Outlander is a smash hit TV series based on the Outlander books.
Outlander fans can visit the actual locations used to film the series with a set locations tour.
Private group tours take up to 4 people to three Outlander filming locations. Bespoke private tours with the option of choosing your own itinerary. Tours start from locations in Edinburgh or Glasgow.
Itinerary
On this tour we visit various locations used for filming the hit series Outlander. Based on the best selling novels by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander is filmed in a number of locations in castles and towns in central Scotland. The first location on this Outlander tour is the historic town of Falkland. The town is the setting for episode one where Frank and Claire Randall come to Scotland on holiday. Falkland Palace is a historic building and shops and features can be recognised, including the town square fountain where Frank encounters Jamie’s ghost watching Claire through the window.
Doune Castle was built in 1400 for the first Duke of Albany and provides the setting for Castle Leoch in Outlander. It was also the set for Winterfell in Game of Thrones and Monty Python’s Holy Grail. Doune is one of the best preserved medieval castles in Scotland. Blackness Castle goes back to 1440. The castle provides the setting for Fort William, as the original fort no longer exists. The castle is long and narrow because of the shape of the rock on which it is situated and it is sometimes called ‘ the ship that never sailed ‘. It guards the bay at Blackness and is only a few miles from Linlithgow Palace. The first castle was built in the middle of the 15th century by Sir George Crichton, Earl of Caithness, a member of one of the most powerful families in Scotland. King James II acquired Blackness in 1453 when he annexed the lands of the Crichtons. From then on the castle was mainly used as a prison. In 1543 Cardinal Beaton was held here for a month. Rebuilding started in the 1530s under the direction of Sir James Hamilton of Finnart who also worked at Linlithgow Palace and Stirling Castle. He was instructed to make the castle safe from artillery, and he achieved this by making the south and east walls very thick. A new tower was built at the south end. In the 1560s, in the reign of Mary Queen of Scots, a Spur was built to protect the main gate. In the 1870s the castle was the main ammunition depot for Scotland.The Castle is a popular location for historical re-enactments and has changed little in 600 years. Doune is one of the best preserved medieval castles in Scotland. Hamlet has scenes filmed at Blackness Castle and Dunnottar Castle.
One of Outlander’s first scenes was filmed in the picturesque town of Falkland, which stands in for Inverness in the 1940s. The show is based on American author Diana Gabaldon’s series of historical novels, which sees nurse Claire Beauchamp Randell mysteriously swept back from 1945 to 1743 Highland Scotland. Falkland features some familiar sights from the TV series, including Mrs Baird’s Guesthouses (actually the Covenanter Hotel), the Bruce Fountain where Claire comes across the ghost of Jamie, and the building that doubles as Farrell’s Hardware and Furniture Store. Most of the filming will take place in Scotland, according to the show’s executive producer Ron Moore. Scotland’s stunning landscape, with its rolling hills, rugged mountains, picturesque towns and villages, castles and sprawling beaches has provided the perfect backdrop for the world of cinema. Executive Producer Ron Moore has commented on Scotland: “The landscape itself is a character in the show. There’s a particular quality to the light in Scotland, even to the grass and the trees.”
The tour spends an hour at each location. Travel by luxury car in small private group tours with a maximum of 4 people.