The focus of all the HP attention is the city’s Cathedral, its vaulted cloisters doubling as the corridors leading to Gryffindor House in Hogwarts School as featured in 2001’s The Philosopher’s Stone, its follow-up 2002’s Chamber of Secretsand now the sixth Potter adventure. Remembering the swell of tourism the previous instalments brought, locals are confident they could be in for a new surge of fans.
“It has been busier in the past, and I think the city will be busier soon too because of the film,” says Christine Hughes, the manager at Golden Vale Pictures located close to the Cathedral, a view supported by Colin Nyland, who organises tours for Gloucester Civic Trust. “It always helps,” he says. “We do notice an increase in numbers when the films are out and hopefully it will be no different this time.”
Taking a broader view is Graham Walker, CEO for Marketing Gloucester Ltd. who argues that “the release of the latest film is bound to generate an influx of visitors to the city which will in turn generate income for local shops, pubs and restaurants.” And sharing these hopes is Mark Owen (no not that one!), the Chairman of the Gloucester branch of the Federation of Small Businesses who believes that “many people will come here simply to follow in the footsteps of Harry Potter, but once here will fall under the spell of the city’s other attractions.”
Well, the charms of the boy wizard certainly helped Pembrokeshire as fans descended on the southwest of Wales a few months backwhen it hosted the production of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And to encourage those toying with the idea of visiting Gloucester on a HP pilgrimage, the Cotswolds and Royal Forest of Dean Tourism has produced a new map listing local sites as seen on TV and at the movies, including the Harry Potter series. Download the free map in PDF format hereand happy exploring.
