For a wild swim with added enchantment, what about a spell in The Black Lake from the Harry Potter films and in the shadow of Hogwarts?
Even the island where Dumbledore is buried is real
Okay so the school of witchcraft and wizardry was added with the help of some special effects magic, but the lake (Loch Shiel) is really there. Even the island where Dumbledore is buried is real, the very same island where Connor MacLeod from the Highlander films was born. At the northeastern end of the Loch, there is also a monument that marks the place where the Highland clans met to be led into battle against the English by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The Lake appears in several of the films and can be clearly seen from the windows of the Hogwarts Express. Better still, with a bit of planning you can get a photograph of the Jacobite Steam Train as it crosses the 21-arched Glenfinnan viaduct, which is where the Hogwarts Express travels in the films. The train crosses the viaduct about 30- 40 minutes after it departs Fort William Station.
There’s usually a train in the morning and another in the afternoon. Bear in mind it’s about a 15-minute walk up to the viewing area from the car park at the Glenfinnan Visitor Centre. And expect a lot of Potter-heads up on the hillside too, trying to get the same photo. It is however a magical moment when the train finally chugs past you, with the passengers waving and the driver sounding the whistle.
being a Scottish loch there’s bound to be a legendary monster to watch out for
And Harry Potter fans also know that other creatures lurk beneath the surface of The Black Lake…
Of course, an equally cool thing to do is to wave at the train from the lake while you are taking a dip. Just be careful, being a Scottish loch there’s bound to be a legendary monster to watch out for. The locals call the beast Shielagh and accounts of the creature can be traced back to the early 1870’s. And Harry Potter fans also know that other creatures lurk beneath the surface of The Black Lake…
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the young wizard finds himself selected as an underage competitor in the Triwizard Tournament. The second competition was shot on Loch Shiel with the competitors required to dive into the lake and “recover what has been taken from them.” In Harry’s case that is Ron and under the surface he mutates, growing webbed fingers, flipper feet and gills, before having encounters with a sinister looking mermaid and some terrifying creatures called Grindylows (sort of squid-piranha hybrids). So nothing at all to be worried about when you take a dip.
