I love Scotland. I visited in 2017 for the fourth time, and included in my many stops were several of the main scenes from the 'Outlander' tv series.
There are several companies offering Outlander tours but it's not hard to visit most of these spots yourself. And because I went a little later in the season - September/October - I missed the loads of tourists.
Outlander has been great for Scottish tourism, as you might imagine. One person told me it was responsible for 20% of Scotland's tourism now, whilst staff at one Historic Scotland site told me they'd seen a 44% increase in visitors this year.
Most of the sites aren't the usual tourist spots - ie. not Edinburgh Castle or Stirling Castle, which are still well worth a visit. If you are planning on doing a lot of castle-hopping around Scotland, I really recommend you buy both a Historic Scotland annual membership and a National Trust annual membership - you'll redeem the cost in no time and both can be used in England as well. Memberships are only about ten pounds more than the two-week pass you'll be offered and you'll kick yourself if you don't pay the extra. Plus at National Trust sites where you generally have to pay for your parking as well, you'll get free parking.
More info: suefitzmaurice.com
'Castle Leoch': Doune Castle, near Stirling, historical home of the Duke of Albany.
Sadly, most of Doune was covered in scaffolding while we were there so it was impossible to get photos of the familiar exterior. Bonus here though - the shop has the best collection of Outlander goodies I'd seen anywhere, AND the audio tour includes some commentary from Sam Heughan (Jamie himself).
The kitchen fireplace at Doune! This is the kind of fireplace you'll see in most old castles, some even higher! My friend Scott is a good six feet tall.
The great hall at Doune. Numerous internal scenes of 'Leoch' were filmed inside the castle, unlike others, such as 'Lallybroch' which is in fact entirely derelict on the inside.
There are several very pretty walks around Doune.
'Lallybroch': Midhope Castle, built around 1450, has had many owners and is now, sadly, entirely derelict. In fact it didn't even have a roof until it was chosen as the scene for Jaime's home. Midhope is free to visit - you'll pay a pound to park at the end of the drive - and is every bit the romantic setting. In the tv series, rolling Highland hills are shown in the near background, but Midhope is in the midst of farmland, only a mile west of the Forth bridges, and a few hundred metres from the Forth of Firth - the enormous harbour entrance to Edinburgh.
Once again, we were really very lucky to get photos with only one or two people around, or sometimes even none. This would have been impossible at the height of the season, so I really recommend September/October as a great time to go.
When I watched a recent episode where Jaime returns home 20 years after Culloden I could see home the producers had affected a great prettying-up of this front door of Lallybroch! It's kind of sad to see it looking derelict, but it is really a very pretty, peaceful spot just the same.
You'd be mistaken for assuming this was A.D. as in 'anno domini' but it's the initials of Alexander Drummond and his wife Marjorie Bruce. Drummond rebuilt the tower in 1587. The original house/castle was built around 1450.
'Fort William': In truth, Fort William is a long way north-west of here; this is Blackness Castle, just west of Edinburgh on the Firth of Forth.
Blackness sits at one end of the small village of Bo'ness, with its very pretty harbour. The castle sits on a rocky promontory jutting out into the Forth, offering a very strategic position with views all around.
Blackness has an unusual hexagonal boat shape, with the 'prow' pointing out into the harbour.
Like many Scottish castles - Edinburgh and Stirling are the two most amazing examples - Blackness is built on rock, and much of the underlying rock is visible on both the inside and outside. On the inside, it pays to watch your step! Don't ever be trying to get round Scottish castles in any kind of heel!
The castle yard and scene of Jaime's horrific whipping by Black Jack.
If this entrance looks a little low, well, it is! You'll find a lot of low doorways in Scottish castles, and not because the people were short either. If attackers had to duck to get in or out they were at a disadvantage. Likewise you'll see a lot of very narrow stone staircases.
Another view of Blackness with the tower in the centre and the wee village of Bo'ness over to the right.
Unlike Jaime's time, when the Union Jack would have flown, you'll see the Scottish flag flying over virtually all Scottish heritage sites these days. And very proud they are of it too.
Steps hewn straight into the rock. You really have to watch your step.
You can imagine what a dark, cold, uninviting prospect it would have been to be a prisoner here.
This could truly be any castle anywhere. The colours of stone walls are captured in the little natural light that rooms receive.
The great hall at Blackness.
There are magnificent views from Blackness out to the Forth bridges, of which there are three - can you spot three separate bridges here? They were built in three different centuries and they're all marvels of engineering.
'Cranesmuir': The gorgeous wee town of Culross across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh is used as the scene for Geillis Duncan's home.
Culross - pronounced Kuh-riss or Kerr-iss, is extremely pretty, with cobbled streets, and pretty stone cottages. You won't see thatched cottages in Scotland, by the way; I'm not sure if it's to do with the weather or what, but thatch is something you'll see in England, not here.
You can imagine a witch lives up this lane!
Whilst it's not been a part of 'Outlander' - at least not yet - this is Castle Fraser in Aberdeenshire. The Fraser lineage is a little complicated and the 'Outlander' series toys with it a little. Technically, as his motto is 'Je suis prest' ("I am ready"), Jaime hails from THIS Fraser clan in the lowlands. Funnily enough this became a Mackenzie-Fraser home centuries ago. The OTHER Fraser, the Fraser Lovatts of Inverness, where one would assume Jaime comes from, given his location, have a different motto: "All my hope is in God." Ultimately, back far enough, both are joined of course, and trace their lineage from France, where the name 'Fraser' comes from the French 'frasier' or strawberry. Both have strawberries in their crests. My own Scottish family lineage is also Fraser, so this was a must-see.
Like many castles - especially those run privately by family trusts - Fraser Castle is not a ruin, and with its extensive gardens, farms and grounds is run as a business.
Finally, and very amusingly, this gorgeous cardboard 'model' greets visitors to Castle Menzies (pronounced Meng-iss) in Perthshire. It's unrelated to Outlander as far as I can tell (although Bonnie Prince Charles slept there), but it was fun to see just the same.
