Alnwick, UK

Where to eat: The strawberry house.
What to see: The Alnwick Castle where Harry Potter 1 and 2 were shot. The Barter Books shop which is built on one of the oldest platform stations of the world. It has HUGE collection of books on sale. Must visit for booklovers.
How to reach: We went by a National Express bus from Edinburgh. I think it cost us 17 pounds for a return ticket. Its approx a 2 hour drive from Edinburgh. Once again do NOT sleep during the bus ride. You might just miss the bridge under which the flying car flew. :)

I am a huge Harry Potter fan. So instead of going to Glasgow from Edinburgh I decided to instead go to Alnwick to see what the real Hogwarts was like. Reality check, Hogwarts exists only virtually. The closest design of a building like that is a school in Edinburgh which the driver showed us on our way. But if you keep your expectations real, the castle in itself is beautifully built. The countryside is never ending and very well maintained. They also have archery games, Harry Potter tours, magic shows and owl shows inside. The rooms inside the castle dripped of luxury. I just prayed if I could own just one tiny corner of that castle. It is actually the official residence of the Duke of Northumberland.
We tried our hands at archery and saw a Hedwig lookalike in the owl show. We tried jumping around in the lawns where Harry Potter learnt flying to no avail. There was also this another area inside the castle. I think it was the Dragon’s den or something. It was Easter time and there were people dressed up in medieval clothes and kids running around with brilliantly painted Easter eggs. There was also a bewitched tunnel with never ending mazes and gory surprises. Having a super scared Aditi with me made it even more fun.
The streets of Alnwick are cobbled and reminded me of all the fairy tales with pictures of people walking up and down. It is a small and beautiful town and although I’m sure UK has more beautiful towns, the castle made it special for me.
Our return bus to Edinburgh was late by an hour and Aditi utilised her time by running circles around the bus stand, a part of her weight loss program. :) I guess the cold weather played a part too... ;)