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Harry Potter's Edinburgh

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BBC Radio Scotland - Harry Potter's Edinburgh

Wands at the ready as we explore Edinburgh’s wizarding underworld.

Wands at the ready as actor Sean Biggerstaff explores Edinburgh’s wizarding underworld and find out why the city has become a Mecca for Harry Potter fans.

Presenter Sean Biggerstaff (AKA Quidditch captain, Oliver Wood) will be exploring why, when a character becomes as popular as Harry Potter, people feel the need to experience a bit of the magic in the real world.   Many Potter fans now make the pilgrimage to Edinburgh and the city has a thriving wizarding underworld – from Quidditch played weekly in the city’s parks to tours and quizzes.

We’ll take the Potter tour, visiting Greyfriars kirkyard where there are some familiar names on the headstones, and join the thousands of Potter pilgrims, touching JK Rowling’s handprints the city’s High Street.   We’ll meet Potter super-fans, including Emily – a trainee vet from Yorkshire who chose Edinburgh University because of the Potter connection and who always carries a copy of The Philosopher’s Stone in her pocket in case she bumps into her favourite author!    And ‘Dean of Harry Potter Scholars’, John Granger and author Beatrice Groves, shed some light on the psychology behind this magical phenomenon


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