London – Part 10

Ladies and Gentlemen, the ticket I bought on Platform 9 ¾ didn’t get me to Hogwarts, but I did get there.

I took myself and our Dear Hostess off for a tour of the Leavesdon Studios. Partly in thanks for her hospitality, and partly because I’m a massive fan girl. I’m at peace with this information.

There was so much in those two sound studios! So much information to absorb, and so many tiny intricate details to see! I may also have misjudged just how big sound studios are! We were there for over four hours!

I had been worried that after having seen the exhibition in Sydney that I’d just be seeing all the same things again, but it was so much better! Partly because this time I was allowed to take photographs!

Doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you what I saw in the Mirror of Erised though!

I have put my name into the Goblet of Fire …

… taken a Potions lesson from Professor Snape …

… read Dumbledore’s Last Will and Testament for myself …

… crossed the bridge into Hogwarts (not the blown up bit, obviously) …

… marvelled at Mermaids …

… and walked up Diagon Alley!

Must have been the wrong time of day though, because all the shops were closed. I’ll obviously have to go back!

It was all so amazing! The level of detail in every single thing you looked at was beyond compare. I’ve bought things from department stores that didn’t have this much care and effort put into their manufacture! And it’s all there on display for you to look at, and wonder at.

In the very last room before you exit through the gift shop is a truly amazing and wonderful thing. It’s the 1:24 model of Hogwarts which they used for the films. With each Director adding his own twists and flavour with each successive movie.

It was used in each of the films, and the footage was then digitally enhanced in order to create realistic views of the castle.

This completely blew me away. You can see from the people in my photographs the scale of the model, and the level of detail is just mind bending. It’s a little unfortunate that it is at the end of the tour, as there were a few people topping out with information overload by this point, and it is hard to take in anymore (especially something this grandiose) when you get to this point.

Things I may also have done; ridden the night bus, visited the Ministry of Magic, ridden on a flying broom stick (I have pics, so it did happen!), and I am now the proud owner of a Time Turner! (I’ll never be out of time again!)

With this epic tour, our trip to London reached its climactic end. The next morning we were off early back to Heathrow, and before we knew it we were picking up the cats from the animal hotel. The cats had quite a few loud meows to say about their apparent abandonment, but their perfectly coddled condition belied their howls of neglect.

Suddenly we were thrust back into daily routine, and now we find ourselves staring down the barrel of year-end festivities! So hold on to your hats! It’s only ramping up from here!