Travel Back in Time at These “Outlander” Filming Locations in Scotland

Outlander fans will instantly recognize the now-derelict Midhope Castle as Lallybroch, the site of Jamie’s family estate. Also known as Broch Tuaroch in the show, Midhope was used as the exterior, while the interiors were shot elsewhere. However, this imposing building on the Hopetoun Estate is well worth a visit.

Falkland in Fife served as “Inverness” in the show’s first episode (and many subsequent ones), the place where Frank and Claire take their post-war trip. There, you can stroll the streets like Sassenach in her pre-Jamie period, see “Mrs Baird’s Guesthouse” (actually the Covenanter Hotel), and stop by the Bruce Fountain where Jamie’s ghost looks longingly at Claire from afar.

Season one’s midseason finale came to a particularly brutal close, as avid viewers of the show will well know, and the site for said horror was the ship-shaped 15th-century fortress, Blackness Castle in Linlithgow. This is also the spot where Jamie witnessed his father whipped as a child, and the place Brianna eventually visits with Roger in season three.

Not technically a filming location for the show itself, Glencoe’s sweeping scenery serves as the backdrop for Outlander’s opening credit sequence. Of course, many Outlander-themed tours make a point to travel through this lush Scottish Highland location, close to where the actual Jacobite Rising took place in 1745.

On the outskirts of Edinburgh, Hopetoun House and Estate (also the location of Midhope Castle) was used as both the interior for the Duke of Sandringham’s home in the first season and the exterior for Parisian street scenes in season two, making it a must for fans of the show.

Film and TV fans may recognize this popular Scottish filming locations from Game of Thrones and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but it also serves as the home of Clan MacKenzie in Outlander. A popular stop for Outlander tours, Doune Castle can also be visited independently.

Jamie didn’t have an easy run of it in season one. First, he was sentenced to death and imprisoned in Wentworth, where he was then brutally tortured by “Black Jack” Randall. If you’re keen to see the spot where all this drama took place, hop on a train from Edinburgh to Linlithgow Palace. Or, stop by Craigmillar Castle (aka “Ardsmuir Prison”) in Edinburgh where he was locked up once again in season three.

Insider tip: History buffs should know that Linlithgow Palace was also where Mary Queen of Scots was born.

Spoiler alert: this ring of standing stones where Claire (and others) travel through time don’t actually exist. Per the creators of the show, they’re made from styrofoam. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t visit the place where the Craigh na Dun scenes were shot—Kinnoch Rannoch, in Perth and Kinross. In fact, this filming site is often a launching point for full-day Outlander tours and, naturally, a must-visit for even the most casual fan of the show.

Who can forget Jamie and Sassenach’s daring escape to France at the end of season one? Not us. However, that “French” port of Le Havre (a real-life location) was actually filmed at Dysart Harbour near Edinburgh.

As noted above, Jamie and Claire made for the Kingdom of France in the aftermath of Jamie’s rescue from the clutches of “Black Jack” Randall; however, season two’s French scenes were principally shot across England, Scotland, and Prague. The Versailles Gardens? Those were actually the gardens of Drummond Castle in Perthshire.

Yes, the streets of not-so-sunny Glasgow really did stand in for the exterior of the Victorian townhouse in Boston where Claire and Frank live with daughter Brianna at the start of season three. In fact, the University of Glasgow Cloisters even stood in for historic Harvard.

No Outlander tour of Scotland would be complete without visiting Culross, the town that served as the setting for Cranesmuir, home of Geillis Duncan. Here you’ll find Culross Palace, the grounds of which served as the herb gardens where Geillis and Claire gather supplies. You might also recognize Culross from season four, when it was used as the location for Balriggan Cottage, Laoghaire’s home.