Five of Outlander's best-known filming locations — Lallybroch, Fort William, Wentworth Prison, Cranesmuir and 1940s Inverness — sit within about an hour of Edinburgh, in West Lothian and the Kingdom of Fife. You can see all of them in a single, unhurried day without long motorway drives, and every one has real Scottish royal history behind its screen credit.
By Waseem Abuaglain, Founder & Driver-Guide
The Locations at a Glance
| Location | In Outlander | Visiting tip |
|---|---|---|
| Midhope Castle | Lallybroch — Jamie Fraser's family home | Exterior only — the interior is an unrenovated shell. A grounds permit (about £5–6 per person) is needed; arrive early for crowd-free photos. |
| Blackness Castle | Fort William; also Linlithgow Palace in Outlaw King | Known as "The Ship That Never Sailed". Walk the headland for views of the three Forth bridges, or climb inside to the ramparts. |
| Linlithgow Palace | Wentworth Prison | Birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots, on the edge of Linlithgow Loch — look out for the resident swans. |
| Culross | Cranesmuir, home of Geillis Duncan, and Claire's herb garden at Castle Leoch | Scotland's most complete late-medieval burgh. The cobbled "wee steps" are steep — wear flat shoes. A good lunch stop. |
| Falkland | 1940s Inverness — Claire and Frank's second honeymoon | Find the Bruce Fountain, where Jamie's ghostly figure watches Claire, and the real Covenanter Hotel. Falkland Palace is next door. |
How to See Them in One Day
Start early at Lallybroch
An 8:00 AM departure gets you to Midhope Castle, tucked away on the Hopetoun Estate, before the coach traffic from the city arrives — the best chance of quiet photos on the tree-lined driveway and in the courtyard.
Blackness Castle and Linlithgow Palace
Next, the ship-shaped fortress of Blackness on the Firth of Forth, then Linlithgow Palace — Wentworth Prison on screen, and in real life the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots, beside the crown-of-thorns spire of St Michael's Parish Church.
Lunch in Culross, then Falkland
Across the Forth into Fife for the pantile roofs and cobbled "wee steps" of Culross — Cranesmuir in the series — and a traditional village lunch. The afternoon takes you to Falkland, 1940s Inverness on screen, and its Renaissance royal palace.
Finish at the Forth Bridges
A final photo stop at South Queensferry, where three bridges from three centuries stand side by side — including the red Forth Bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site — before the short drive back to Edinburgh, around 5:15 PM.
More Outlander Sites on Our Other Tours
- •Doune Castle (Castle Leoch) — a stop on our Scottish Castles & Whisky Tour.
- •Clava Cairns, the 4,000-year-old standing stones said to have inspired Craigh na Dun — on our Inverness, Loch Ness & Highland Wonders Day Tour.
- •Our 7-Day Tour of Scotland includes this whole Outlander day as its finale, plus Clava Cairns.
