Do All Students Travel to Hogwarts by the HE?

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 45950

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Tamara" <buffyeton at y...> wrote:
> It would seem kind of silly for students who live in Northern England 
> or Scotland to have to travel all the way down to London just to go 
> back again.  Do you think there is an alternate way to get to 
> Hogwarts for those who live closer?

bboy_mn responds:
Well, people travel to Hogwarts (actually Hogsmeade) by all sorts of
mean all the time; Floo powerder, brooms, apparation, assorted magical
vehicles, etc...; so I don't see any reason why close by students
couldn't take those alternate methods to Hogsmeade and be waiting at
the school or station when the train arrives.

We'll never know for sure unless JKR incorporates that information
into her books. Although, I think the preference is for students to
take the trains, so unless you live VERY close, you would probably
still travel to London and ride the train. There is some evidence that
Neville is from northern England (that's England, not UK). I think
that's somewhat borderline in terms of whether northern Scotland is
closer than London, but he always arrives on the train.

Conclusion, there are plenty of ways to get to Hogsmeade, so it's
reasonable to assume that a few of the student use them.

Just some thoughts.

bboy_mn