Calling all Harry Potter fans - from the obsessive nerds to those who just liked the books... Are you wondering if the Warner Bros Studio Tour 'The Making of Harry Potter' is a money-making rip-off that is not worth your while? If so, ditch those thoughts right now. Here's why I loved it and why I think it's a brilliant day out...

1) The film sets are works of art! You stand on the bridges of Hogwarts and you walk around Dumbledore's office and peer into the Gryffindor common room and you realise just how completely the film crew created little pockets of reality which would portray this magical world. In order to film the battle at the end of the final Harry Potter film, the crew realised that they needed to understand the entire layout of Hogwarts and so they made the model (pictured) of Hogwarts, purely for reference. It is housed in a hall of its own and is astoundingly beautiful.

2) You see the first ever depictions of J.K. Rowling's imaginary creatures. It's hard to recall not knowing what Dobby looked like, but for years we only had the visions in our heads (detailed though they were). The first ever portraits of the creatures in the films were painted by artists and are on display. They are fascinating, and made my son want to be an artist!

3) You get to drink butterbeer - and it's quite nice! Kind of caramelly.

4) You get to walk down Diagon Alley - it's surprisingly short. Computer graphics were responsible for much of the imagery in the films, but the detail on the sets is nonetheless amazing. There are things in the shop windows down there that you would never notice in the films, and that weren't mentioned in the books.

5) There are so many more reasons to see 'The Making of Harry Potter' but I think part of the joy is discovering it for yourself so I'll just make my final reason this: 'The Making of Harry Potter' is a seriously energising and positive day out that somehow makes you feel anything is possible - you can't help but marvel that a gem of an idea which starts with an orphan living in a cupboard under the stairs, becomes a multi-million pound industry. I bought Professor McGonagall's wand in the shop at the end of the tour. It's a beautifully-made souvenir that will remind me of a beautiful and magical day out.

PS The tour takes a good few hours - there are refreshments other than butterbeer on the way round but we ate in the cafe before we went in and the food was lovely and reasonably-priced. Part of the tour is outdoors, so prepare for that clothes-wise.

Book for the Warner Bros Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter