It was a beautifully sunny autumn morning when my husband and I took a quick jaunt down twisty B roads from Avebury to Lacock. The golden light of the morning sun filtered through the low-lying mist, setting a magical scene as we arrived at Lacock Abbey.

Having got there early we wandered about the Fox Talbot Museum learning all kinds of things about the invention of photography before we headed over to the house. We were alone except for one other family so we explored the grounds and the cloisters in perfect silence. The Harry Potter locations crew must have been as entranced as we were – rooms in the old monastery stood in for Hogwarts classrooms in the movies.

The house is cobbled together (and I mean that in the most magnificent way possible), with rooms flowing into one another. Go up or down a few steps and turn and suddenly you’ll be in a long gallery with portraits (including some of Charles II as a child), a cosy bedroom, or an inviting drawing room with a table laid for tea. For a brief moment I imagined myself as Lucy Pevensie exploring the Professor’s house in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Tearing ourselves away, we braved the chill in the air and walked into Lacock village for Sunday roast in front of a crackling fire; a delicious end to an enchanting morning.

Images by Lauren Hairston, kennysarmy and PaulNUK on Flickr