Every Filming Location For Harry Potter Season 1

Published Jul 29, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones). Filming for the first season of HBO's Harry Potter wrapped up in May 2026 in preparation for that highly anticipated Christmas Day premiere. Of course, this is our second time through this process, since Warner Bros turned Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone into a movie back in 2001. At that time, various locations across the UK were used to layer the Wizarding world on top of our own. Now, HBO is approaching the same story in a variety of new ways, though that does mean returning to many of the same locations. After filming for Harry Potter season 1 started in July 2025, the focus was put predominantly on outdoor scenes. Production for the series left a visible trail behind them, as lucky fans caught glimpses of sets in places like the London Zoo or King's Cross Station. That only scrapes the surface, however, as the next nine months brought the Harry Potter team to more than a dozen sets and locations (via Discover Britain). Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Hertfordshire, England, served as the home base for filming Harry Potter season 1. This was where the interior sets for Hogwarts Castle were built, including common rooms, classrooms, and the Great Hall, among others. This is also where the massive, custom-built set for Diagon Alley was constructed, which boasts a variety of unique shops all brought to life through practical effects. Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden will certainly continue as a key location for the entirety of HBO's Harry Potter. Hemel Hempstead School One of the earlier locations used during filming for Harry Potter season 1 is the Hemel Hempstead School. Production was there near the end of July 2025, reportedly filming scenes meant to be set at the Muggle primary school Harry attends before heading to Hogwarts. Filming was done both inside and outside the school, and we can already see some of the scenes in the Harry Potter season 1 trailer, which shows Harry being chased by Dudley and a group of bullies. London Zoo Among the public filming locations that fans managed to grab images at was the London Zoo, and it doesn't take much work to guess what parts of Philosopher's Stone were being filmed there. This is where the Dursleys brought Dudley, his friend, and, reluctantly, Harry himself for a birthday celebration. Actors Bel Powley (Petunia), Daniel Rigby (Vernon), Amos Kitson (Dudley) and Dominic McLaughlin (Harry) were all spotted here wearing noticeably ' 90s-themed garb in the penguin enclosure as well as the reptile section of the zoo. King’s Cross Station Sometime around August 2025, filming came to King's Cross Station. Once again, it's pretty easy to guess what scenes needed to be filmed here. This is where the secret Platform 9¾ is supposed to be located, and during his very first visit, Harry meets several of the Weasleys. The process of filming at King's Cross is what gave us our first look at Katherine Parkinson's Molly Weasley, accompanied by Tristan and Gabriel Harland (Fred and George), Alastair Stout (Ron), Ruari Spooner (Percy), and Gracie Cochrane (Ginny). The part of Ginny Weasley is reportedly being recast for Harry Potter season 2. Oxford University Buildings Many of the buildings at Oxford University are several centuries old, and that makes them absolutely perfect for various Hogwarts scenes. Warner Bros' original movies famously used the Divinity School as the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, along with the Duke Humfrey Library, New College, and Bodley Staircase at Christ Church College. Rather nostalgically, the filming crew for Harry Potter season 1 returned to each of these locations, so parts of Hogwarts, such as the infirmary and courtyards, should look more or less the same in the upcoming TV show. Berrybushes Farm Berrybushes Farm is quite near to Leavesden Studios, so it was the perfect place for Warner Bros to lease and use to construct major outdoor sets. This is where we got the physical Quidditch pitch, several grand greenhouses, a stone outbuilding, and even a couple of residential homes used for various purposes. Filming here lasted for 24 days, and it appears that the lease will continue for much of the remaining six seasons of Harry Potter. Cadgwith, Cornwall Cadgwith, Cornwall, is a fishing village that was utilized for filming for the Harry Potter TV show in October 2025. It appears that this location was meant to be near where the Dursleys take Harry in an attempt to escape the unceasing delivery of his Hogwarts letters. Simulated rain was reportedly staged on the beach near the Cadgwith Cove Inn, where Bowley, Rigby, and Kitson were once again seen along with a stand-in double for McLaughlin's Harry Potter. The Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall HBO In addition to the fishing village of Cadgwith, the Harry Potter TV show utilized the nearby Lizard Peninsula. This is another location that gave us a handful of set images, this time providing a look at John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore for the first time. The beach setting of Lizard Peninsula serves as a meeting place for Dumbledore and his old friend, Nicolas Flamel, who entrusts the Hogwarts headmaster with guarding his Philosopher's Stone. Old Magistrates Court It's confirmed that HBO did some filming at Old Magistrates Court in July of 2025, though it isn't known for certain that it was for Harry Potter season 1. This is a popular filming location for fantasy projects, so it's possible that the camera crews were there for House of the Dragon instead. Still, the popular theory is that the formal architecture of this place will serve as the Harry Potter TV show's version of the Ministry of Magic. Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is known for its heavy woodlands and rolling landscapes, which makes it the perfect place to film sequences set on the Hogwarts grounds. Cast and crew were spotted around the forest edges, suggesting that this location was used for Forbidden Forest scenes, such as Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Draco's detention with Hagrid following the Norbert fiasco.