London Travel Forum

Yes, that's right... I'm an unabashed Harry Potter fan and I would love to see "Platform 9 3/4" at King's Cross Station! I know they have a little sign and a trolley "disappearing" into the wall where the platform is supposed to be. My hotel is the travelodge right by heathrow. Can anyone tell me how to get there from the hotel? Anyone have any good restaurant ideas in the area for dinner?


thanks!

You can take the Piccadilly tube line direct from Heathrow to King's Cross St Pancras.

i went there but only passengers were allowed past the turnstiles to get to the actual location from the film.

The Platform 9 3/4 sign and trolley don't have anything to do with the actual filming of the movies, just put there to give fans something to take a picture of, you can access the sign and trolley without being a ticketed passenger. You might find this blurb on Wikipedia interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_King's_Cross_railway_station

I asked the same question a while back and someone was kind enough to give me the following:

It's hard to describe exactly where to find the Platform 9 3/4 trolley and sign, because Kings Cross is a complex station and there are several ways you can come in from St Pancras. But you can download a map at http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/867.aspx and that should make it relatively clear. On the map, St Pancras is at the top of the map, just across the road, so you can see there are two routes into Kings Cross from there. Bear in mind they are re-developing the station at the moment, so they do open and close bits. But note that there are two sets of tracks: Tracks 1 - 8 which are the tracks for the more long distance trains and tracks 9 - 11 which is for trains to Cambridge and more local trains. As has been mentioned, Platform 9 3/4 is between these two sections. It is not really "down a corridor" but it might feel like that because it's at the end of the link between the two station sections. So on the map if you find number 18 - that's a coffee stand, but the Platform 9 3/4 is on the other side of that wall. So if you come from the larger section of the station (down the "corridor" marked "exit to platforms 9 - 11" on the map), it will be in front of you. However, if you come from St Pancras into the station with platforms 9 - 11 on your immediate left, you can actually miss it, because it's slightly off to your left. Fortunately there are usually some people taking photos there, so you do notice it. I assume any member of staff would know where to send you if you asked, but staff can be rare in Kings Cross! But with this map in hand you should be fine.If you want to see what it looks like go to www.flickr.com and type "Platform 9 3/4" into the flickr search box and you'll see dozens of pics. It's easy enough to find, anyway, because there are always people taking photos there.

If your a big fan I understand that Leadenhall Market, which stood in for Diagon Alley (the wizard's shopping street) in a couple of the early films is very interesting.

you guys are fantastic! thank you so much for your help!

A very nice restaurant close to Kings Cross is Konstam. They use very local produce and the food is quite good.

It's beside the suburban section of the station, which is slightly separate from the main part. I forget the platform numbers but if you look at the departure board for trains to Hatfield that'll tell you the platform numbers. The trolley through the wall bit is in an open public area, which anyone can go through.

thanks everyone for your help! had a great trip and was able to find both the euston station (which JK Rowling actually had in mind but was mixed up!) and king's cross! also got a great pic! your explanations DEFINITELY came in handy! Thanks again!

Well done, I'm glad we were helpful :-)