The rule of thumb we like to use is – “if they’re old enough to read the books, they’re old enough to take the tour”. The Potter Trail has some creepy locations, and a few gruesome historical details, but there’s nothing in here half as likely to give kids nightmares as some of the scary scenes in the books! There’s no-one waiting to jump out or try and scare you – this isn’t a ‘ghost’ or ‘horror’ tour, and is aimed at entertaining, not terrifying! The tour is designed to engage kids and communicate information clearly. We lots of interactive elements including a House Point Competition, Sorting Ceremony and spellcasting to keep kids entertained. We do welcome children of all ages, however we find most kids under the age of 7 probably won't understand and appreciate the experience quite as much!

Yes, unless they’re called Fluffy.

Yes, come rain or shine! We've never cancelled a tour because of bad weather and never will.

We certainly hope not! Although the tour is focused on the books and films, there’s also plenty of funny, atmospheric and informative content about Edinburgh’s literary history and real-world characters. If all you know about the series is that they’re about the adventures of a schoolboy wizard and are written by JK Rowling, then congratulations – you already know more than enough to enjoy the tour. No prior knowledge is assumed.

The tour involves about a mile and a half of walking, with frequent stops. Wheelchair users are welcome, but a small number of locations involve slightly uneven terrain. We’ll adapt things so if you can’t visit these locations, you won’t be away from the group for more than a few moments.

We’d love to see you! Although unfortunately we can't accept large groups onto our public tour. Any groups larger than 10 people must book a private tour. If you book a private tour, you’ll get a more memorable personal experience – and we’ll work with you to tailor the tour just for your group

Most walking tours in Edinburgh cost somewhere between £10 and £20 per person. If you can afford it, anything in this range woud be much appreciated! Our tours are, however, set up as free to allow anyone to enjoy the tour regardless of their financial situation and we won’t hold it against you if you choose not to make a contribution.

100% yes! In fact, we'd encourage you to upload any photos to our TripAdvisor, Facebook and Instagram pages. We only ask that you don't take any videos and post big chunks of the tour online as this would ruin the experience for future witches and wizards who want to join the tour!

We meet by the famous Greyfriars Bobby statue on George IV Bridge, across from the National Museum of Scotland, near the junction between Chambers Street and the George IV Bridge.

All of our tours are currently in English only. We have however had plenty of people translating for their children / friends on the tour in the past. You might find this a little easier to do if you book a private tour with us as you can then control the pace of the tour and we can leave gaps for translation. There are other Harry Potter tours in the city that currently provide tours in different languages.

You will not be able to book groups larger than 10 on to our Free Public Tours. If you are bringing a larger group, we insist that you book one of our Private Tours. If you are a school/youth group you can book one of our School Tours to get a discounted rate. This is to keep the tour at a manageable size, and means the tour will be much better for your group, and our guides.

This depends what you consider to be a spoiler! There are a few references to later books and a few plot points mentioned that might not make sense if you haven’t read the whole series. The plot points we mention are: • Harry meeting Lord Voldemort at the end of the Triwizard Tournament • The fact that Tom Riddle is revealed to be Voldemort • Harry and Dudley getting attacked by dementors at the beginning of book 5 There are also references to Mad Eye Moody, Rufus Scrimgeour, Amos Diggory, Sirius Black, Rita Skeeter, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, Borgin and Burkes, Dumbledore’s Army and Tom Riddle’s family.

We cover about 1.25 miles on the route, and believe it or not it is almost entirely flat!

There are usually some available places on either Chambers Street or Grassmarket for muggle vehicles. Failing that there is a multi-storey carpark on Castle Terrace. We are currently petitioning Edinburgh Council to get some decent broom parking spaces nearby.