Last Thursday I jumped in the car with my gal pal Nic and we headed to Alnwick Castle for a magical night under the stars watching Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. (Sounds romantic, but there were lots of other people there, freezing their asses off along with us.)

The event was being hosted by The Luna Cinema which is the UK’s number one open air cinema brand. They have screenings all over the country, showing lots of different films. Most of them are nearer to London and things. They had a showing of Jaws that I was desperate to see, but it was just too far away. You get to sit in a rubber dinghy in a pool watching it, which would have just been purely amazing and terrifying at the same time.

We chose Alnwick though as it was the closest to us. Plus there’s just something cool about watching Harry Potter in the grounds that it was filmed in. When they’re having their first Quidditch lesson, you just can’t help but look around knowing you’re in the exact same spot they were.

The event was sponsored by DoubleTree by Hilton. We got VIP tickets which meant that we got a goody bag and could sit in a director’s style chair instead of blankets on the floor. We got a lanyard too and a glass of Prosecco which was very posh indeed. The goody bag had little packets of tic tacs, a poncho and a mini fan amongst other things. When you walked into the actual screening bit everyone got a cookie too which was a nice touch.

I've been to Alnwick castle before, but it’s been a while. It was great being there in the dark. It’s such a beautiful place. I will say that it was absolutely freezing though. I had so many layers on, hat, scarf and gloves and I was numb. It was raining too. I still managed to sit and eat popcorn though and enjoy the film. At the start it was still a bit too light and you couldn't see the screen for the first ten minutes or so, after that though it was all good. As long as you had your buddy/significant other/cuddly person there with you, you managed to stay warm. Or you could both laugh through the cold together, which kind of helped.

The Luna Cinema are adding new locations all of the time. I believe the season is nearly finished for this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they have extra venues and showings next year. If it’s your kind of thing I’d definitely sign up to their mailing list, as tickets for some of the shows sell out pretty quick.

I think we paid about £26 each for the VIP tickets which was worth it for the seat alone. It's the first time I've tried an open air cinema and I'd love to do it again. Maybe next time I'll venture further afield. It might be an excuse to explore somewhere new. Let's just hope the wind and rain stay at bay.

Did any of you experience Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone at Alnwick Castle?