Harry Potter

Where Was Harry Potter Filmed in the Forest of Dean? Coppett Hill, the Wye and Rowling's Tutshill

Hermione picked the Forest of Dean because she'd camped here as a child. J.K. Rowling picked it because she grew up here.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (2010) filmed its Forest of Dean camp scene on Coppett Hill, above the River Wye near Goodrich, and the film's trailer shows the trio walking the riverbank at Symonds Yat. J.K. Rowling grew up at Church Cottage in Tutshill, near Chepstow, from the age of nine, and the Tutshill Tornados Quidditch team in the books are named after the village.

In the seventh book, on the run and out of ideas, Hermione takes Harry to the Forest of Dean because her parents brought her here camping when she was small. It's where a doe Patronus leads Harry to the sword of Gryffindor at the bottom of a frozen pond, and where Ron finds his way back. Rowling didn't pick the place off a map. She lived on its edge from nine to eighteen, and the forest and a chemistry teacher both ended up in the books.

The film came here too, though less than you'd think. Most of the forest footage was shot at Swinley Forest in Berkshire, close to the studios. The scene the crew brought to the Wye Valley is the one where it snows.

Harry Potter locations at a glance

Coppett Hill: the camp in the snow

Coppett Hill is the long wooded ridge the River Wye wraps around between Goodrich and Symonds Yat, and it's where the Deathly Hallows crew pitched the tent. In the film, Harry comes round after the escape from Godric's Hollow and asks where they are. Hermione tells him: the Forest of Dean. She and her parents used to come here.

Nobody has ever said exactly where on the hill the tent stood, and the hill is 98 hectares of nature reserve, so you won't find a plaque. What you will find is the view the crew wanted. From the trig point at 188 metres you look west over Goodrich to the Black Mountains and north over Ross-on-Wye to the Malverns, with the river below you on three sides.

The way up is the Coppett Hill Walk, a 6.3-mile circular route from Goodrich Castle car park. It climbs past the Dry Arch and Kerne Bridge to the common, drops through old woodland under Caldwell Rocks, where peregrines nest, and comes back along the river by the tiny church at Welsh Bicknor. Allow three to four hours, wear boots, and expect stiles. Dogs are welcome if they're kept close around livestock.

Goodrich Castle, where the walk starts, is an English Heritage site so be sure to check its opening times, with a café and toilets. If you can only climb one hill in the Forest of Dean in autumn, this is a good one: the sweet chestnuts, beeches and oaks on its slopes are why we put it in our leaf peeping hotspots.

Local tip: go in late October or November and you'll get something close to the film's light, low and grey through bare branches. Snow isn't guaranteed.

The River Wye at Symonds Yat

There's a shot in the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 trailer taken from high above a river, with Harry, Ron and Hermione walking the bank below. That's the Wye at Symonds Yat, with Horseshoe Bend behind them.

The place to see it from is Symonds Yat Rock. A short, surfaced path leads from the car park to the viewpoint, and from there you look down on the whole loop of the river and across to Coppett Hill, so both of the film's locations sit in one view. It's free, there's a parking charge, and there's a log cabin café called Symonds Yat Rock Cafe. The rock is also one of the best places in Britain to watch peregrine falcons.

Down at river level, the Saracens Head at Symonds Yat East runs a hand-pulled ferry across the water, and the Wye Valley Walk follows the bank in both directions. If you want to stand where the trio walked rather than look down on it, this is the stretch.

Tutshill: where Rowling grew up

Rowling was nine when her family moved to Church Cottage in Tutshill, a village on the English bank of the Wye opposite Chepstow, and eighteen when she left for university. The cottage is a Grade II listed Gothic house beside St Luke's Church, both thought to be by the Victorian architect Henry Woodyer. In 2011, as ITV reported in 2020, she bought it back. It's a private house. You can see it from the lane, and that's as close as anyone should go.

The village got into the books. The Tutshill Tornados are a Quidditch team in the books, and a Quidditch goal hoop now stands in St Luke's churchyard, marking Tutshill as an honorary Quidditch town. A few yards down the road, the old bus stop is a community book swap. Take one, leave one.

Rowling went to Tutshill Church of England Primary and then to Wyedean School in Sedbury. Her chemistry teacher there, John Nettleship, is one of two teachers Snape is said to be partly based on. Neither school is open to visitors, but the roads between the church, the cottage and the book swap are a ten-minute walk, and Chepstow Castle is across the bridge.

Was Harry Potter filmed at Puzzlewood?

No. You'll read it on plenty of websites, and the wood does look like something from the Forbidden Forest, but Puzzlewood's own list of productions doesn't include Harry Potter. What was filmed there is Star Wars: The Force Awakens, all five series of Merlin, Doctor Who and The Secret Garden. Go for those, and for the wood itself.

Beyond the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley

The biggest Harry Potter location in Gloucestershire isn't in the Forest. Gloucester Cathedral's cloisters played the corridors of Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets and Half-Blood Prince. The north cloister wall is where "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened" appears, and the lavatorium, the monks' washroom, is where Harry overhears Snape and Draco in Half-Blood Prince. The painted panels the crew put over the modern electrics are still there. Gloucester is up the A48 from Lydney, so it works as a second day or a long afternoon. Check the cathedral's website for opening times before you go.

A Harry Potter day out

Start at Goodrich Castle and walk the Coppett Hill circuit in the morning. Drive round to Symonds Yat Rock for the view of the river and the hill you've just climbed, then down to the Saracens Head for the ferry and a late lunch. Head south along the Wye to Tutshill on the way home, for the church, the cottage and the book swap. Gloucester Cathedral is a separate trip.

Stay in the story

The Saracens Head Inn at Symonds Yat East has rooms over the river. Goodrich and Ross-on-Wye have pubs and cottages within a few minutes of the walk. For everything else, browse our places to stay in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley.

More screen locations to find

Symonds Yat has a second screen life: Otis's house from Sex Education is the red and white one above the Saracens Head. Puzzlewood is where Star Wars and Merlin were filmed, and Goodrich Castle appears in Merlin too. Follow our Film & TV Trail for the rest.