Could a boy wizard be the answer to Cornwall’s major tourism headache?
The latest incarnation of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise, the HBO TV series set for release in 2027, has rolled into the south-west for filming.
The sight of some of the show’s biggest stars – including John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley and Dominic McLaughlin as Harry – filming scenes in and around The Lizard Peninsula is likely to be music to the ears of those fearing for visitor numbers.
This month, it was revealed that the region’s official tourist board, Visit Cornwall, has folded, entering voluntary liquidation due to ‘insurmountable financial problems’.
The region’s raft of golden beaches – there are 400 in total, including Newquay, Perranporth and Watergate Bay – have been routinely packed for decades at the height of summer, but crowds have been thinner in recent years, with the number of visitors in 2024 dipping by 10 to 12 per cent.
Scandals over second homes, which have priced out locals in tourist towns such as St Ives, Port Isaac and Padstow, have sparked overtourism protests too. High accommodation prices, heavy summer traffic and crowded beaches, are just some of the reasons tourists are turning spending their money elsewhere.
Could Harry Potter and his Hogwarts pals offer up a rescue package though? After all, successful TV shows such as Doc Martin, starring Martin Clunes and filmed in Port Isaac, and Poldark, have previously injected millions into the Cornish tourism industry by wooing fans south west.
A 300-year-old boozer in the former smugglers cove of Cadgwith appears to have been given a cameo in the series, which reimagines JK Rowling’s books into episodes.
Hello Harry Potter: HBO’s brand new series, slated for 2027, saw the pretty village of Cadgwith on the map this week, with scenes filmed on the beach and at the 330-year-old Cove Inn
The tiny village on The Lizard Peninsula could see an influx of visitors heading for its cove after being given a starring role in the new HBO Harry Potter series
Locals and fans gathered along the cliffs and roadside of Cadgwith to catch a glimpse of the production
Filming last week took place place between Prazegooth Lane and Campion Lane in the pretty fishing village, and also at the Cadgwith Cove Inn, and on the beach.
One drama-filled scene appeared to involve a car being surrounded by fishing boats and extras – thought to be local fishermen – in traditional Sou’westers. It’s thought the scenes are recreating moments from the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
The white-painted inn with seven rooms, refurbished earlier this year and costing from just £50 a night, sits right at the heart of the village, hosts regular folk nights. and overlooks moored fishing boats on the beach.
Elsewhere, a more well trodden beach has also seen Hollywood descend.
John Lithgow, who’s playing Dumbledore, was spotted wearing the professor’s long white hair, beard and moustache, as well as his wizarding robes and glasses, while filming on a sandy beach this week.
It’s believed Lithgow and the Harry Potter crew were at Kynance Cove, which is regularly dubbed Cornwall’s most beautiful beach.
Also on The Lizard Peninsula, on the southern Cornish coast, Kynance Cove is already very much on the tourist map, with those famous traffic jams often backing up in the summer in the small, winding roads that lead to the beach.
It’s not the first time this stretch of sand has had famous feet wandering on it in the name of a high-profile TV series.
Dumbledore apparently found his way to Kynance Cove this week, filming scenes on what is often called the county’s most beautiful beach, thanks to drama-filled rock formations, translucent waters and pristine white sands
Actor Aidan Turner pictured as Poldark in the hit BBC One show; the series also used Kynance Cove on The Lizard Peninsula as a backdrop
Poldark, starring Aidan Turner, was filmed here, the beach doubled up as the protaganist’s beloved Nampara, and actor Matt Smith, playing Game of Thrones’ Prince Daemon Targaryen, also shot scenes for House Of The Dragon here in 2021.
Deeply atmospheric, the rock formations at Kynance are often draped in sea mist and surrounded by translucent waters and pristine white sands, which is likely to have enticed HBO to this corner of Cornwall. At low tide, there are sea caves and islands to explore.
It’s thought that another pretty fishing village, Coverack, is also set to be given a backdrop role in Harry Potter as filming continues. The sheltered harbour village backs onto a cove and sits on the Lizard Peninsula’s rugged eastern side.
With Visit Cornwall no more, for now at least, promoting the region around the UK and beyond will be a harder task, and attracting film and TV crews offers publicity money can’t buy – and, in Harry Potter’s case, likely a whole generation of new fans.
Head of Lonely Planet UK, Tom Hall urges visitors not to give up on pointing their compass south-west, but to employ some lateral thinking to get the best out of it.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s really important to recognise that Cornwall’s popular with good reason. It’s natural beauty; it has some of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, coastline in the UK and in a lot of Europe.
‘There’s a fantastic food scene and some great culture. If you take those three things, you’ve got the three reasons that anyone goes anywhere on holiday, and they’re all there.’
He added: ‘At Lonely Planet, we’ve seen a huge amount of interest in travelling in shoulder season, or off-season.
Dominic McLaughlin was spotted in costume as the new Harry Potter as he arrived at the film set for the Philosopher’s Stone in Cadgwith last week; the HBO series could see a whole new set of fans introduced to the English county
‘We’ve got better weather for longer, so May half-term is a great time to go if you’re travelling with family. And if you’re not traveling with family, you have far more flexibility in terms of when you actually are there.’
The travel expert says thinking of shoulder season in one day, so getting up early to avoid crowds, or going later in the afternoon can also ensure you have a better experience, and using the train instead of going to war with the traffic also makes for a less stressful break.
Where does Hall recommend to visit, beyond the Cornwall’s biggest tourist towns?
‘My personal favourite is the area around the Roseland Peninsula in West Cornwall. The biggest town is Falmouth, which is a brilliant base and a really lively town with a great art scene.
‘From there, you can take ferries out to all these lovely places, such as St Anthony Head. And from villages like St Just, there are some great walks; you can go over to Flushing and explore around, to Mylor.
‘And towards the end of Cornwall, I absolutely love villages like Lamorna that you can get to very easily from Penzance, and Sennen Cove – they have this end-of-the-world feeling to them.’
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