Outlander makes Scotland look the way many people hope it will: stone castles, ancient villages, misty hills and winding single-track roads. A lot of the filming locations are real places you can visit, and many are within easy reach of Edinburgh and Glasgow. This guide covers the main ones, what's open to visitors, what to book in advance and roughly what it costs. Prices are in pounds, change often and come from the sources listed at the end, so check official sites before you go.

Planning the trip

  • Base yourself in Edinburgh or Glasgow: the main cluster of locations is in the Lothians, Fife, Stirling and Perthshire, all within about an hour or so of Edinburgh. Doune Castle, for example, is about 45 minutes' drive from either city
  • Car or tour: a car gives you flexibility, but several sites are remote or have limited parking, and some have no public transport at all. A guided tour covers the harder-to-reach places in a day
  • Timing: many sites are open year-round, but some have seasonal hours. Check each one before you travel
  • Expect real places, not sets: many interiors were filmed in studios, so some castles are exteriors only. We say which below

Edinburgh and the Lothians

Edinburgh's closes

  • Bakehouse Close: used as Carfax Close, where Jamie's print shop stood. It's free and open to walk through. The print shop itself isn't real. Enter by the sign at Huntly House on the Canongate
  • Tweeddale Court: the marketplace where Claire and Jamie meet Fergus. Free, off the High Street near the World's End pub

Midhope Castle (Lallybroch)

This ruined tower house on the Hopetoun Estate near South Queensferry is Jamie's family home, Lallybroch.

  • Booking: tickets are sold online. According to the Hopetoun Estate, the 2026 price was £9.50 per person, and children under 5 are free. Older guides list £6, so check the current price
  • Opening (2026): open seven days a week from 27 February 2026, 9 am to 5 pm, with last admission at 4:30 pm
  • What you see: the ticket covers the castle grounds only (the drive, archway, courtyard and castle steps) and a walk along Midhope Burn. The inside is derelict and not open to visitors
  • Getting there: it's remote, with no public transport and few taxis, so use your own car or a tour. The site is private and working land, and access can be restricted for filming, farming or events
  • Guided tour: Hopetoun also runs an Outlander guided tour that includes Midhope Castle, listed every Friday at 11:30 am for about 90 minutes, with limited places

Hopetoun House

Hopetoun House stood in for the Duke of Sandringham's home and other settings. The estate says it hosted 24 filming locations across several seasons. The house is open Thursday to Monday from Easter weekend to the end of September (2027 dates are yet to be announced), 11 am to 5 pm, with last house entry at 4 pm. One guide lists adult admission at about £14 and grounds only at £5.50, so check the Hopetoun site.

More castles near Edinburgh

  • Blackness Castle: Fort William in the show. About £7.50 for adults in one guide. It's on the Firth of Forth, about 40 minutes from Edinburgh
  • Linlithgow Palace: used for Wentworth Prison interiors. About £8.50 for adults, and a short walk from the station
  • Craigmillar Castle: Ardsmuir Prison. About £8 for adults, and reachable by bus from Edinburgh
  • Preston Mill, East Lothian: the Lallybroch mill. About £11 for adults and book in advance (National Trust for Scotland)

Fife

  • Culross: this preserved village is Cranesmuir, where Geillis Duncan's trial scenes were filmed. It's free to wander, with free parking at each end of the village. The Mercat Cross, the Town House and the Palace gardens (Claire's herb garden) are some of the spots to look for
  • Falkland: the village stood in for 1940s Inverness. The Bruce Fountain in the village square is where Frank sees Jamie's ghost, and the Covenanter Hotel was Mrs Baird's B&B. Free to wander

Stirling and Perthshire

Doune Castle (Castle Leoch)

This medieval castle near Stirling is the exterior of Castle Leoch, home of Clan MacKenzie. It's also famous for Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

  • Price: guides list about £9 to £10 for adults, and Historic Environment Scotland members get in free. Tickets are for a date and time, and booking in advance is strongly advised
  • What you see: the castle exterior, the courtyard, the staircase and the kitchens. Most Castle Leoch interiors were filmed in a studio, so they aren't visitable
  • Audio guide: an Outlander audio tour narrated by Sam Heughan is available, along with the standard tour narrated by Terry Jones
  • Parking: free but limited, so arrive at opening time
  • Getting there: about 45 minutes' drive from Edinburgh or Glasgow. By public transport, train to Stirling and then a bus

Craigh na Dun

The stones in the show were a film set, and they have been removed. The outcrop is near Kinloch Rannoch in Perthshire. According to one guide, it's free and you park in the village and walk up. It's on private estate land but accessible under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Don't expect a stone circle. The nearby Clava Cairns near Inverness is often said to have inspired Craigh na Dun, but it wasn't a filming location.

Glasgow and Loch Lomond

  • Glasgow: Glasgow Cathedral (the Paris hospital crypt), the cloisters of the University of Glasgow (Harvard) and George Square (1940s Boston) are all free to visit. Pollok Country Park was used for the grounds of Castle Leoch
  • Luss: the village on Loch Lomond stands in for an 18th-century Highland settlement. It's free, parking is paid in summer and it's very busy then, so come early or on a weekday
  • Finnich Glen (the Devil's Pulpit): a gorge near Drymen used as the Liar's Spring. The path is steep, muddy and slippery, and one guide reports serious injuries, so wear boots and avoid it after heavy rain

The Highlands

  • Culloden Battlefield: the real battlefield near Inverness. The battle scenes weren't filmed here, but the Fraser clan memorial stone is. The moor is free. The visitor centre was listed at £16 in one guide (free for National Trust for Scotland members), so check the price. Allow two to three hours, and remember it's a war grave, so keep your voice down
  • Highland Folk Museum, Newtonmore: an 18th-century Highland village used in the first series. Free, open April to October. Allow three to four hours
  • Glencoe: sweeping Highland landscape. It's a stop on many Highland routes
  • A Highlands day tour: if you don't want to drive north, there's a Loch Ness, Highlands and whisky full-day tour from Edinburgh. It isn't an Outlander tour, and we haven't confirmed whether it stops at Outlander sites, so check the listing

Guided tours

If you'd rather not drive, one Edinburgh operator listed a one-day Outlander tour from £75 that covers Culross, Doune Castle, Midhope Castle, Linlithgow and Hopetoun House in about nine hours, and a two-day tour from £330 that adds more of Perthshire and the Highlands. Check what's included before booking. On Viator there's also an Outlander Adventure small-group day trip from Edinburgh, so check the listing for the exact stops.

Sample plans

  • One day from Edinburgh: Midhope Castle, Culross, Doune Castle
  • Three days: day 1, the Edinburgh closes and Midhope Castle. Day 2, Culross, Falkland and Doune Castle. Day 3, Glasgow and Luss
  • Highlands extension (two more days): Perthshire for Kinloch Rannoch, then Culloden Battlefield and the Highland Folk Museum

What it costs: rough guide

  • Midhope Castle: £9.50 for adults (2026)
  • Doune Castle: about £9 to £10 for adults
  • Blackness, Linlithgow, Craigmillar: about £7.50 to £8.50 each
  • Culloden visitor centre: about £16
  • Culross, Falkland, Luss, Glasgow sites and Highland Folk Museum: free
  • One-day Outlander tour: from £75

Before you go

Book Midhope Castle and Doune Castle ahead, check seasonal opening times and park considerately. Some places are private homes, working estates or war graves, so follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. For driving, you can compare car hire prices on DiscoverCars.

Planning more? See all our travel guides for UK travellers.

Where this comes from

Prices and rules change, and the sources don't always agree, so this is a snapshot checked on 29 October 2026. These are the sources it draws on: