National Geographic Traveller India – July 2019

THE DESTINATION

86 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | JULY 2019

since the late 16th century. With its
sombre air and numerous monumental
tombstones, the graveyard looks very
much like the one where Harry Potter
and Voldemort battle it out at the end
of the Triwizard Tournament in book
four, Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire. “This is where Lord Voldemort is
buried,” Will announces dramatically
as he leads us to the far end of the
graveyard and points out a tombstone.
“Sacred to the memory of Thomas
Riddell Esq. who died in Edinburgh on
the 24th Novm. 1806, aged 72 years,” it
reads. Did Rowling get her inspiration
for Tom Riddle here? It’s debatable but,
in the Potter universe, we take these
coincidences very seriously.
On its western end, the graveyard
adjoins George Heriot’s School, a posh
day school that possibly inspired the idea
of Hogwarts (it very much reminds me
of the wizarding school). It has a hulking
sandstone façade, complete with a
central tower and turrets. Will pulls out
a Sorting Hat and some of the kids in the
group line up to get sorted. He makes a
quick judgement call, and declares the
house each kid belongs to. The horror
of a Hufflepuff finding out that she is,
in fact, a Slytherin is very real! Before
we leave the graveyard, Will points out
another headstone. This one is dedicated
to William McGonagall, ‘poet and
tragedian.’ At this point, I’m convinced
that if I look carefully I will even find a
Dumbledore buried here.

WRITER’S BLOCK
From there, we make our way to The
Elephant House, a cosy red-fronted café
that proclaims itself to be the “birthplace
of Harry Potter.” But Will gets the facts
straight. “J.K. Rowling did write Harry
Potter here, but it was the second book.
She wrote the first book at Nicolson’s
Café, which was then co-owned by her
brother-in-law,” he explains. Nicolson’s
Café is long gone, in its place is a bistro
named Spoon (which incidentally serves
a fantastic Sunday brunch). We meander
along, making a stop at Potterow Port,
a street by the University of Edinburgh.
While there’s no Harry Potter
connection here (not even in the name),
Will points out a pedestrian underpass
that looks exactly like the tunnel where
Harry and his cousin Dudley are
attacked by Dementors at the beginning
of book five, Harry Potter and the

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