How to Find the Real Birthplace of Harry Potter

Harry Potter birthplace Clapham Junction JK Rowling Sarah Latham

If you’re searching for the best Harry Potter locations in England, it’s likely you’ll have come across places like Glenfinnan Viaduct, Millennium Bridge and Durham Cathedral. These famous United Kingdom landmarks all featured in some form across the Harry Potter films. If you’re looking for places closer to the Harry Potter novels, it’s likely you’ll have found many a website claiming Elephant’s Cafe in Edinburgh to be the birthplace of Harry Potter.

While it’s true that JK Rowling did write part of the series in that cafe, JK Rowling herself credits the truth birthplace (and in her words ‘where I put pen to paper for the first time‘) as a little flat she was renting in Clapham Junction in London.

Jk Rowling Tweet birthplace of Harry Potter

How to find the birthplace of Harry Potter

To get to Harry Potter’s birthplace put ‘94 St John’s Road SW11 1PX‘ into Google Maps. The easier form of public transport to get here is by the London Overground Train Service and disembark at Clapham Junction Station. From here it is only a quick 4 minute walk along St John’s Road. When I visited in July 2021, there was a Pro-Kut hairdressers underneath the flat in question.

It feels a little surreal as you walk through the Clapham Junction area that one of the most famous series of all time was first penned in this area. Just across the intersection from the flat is the buzzing Northcote Road, popular with a younger crowd, full of bars, pubs, cafes, shops and more. While it feels a little out of place to have a piece of Hogwarts found within this area, it’s a nice little surprise all the same time.

If you are interested in this, you may also be interested in: