• Doune Castle
    Inner courtyardLarge dining roomThe Great HallView from Doune CastleOur fabulous tour guide KaitlinFalkland PalaceThe Covenanter Hotel, FalklandBruce Fountain, FalklandOriginal information regarding a house in FalklandMidhope Castle, known as Lallybroch in OutlanderAnother view of Midhope Castle, Lallybroch in OutlanderBlackness Castle which was Fort William in OutlanderThe walkway at Blackness CastleThe Three Bridges that cross the River ForthLookout at Blackness CastleMeerkat in Culross

    Outlander Tour

    25 сентября 2024 г., Шотландия ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    We dropped into my favourite place in Glasgow, Riverhill Coffee Bar, for a coffee and snack before heading to Buchanan Bus Station to join the Rabbies Outlander Tour. I declare upfront there were no sightings of Jamie, Claire or other members of the cast of the show. The tour takes you to a range of locations that were used in the series. There were 11 of us on the tour and there were probably 50% who were avid or serious fans and the rest of us were interested. The locations were all lovely and it was a very enjoyable day.

    Our first stop was Castle Doune, a lovely Castle in Stirling whose exterior was used as the fictional Castle Leoch, home to Clan Mackenzie in Outlander. It is a stunning castle with a tall gate house, an impressive great hall and lovely views of the river Teith. Much of this 14th century castle is still accessible and gives you some insight into how the well to do lived in this time. Castle Doune was heavily featured in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and was also used for the castle known as Winterfell in the pilot of the Game of Thrones series.

    Our next stop was a beautiful village called Falkland which represented 1940’s Inverness where the first episode of the show was shot. We saw Mrs Baird’s guesthouse which in real life is the Covenanter Hotel and the Bruce Fountain where Claire’s husband Frank sees the ghost of Jamie. We had time to explore this lovely village, grab lunch and do some shopping.

    Our next stop was Midhope Castle, Jaime’s family home Lallybroch. Only the external of this castle is used as the interior has deteriorated and is no longer safe. Midhope Castle is a 15th century tower house and is situated in the hamlet of Abercorn on the Hopetoun estate, about 4kms to the west of South Queensferry on the outskirts of Edinburgh. I think most of the group enjoyed this stop the most.

    On our way to our next location we crossed over the Forth river on one of the three bridges that cross the mighty Forth river that connects Fife and Edinburgh. The first bridge was built in 1890 and is a train bridge, the second bridge was built in 1964 and was used by all other traffic u til the most recent bridge was built in 2017. Now the middle bridge is only available to buses and taxis. Towering side by side over the Forth River, these structures represent the pinnacle of engineering across three centuries.

    Our next castle was Blackness Castle, an impressive 15th century fortress. It was used in Outlander to represent Fort William, where Jamie had received lashes from Captain Jack Randall. It is also where Jamie’s father died, having to endure watching his son being punished. This is also where Jamie breaks into the castle, rescuing Claire from the hands of Black Jack.

    Built by the Crichton family in the 15th century, Blackness Castle is one of Scotland’s most impressive strongholds. It has been used as a royal castle, prison and weapons store as well as a location for filming a variety of shows including Outlander and Hamlet. Shaped like a ship the castle is often referred to as “the ship that never sailed”.

    Our last stop was to the 16th century village of Culross, in Fife, which poses as Cranesmuir in Outlander. The town is owned by the National Trust of Scotland who have been instrumental in helping preserve the town’s historical buildings, many dating to the 18th century.This location includes the home of Geillis Duncan, and is used for outdoor scenes during and after the witch trial. There was further filming of Outlander season 4 at this location.
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