An iconic Harry Potter landmark has become so overwhelmed with tourists that the region cannot cope. Tourists visiting the iconic Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland, where the Hogwarts Express chugged over in several films, have reportedly tripled since the films’ release, with around 500,000 viting a year.
The tiny hamlet is becoming overwhelmed, local car parks are struggling under surging numbers, and some visitors have reportedly taken to parking on grass verges, causing concerns about damage to the green space. Emily Bryce at National Trust for Scotland told STV News it is encouraging visitors to travel by public transport and it is looking at developing additional infrastructure. She said: “We can’t turn the clock back, so what we need to do is ensure that we are working together on solutions to minimise the impact that visitors have on the local community and giving everyone a really good experience of Glenfinnan.”
Locals also claimed that visitors have emptied human waste from their campervans into freshwater drains, reported the Daily Mail.
Lochcarron local Robin Pettigrew said: “I’ve had vehicles emptying their chemical toilets in our drains there in front of the houses. This is human faeces being dumped in a freshwater drain.
“There is no relation to the vehicle camping, so there needs to be a fully nuanced discussion on bringing that up to the way that tourism is developing now.”
In 2024, visits were “rising in significant numbers”, according to Sheffield Hallam University tourism lecturer Dr Adele Doran.
She told the Express that half a million visitors made the trip in 2023, dwarfing the tiny population of 100 to 150 residents in the local hamlet of Glenfinnan, which is about 30 minutes from Ben Nevis in north west Scotland.
The expert said blogs dedicated to Harry Potter mania often recommended driving because of convenience, which led to gridlocked roads, which, like many in Scotland, were very narrow to begin with. She said visitors parked in passing places.
“So the locals couldn’t get anywhere. When the village is so small, people can’t pop to the local shops or get to doctor’s appointments,” she added. The academic also recommended encouraging people to travel via public transport.
The Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland was used as a filming location for the Hogwarts Express in several films, including the Chamber of Secrets and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Four times a day, a working steam train chugs across the viaduct from Fort William to Mallaig. Many visit the viaduct as a detour from the North Coast 500 route.