[HPforGrownups] Re: Hogwarts in Scotland - Curious Steve

[wynnde1 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 49639

bboy (Steve) wrote:

"I'm curious, do you think the train from Kings Cross to Hogwarts goes
through Glasgow or Edinburgh. I alway thought Glasgow because after
studying maps of Scotland I decided that Hogwarts was in Northwestern
Scotland. But since it goes near Peebles which is near Edinburgh, it
would appear that I might be wrong. Although, I have great resistance
to admitting that I might be wrong."

Now me:
Well, you might not have to admit being wrong about *both* parts of your 
theory, although I'm pretty sure the Hogwarts Express goes through Edinburgh. 
<g> As Eloise pointed out, the Kings Cross trains go through Edinburgh. The 
Glasgow trains go to Euston. That's more of a west coast route heading south 
(through Carlisle, I think); the Edinburgh-London trains go south along the 
east coast (through Newcastle).

However, if you're traveling north into Scotland beyond Glasgow or Edinburgh, 
most of the trains will take a more easterly route, anyway. If you're 
interested, take a look at the link below for the Scotrail train routes:

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/rtmap1.htm

So, Steve, you could still be right about Hogwarts being in the northwest of 
Scotland, and the train would still most likely take the easterly route 
(through Edinburgh). Going through Glasgow only makes sense if Hogwarts is in 
the mid-north of Scotland. (Does this make any sense? If not, just look at 
the map). <G> And, although Glasgow is in the "west" and Edinburgh in the 
"east," the two cities are really very close together in distance. I don't 
know the mileage, but it's only about an hour by car to get from Edinburgh to 
Glasgow. Since that bit of Scotland the train goes through on its way north 
is actually pretty narrow, it doesn't really matter which way you would come 
up from the south - you'd end up in nearly the same place either way. And 
since the Hogwarts Express leaves from Kings Cross, IMO, it travels north via 
Edinburgh. That is assuming that the train uses the same tracks as its Muggle 
counterparts . . . 

Which brings me to the thing which puzzles me about the train's route - that 
it passes through (or near) Peebles. The Muggle train route doesn't go 
anywhere near Peebles. I don't think there is *any* train which goes to 
Peebles, not even a local line, as the town doesn't appear to have an 
operational train station. The Kings Cross/Edinburgh (and beyond) goes 
through York, Newcastle, up the east coast through Berwick-upon-Tweed, and 
then around past Dunbar into Edinburgh. If you look at a map of Great 
Britain, you'll see this doesn't take the train anywhere near Peebles. Well, 
within about 30 miles (very approximate measurement off the top of my head), 
but that's not near at all if you assume that Ron flew the car directly along 
the train route. 

Come to think of it, the usual Kings Cross/Scotland route doesn't go through 
Norfolk, either. (Norfolk being one of the other locations of Muggle 
sightings mentioned in CoS, Chapter 5). 

So, perhaps the Hogwarts Express doesn't use the same tracks as Muggle 
trains, although, if that's the case, then why does it leave from Kings 
Cross? Or perhaps the Muggle eyewitness from Peebles was not actually at home 
when he spotted the flying car - maybe he was shopping in Edinburgh? Although 
even this theory is a bit shaky, as we do know that Mrs. Bayliss in Norfolk 
was hanging out her washing, so it certainly appears as though *she* was at 
home.

More mysteries to solve! :-)

Wendy



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