The Real Diagon Alley? The Dark Tale Behind Edinburgh’s Magical Victoria Street

Victoria Street in Edinburgh — with its colourful facades, curved cobbles, and quirky shopfronts — is widely believed to have inspired J.K. Rowling’s vision of Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books. Photo by Scotland on Unsplash

Winding down from George IV Bridge to the Grassmarket, Victoria Street doesn’t just look magical — it practically hums with it. Curving like a painted ribbon through the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, this vibrant cobbled street is packed with independent shops, vintage signs and bursts of colour that climb the old stone buildings in layers. It feels too storybook to be real. And for many visitors, it’s instantly familiar — because this was the street that is said to have inspired Diagon Alley.

J.K. Rowling never officially confirmed that Victoria Street was the model for Diagon Alley, but the similarities are hard to ignore. She lived in Edinburgh while writing the early Harry Potter books and she wrote in cafés just around the corner. It’s easy to imagine her wandering Victoria Street, taking in the curve of the buildings, the little stairways and shop signs, the sense of hidden stories behind every door.

Today, fans visit shops like The Boy Wizard, Museum Context, and Aha Ha Ha Jokes & Novelties — all of which feel like they’d fit right in at Ollivanders or Flourish & Blotts. But long before wizard shops and Butterbeer mugs, Victoria Street had its own strange stories to tell about wizards.

An AI-generated portrait inspired by the legend of the Wizard of West Bow. This imagined 17th-century figure is based on Major Thomas Weir — cloaked in mystery, myth, and shadow.

The Wizard Of West Bow

Major Thomas Weir was a man above suspicion — a soldier, a devout Presbyterian and a beloved preacher where his fiery sermons earned him praise and reverence. But behind closed doors, darkness stirred.

One day without reason or accusation, Weir stunned the city by confessing to witchcraft, devil-worship and unspeakable acts. He claimed his power came from a crooked black staff — one said to move on its own. His sister, Grizel, confirmed it all, adding tales of ghosts and glowing lights in their home.

Weir was strangled and burned at the stake, refusing to beg for mercy even once. In fact, when urged to pray for forgiveness, his final words were reportedly: “Let me alone—I will not. I have lived as a beast, and I must die as a beast.” His sister was hanged shortly afterward.

Weir was one of the very few men ever executed for witchcraft in Scotland. Some now believe he may have been deeply disturbed. Modern historians have speculated that Weir, a former soldier in the brutal Covenanter conflicts, may have suffered from what we’d now recognise as PTSD. His confession, they say, might not have been sorcery — but surrender. A devout Christian and unable to take his own life, this confession may have been a desperate act of a man crushed by trauma and silence.

The Weir's home on West Bow at the bottom of Victoria Street stood abandoned for years. Locals swore it was cursed — a place of shifting shadows and ghostly figures. Even today, some say the spirit of the “Wizard of West Bow” still lingers, walking the stones with his enchanted staff in hand.

If you find yourself wandering Victoria Street — now bright with colour and magic for a certain boy wizard — pause at the bend in the road. For long before fantasy took root here, a real man walked these stones, burdened by faith, fear and darkness. Remember the original wizard of West Bow… and the mystery that still echoes in his name.

Want to uncover more stories hiding in plain sight? Browse our Edinburgh History Walks Map