Filming locations in North York Moors

The North York Moors are heather and big skies, crossed by a heritage steam railway that does most of the set-jetting work for you. The pilgrimage spot is Goathland Station, a tiny stone halt that played Hogsmeade in the first Harry Potter film, the platform where students tumble off the Hogwarts Express into the snow. Trade away the special effects and what remains is gloriously real: a working country station that looks almost exactly as it did on screen.

The trick here is to arrive the way the wizards do. Goathland is a stop on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, so the most satisfying visit is to buy a ticket and roll in behind a steam locomotive rather than parking up beside it. The village and platform are free to wander if you prefer, but the slow chuff of the train through the moor is the whole point, and it turns a quick photo into an afternoon. Check the timetable, as services are seasonal.

From Goathland the line runs on to Whitby, the salt-and-vinegar harbour town on the coast, which makes the obvious extension to the day. One way by steam to the sea, an hour for fish and chips and the abbey on the headland, then back across the moor as the light softens. The surrounding national park is prime walking country too, with footpaths leaving straight from the village if you would rather stretch your legs between trains.

This is a destination to take slowly. The moors are at their most theatrical in late summer when the heather turns purple, and the railway is busiest then, so book ahead and aim for an early train. Pack for changeable weather whatever the season, since the open moor makes its own climate. Treat the day as a gentle, scenic loop rather than a checklist, and Hogsmeade becomes just one lovely beat in a wider Yorkshire ramble.