Today was low 20s and overcast, which was okay, because today was Harry Potter day! We drove 90 minutes south to the outskirts of London, and then took the ring road to Warner Bros. Studios.

What a money-making machine this is! They must process over 1,000 people per hour, each forking out around 30 quid a ticket, with massive merchandise and snack sales on top. Despite the cost, it was a great day, with Mil and I enjoying it almost as much as the kids.

There were interesting facts, discovering how bits of the film were made, photo opportunities on all the major sets and the ability to observe up close the degree of detail that when into the props. All the staff were Potter-philes, and they filled us in on lots of the backstage goss (did you know that you never see Madame Maxime's whole body from the front)? They use a huge male body double when she's filmed from behind, however when viewed from the front, they only focus on the female actor's face, so as to maintain the sense of proportion. With Hagrid, they have two sets of his hut (one large and one small), so Hagrid always looks large compared to the small hut, and other actors all look small compared to the large hut. Get that?

Some family favourites were Dumbledore’s office, Diagon Alley, the Griffindor common room and the Hogwarts’ Express. We spent three fascinating hours here, and walked away amazed at the degree of work that went into making each movie.

The kids came away tired but happy, with merchandise in hand.