A Lancashire tourist has spoken of the ‘honour’ of being able to visit the café where J. K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series after the establishment reopened more than four years after a devastating fire.

The Elephant House, on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh, was gutted by the blaze that that swept through the street in August 2021. The newly renovated café features a table Rowling used to write at, which was salvaged from the wreckage.

Firefighters battled flames for more than 24 hours - with one crew member taken to hospital. Owner David Taylor confirmed Potter fans were finally welcomed back this week (29). David said: "Following the fire we have had a series of different problems but they have now been sorted these and are proud to have reopened.

"It is a Mecca for Harry Potter fans. J. K. Rowling was a regular customer from 1996 to around 1999 writing mainly in the backrooms of the shop with views of Edinburgh Castle and Greyfriars Kirkyard, all places she got inspiration from. J. K. Rowling would always be very welcome here. She has done a lot for Edinburgh and a lot for us."

The café's front room was badly damaged by flames, while the back room - which is where Rowling worked - suffered extensive smoke and water damage. Now, the front is painted red with the shop's name written in lowercase above the entrance.

The newly renovated café has a backroom where the iconic novelist wrote. The room - which David has now named 'the Writers' Room' - also boasts a painted portrait of Rowling as well as fellow Edinburgh writers Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith, and Irvine Welsh.

It also has a gift shop stocking Harry Potter merchandise and a themed wall inspired by Hogwarts Castle. One chuffed visitor, Michael Stopyra, 15, from Southport, Merseyside, said: "It is an honour to be in the place where something amazing was created."

Founded in 1995, the café became a pilgrimage site after it emerged that Rowling used it as a writing base in the mid-1990s. Fans continued to flock to the spot to take selfies even after it was boarded up, but the fire forced a full closure - with some fearing it would never reopen.