N is for North Yorkshire

The A-Z Tour of Harry Potter locations heads to North Yorkshire.

Goathland Railway Station

The village of Goathland is located in North Yorkshire.  In 2011, it had a population of 438 - so not a very big place!  It is most famous for being the village where the television series Heartbeat was filmed - and tourist income from fans of the show provides most of the village's revenue.

 Goathland railway station was transformed into Hogsmeade Station for The Philosopher’s Stone.  The first ever scene of the Potter series was filmed here – the scene where Harry, Ron, Hermione and Hagrid say good bye to each other.  If you look closely, you can see that Harry has green eyes and Hermione has bucked teeth, just like it says in the book.   However Dan Radcliffe reacted badly to the contacts and Emma Watson had difficulty speaking around the false teeth so the director decided to get rid of both teeth and contacts for the rest of the film (and series).

After filming this scene, the crew turned the Hogwarts Express around and filmed it pulling into the station for the initial arrival, when Ron first meets Hagrid.  While I was visiting Goathland Railway Station, a stem train pulled into the station… which made for some great photos!

Parked on the main street in Goathland is a blue Ford Anglia, one of teh police cars used in Heartbeat.  It also happens to be the same make of car which Harry and Ron flew to Hogwarts in The Chamber of Secrets.

Malham Cove, North Yorkshire
Malham Cove is a limestone formation located near the village of Malham (funnily enough).  The cove itself was formed by an ancient waterfall.  At the top of the Cove is a large limestone platform, where cracks have created a unique feature.

After Ron leaves them in The Deathly Hallows, Harry and Hermione camp at the top of Malham Cove.  It is here they first discuss the sign of the Deathly Hallows, and make plans to visit Godrick’s Hollow.  The scenes in the film relied on helicopter footage for the back plates, with the actors being filmed on a studio set.  I went one better than the cast, and climbed to the top of the pavement – the view was amazing.

At Fangirl Stitches I am cross stitching two alphabets for the challenge - a Pokemon themed one and a Supernatural themed one.  Please stop by and check them out.

Happy travels

Ros