally are at this point.

I am putting it down to our extended Christmas and New Year celebrations, which have lasted almost two months! We started off getting in the Christmas spirit back in November, when we went to Yorkshire for a week's break. I've still plenty to share with you from then, but you can read the first of my posts about our getting in the spirit here.

We really only just finished off our celebrations yesterday ... with a trip to Warner Brothers Studios where we were truly immersed into the magical world of Harry Potter.

Until 28 January you can get to see 'Hogwarts in the Snow' so, whilst I've got lots of posts backing up, I thought it would be good to share this one first.

Between us we took over 400 photos so I promise to slim them down dramatically and just share our favourites with you.

The Boring Stuff ...
Arrival at the studios was dead straightforward and there is loads of parking, we just had to show our booking confirmation and we were in.

It's recommended that you arrive at least 20 minutes before your tour time, to allow for ticket collection and security checks on the way in, which were reassuringly thorough.

Before you start the tour you have access to the gift shop, the cafe and toilets, so plenty to see if you are early.

We were about an hour before our time slot and were lucky enough to be able to start our tour early, though this is not always guaranteed.

A few sneaky tips ...
If we visited again I would make sure that when entering the first part of the tour I would exit that first room via the left hand door and then sit at the front. I won't spoil the surprise by saying anymore, but I think it would be worth it.

I think you would still enjoy the tour if you've not watched the Harry Potter films, but if you haven't, then personally I would recommend you try and watch some before you go. It somehow just makes everything seem a bit more real.

The Exciting Stuff ...
By the time the tour kicked off proper we were well excited and were eagerly anticipating what would happen next. We weren't disappointed, but I don't want to totally give the game away so will just go on to share our favourite parts with you ... in no particular order ...

There is so much to see at every stage of the tour, you just don't know where to look as there is something magical and fascinating in every direction.

It was fairly busy on our visit, but if you are patient it is all set up so that everyone can get to see everything and there are more than enough photo opportunities.

The Sets
Number 4 Privet Drive ...
Where it all begins ...

Platform 9 3/4 ...
Well, you all know how Martin loves anything trains and railways ...

 It had to be done ...

The Gryffindor Boys' Dormitory & Common Room ...
All decked out for the Christmas season ...

Dumbledore's Office ...
There is lots of detail here, as in all the sets, and its made me want to watch the films all over again ...

Hagrid's Cottage

The Forbidden Forest ...
Definitely not one for arachnophobes ...

Diagon Alley ...
Plenty of shopping opportunities ...

The Great Hall ...
This was truly spectacular and decorated as it was for that incredible Yule Ball. This is pretty much the only part of the tour where the time you can spend is limited, so I would recommend getting your camera out pretty swiftly.

and not forgetting ...

Hogwarts Castle ...
This was just stunning, from all angles ...

It's not just all about the sets, though they are amazing. Dotted amongst them there is plenty of other interesting stuff to catch your eye ...

The Costumes ...
There are costumes everywhere you look. In every set, of pretty much every character, as well as groups of costumes from specific events from the films. From the Yule Ball ... Hermione's dress is just to die for ...
And here, you can see just how 'pink' Dolores Umbridge becomes at her pottiest ...

There is plenty to be seen from a Quidditch point of view too ...


Lots of Props ...
Some more recognisable than others ...

And some bigger than others ...

There is also lots to see from a make up and wigs point of view as well as lots of information on animatronics and how things were made and how they work

All told we spent a good three hours on our tour. We did have a quick refreshment stop in the Backlot cafe, but didn't partake of any of the interactive activities that are available. If you were visiting with children and took part in all of these things, you could easily spend longer.

Our visit definitely did not disappoint. It was magical and a brilliant day out. We would definitely visit again, at a different time of year. If you get the chance to go then we would both definitely recommend it.

Even the joys of the M1 on the way home did not spoil our day ...

Christmas at Goddards House - York

Hi there everyone

Back in November we had a cosy week away for my birthday, staying at Moat Hall Cottage in Little Ouseburn, just outside of York. It was our second booking through Gorgeous Cottages and, once again, we were not disappointed.
The cottage was exactly as described on the website, a warm and cosy bolt hole in the Yorkshire countryside, overlooking the village church.

Yet again, we were really lucky with the weather, with plenty of crisp Winter sunshine and plenty of nice dry days for getting out and about.

One of our first forays was to Goddards House, which the National Trust describe as being ...

"An intimate Arts and Crafts style family home and complementary gardens"

Goddards House was the family home of the famous York Terry family ... Yes, the Terry family of the All Gold and Chocolate Orange fame. It is situated within walking distance of the old chocolate works, which opened in 1926 and closed in 2005 and is currently being redeveloped as a mixed use residential/commercial real estate site, which you can find out more about in one of the exhibitions in the house.

The house itself is situated just outside of the city centre and there isn't any real parking, though we did manage to sneak in on the roadside by The Holiday Inn, about 5 minutes up the road.

We walked along the main road towards the property and we were just beginning to wonder where it was, and if we might have missed it, when it appeared with no warning whatsoever. It would be very easy to drive straight past if you didn't know it was here.

The first glimpse of the property, through the narrow arch in the gatehouses, looked very intriguing and we couldn't wait to explore on, what was a lovely bright and sunny, but chilly, Autumn day.

We were really lucky to have timed our visit with their Christmas event. At this time of year the house is only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and the rooms are decked out as they would have been on Christmas Eves across the years.

We entered, just as the Terry family would have done, back in the day. Via the heavy wooden front door, to be greeted by friendly National Trust staff, who were very welcoming and more than happy to tell us about the history of the house and its famous local family.

When having Goddards House built, Noel Terry wanted to create a comfortable family home close to the chocolate works for Kathleen, his wife and his four children: Peter, Kenneth, Betty and Richard. I would say he certainly achieved his ambition. This gorgeous hand crafted house was finished in 1927. There are plenty of quotes and memories from the family threaded throughout the house to be discovered on your visit.

We started our visit in The Study...

... where we could see some of the letters that Noel had written to his family whilst away at war in 1916 ...

From the study we moved on to The Drawing Room, which was a real delight. It was just beautiful and very easy to imagine curling up in front of the fire with a Christmas sherry, enjoying the views over the garden. It is also possible to enjoy refreshments from the tea room in here too, which would be just lovely.

The Christmas decorations, as throughout the rest of the house, were very simple and tasteful, with real trees and presents wrapped in plain brown paper ...

The third room that is set out as it would have been back in the day is the children's games room, come music room ...

Beating Martin on the bagatelle was a bonus, as this left him paying for the tea and cake ...

Upstairs there were a good number of rooms to looks at, some decked out as bedrooms and some devoted to sharing the history or the factory, with pictures of how it looks now, as a pretty amazing care home.

It was then time to avail ourselves of the dining room where we felt it only right that we should check out the Terry's chocolate orange cake, which was a real treat. The dining room was just lovely, bright and warm with the Autumn sunshine streaming through the windows.

It was then time to explore outside, which gave the best views of the house, looking back across the terrace ... 

We did have a wander round the gardens, which are fairly small, but would probably be of more interest at a different time of year.

In National Trust terms, this is a fairly small property, but we loved it. You can really get the feel of how the house would have worked as a family home in the time that the Terry family lived there, it has been laid out really well and seeing it set up for Christmas was a real treat.

All in all, including our pit stop in the tea room, I would say our visit took us a couple of hours, which gave us plenty of time to head in to York for a look at Treasurer's House, another National Trust property right in the centre of the the City 😀