See also Location, Location, a series of essays on the nature and likely real-world position of various places in the wizarding world, other than those in the Hogwarts/Hogsmeade area.

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The Map of Hogwarts and Surrounding Areas

This multi-part essay, nine years in the making as at 2014 and still not entirely complete, examines the layout of the castle grounds, of Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest etc. as they appear in the books rather than the films, culminating in maps which are compatible with every canon reference which mentions what is visible from where, how long it takes to get from A to B etc..

It is divided into the following sections, which should ideally be read in the order they are listed below:

Introduction:
an examination of JK Rowling's own map of Hogwarts; an explanation of the basis for this essay, including how the distances were worked out; and references.

Location:
whereabouts in Britain is Hogwarts?

Setting:
the basic compass-orientation of the castle and grounds and of the mountains around them. These two things are intimately linked, since most of what we know about the castle's orientation is derived from the timing and position on the horizon of sunrise and sunset, which in turn will be influenced by the presence and height of mountains on the horizon.

The school grounds:
what we know about the scale and layout of the castle grounds; a suggested plan which fits everything which we are told in the books, whilst remaining reasonably close to JK Rowling's own sketch.

Hogwarts Castle:
an overview of what we know about the style and layout of the castle, and one possible ground-plan which would fit what we know. Floor-by-floor plans and the locations of the numerous staircases have still to be worked out.

Hogsmeade:
what we know or can surmise about the scale, position and layout of Hogsmeade village.

The Forbidden Forest:
the scale of the Forest, and a suggested chart showing the probable locations of Acromantulas, Thestrals etc..

Routes around the castle:
shows possible locations and routes for various events which took place in Hogwarts castle during the course of the books, using the approximate, possible floor-plan worked out in the castle section. This section is under construction, pending completion of the individual floor-by-floor castle plans, and will probably be ready round about 2016.

Journeys around the grounds:
shows possible locations and routes for various events which took place in the grounds of Hogwarts during the course of the books, using the fairly definite map worked out in the grounds section.