Outlander/Scotland trip of a lifetime Part 1

About ten years ago when my best friend Katie gave me Outlander, I joked that we should go to Scotland for my 30th birthday. I never really thought we’d make it there together, especially since as the years passed we both got married, I acquired animals and Katie had a child.

There are things in life that just must be done, and somehow Katie and I both committed to making this trip happen, and we did.

On June 23rd of this year, we embarked on what we will forever call our trip of a lifetime. Two besties exploring Scotland together.

Since the filming started, we knew of several locations we wanted to visit, as well as just general, amazing Scottish scenery, so it’s all mixed together. Here are a few photos from our trip.

Two girls, ready for Scotland. With pocket Jamie’s.

 

Our first leg was in Edinburgh and we only had the tail end of a day to see it. It’s kind of a blur, since you know, we’d been up for over 30 hours and really just wanted sleep. But when in Scotland, you stay up and see everything you can! We took a bus to Edinburgh castle, walked the Royal Mile, and had dinner at The World’s End.

   

Day 2 was pretty epic in terms of Outlander filming locations. We started by visiting Midhope Castle , a 16th century house that is used as Lallybroch for the purposes of the show. It’s a lovely house and a perfect backdrop for Lallybroch. You can just imagine the redcoats barging in and all that comes next…

We then went to visit the Kelpies! These amazing structures did our horse loving hearts good. They are so fantastic to see up close.

  

 

We then went to Blackness Castle, which serves as Fort William in Outlander. After a chat with the caretaker of the place, we learned where several scenes were filmed including a famous whipping scene involving Jamie and Black Jack Randall. It’s an impressive structure and walking around the inside is treacherous but so worth it.

 

 

The caretaker also told us that Linlithgow palace was worth a look. And thus Linlithgow became one of our favorite spots. I get to go inside later in the trip. But the grounds are lush and gorgeous and if there is one town I would want to live in – it’s Linlithgow. Absolutely lovely place.

 

 

The final stop on this day was to Doune Castle, which is Castle Leoch in Outlander. By this time it was drizzling but nothing could dampen our spirits. Claire and Frank visit the Castle and Claire is brought here by the Scottish when she falls back in time. It’s a perfect location for Castle Leoch and it’s such an interesting castle as well. Just imagine that when filming, all out front was tons of mud and little makeshift structures to make it look more village like. Pretty Incredible.

Part 2 to come…