A WALKING tour in Edinburgh has topped a list of the UK's best free tourist attractions.
The Potter Trail, located in the Scottish capital, asks visitors to grab their “wand and cloak” as they discover the “magical” locations that inspired characters and scenes in the Harry Potter series.
Among the locations the tour takes fans of the series to the site where Lord Voldemort's father is buried, the cafe where JK Rowling wrote the first book and a trip down the real life Diagon Alley.
The free walking tours take thousands of tourists around the city every year and has topped the table, which was created by Village Hotels as they analysed Tripadvisor reviews, to find the UK’s free family-friendly attractions with the highest percentage of five-star reviews.
READ MORE: Council makes more than £29,000 in fines in first month of low emission zone
The Potter Trail has beaten over attractions across the UK like the John Ryland Library in Manchester and the British Museum in London to the top spot.
It boasts an impressive 93.91% five-star review rating which comfortably beat second places Royal Air Force Museum Cosford’s 80.68%.
The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (below) in Glasgow made the top 10 as it came in eighth place, with a five-star review percentage of 73.01%.
The Potter Trail was founded in 2012 by Stuart Young who said his first tours were only attended by a handful of people.
Since then, the free walks have grown in popularity, and they now offer five tours every day and have 10 tour guides.
Early members of the tour guide group were from Edinburgh University's Comedy Society which Young says all of the guides are still trained comic performers and that it adds to the charm of the tours.
He said: “We like to think this gives us a unique enthusiasm and theatricality in what we do, and our customers tend to think so too.”
Information on the Potter Trail can be found here.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here