The Making of Harry Potter: 10 must-see highlights

So many unforgettable moments from the Harry Potter epic take place in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and visitors can even stand on the very flagstones where those scenes came to life. Step inside – it’s as grand and magical as it looks on screen.

At the heart of Hogwarts is Albus Dumbledore’s own study. Visitors on the tour can step inside, looking up, just as a timid Harry Potter did when he got his first private audience with the headmaster. Take a good look and see if you can spot all the curiosities that make his office a treasure trove of wizarding delights.

The clue’s in the name ­– dare you enter? This vast walk-through experience is filled with magnificent trees, each towering over you, creating the shady atmosphere where beasts lurk, some friendly and others distinctly unfriendly…

It’s quite something when visitors get to the part of the tour where Platform 9¾ has been recreated to feature the magnificent Hogwarts Express locomotive. Get on board and glimpse the carriages, set just as they were for Harry, Ron and Hermione’s eventful trips back to school.

We’ve never been so excited to see a suburban semi! This was Harry’s unhappy home and the setting for some of the funniest clashes between muggles and magic. Now, visitors can go through the front door and take a look at the Dursleys’ typically muggle front room, set out as it was for one of the most memorable Dursley scenes (we’ll let you find out which one for yourselves).

How do you create a tree that has a malicious mind of its own? Find out on the tour and see just how the film crew managed to make the Whomping Willow look like it really was attacking the Weasleys’ flying car. While you’re there, discover how the Cloak of Invisibility was created and how the snake-covered Chamber of Secrets door slithered into action.

Feel what it’s like to hop on a broomstick and watch yourself swooping high over London, thanks to the green screen technology that enabled the cast to take flight. Are you a Quidditch fan? Could you stay upright on a stick, mid-tackle? Check out the Quidditch uniforms, too.

How do you make a 30ft Basilisk with jaws three-feet-deep that can slither through the most awesome Hogwarts battle of them all? Find out in the Creature Effects department. Here, visitors will also find the eerie form of Voldemort’s ‘soul’ (which Harry sees in limbo) and find out more about the technical challenges of creating an entire Wizarding World on screen.

Take a walk up London’s most magical street – it’s the only chance you’ll get, unless you happen to be a real wizard and you know how to get here via The Leaky Cauldron. On full show is the craft of the technical team that made the sets and created every single prop with such loving attention to the details in J.K. Rowling’s story. Stroll past Gringotts Bank, then do a spot of window-shopping at Flourish and Blotts, Mr Mulpepper’s Apothecary and, of course, Ollivanders Wand Shop.

Through the seasons, new features are included in the main tour, making the experience different every time. For 2018, there’s the brand new ‘Goblet of Fire’ feature (March 30 to September 23), and in autumn the hugely popular ‘Dark Arts’ exhibition returns (September 28 to November 11), including the chance to do battle with the Death Eaters. As Christmas approaches, see the Great Hall prepared for a feast and the magnificent spectacle of Hogwarts in the Snow (November 17 2018 to January 27 2019).

Each tour has a timed start, but visitors can go at their own pace, enjoying every last feature of the tour in as much detail as they like.

Remember, tickets must be purchased in advance at: wbstudiotour.co.uk. Find out more at: wbstudiotour.co.uk/getting-here.