Disclosure: this article is published by the team that builds Tote. Tote is mentioned as one option alongside Google Maps lists, Pinterest boards, Instagram Collections, screenshots, and the Notes app. Every other app, brand, and tour operator mentioned is a third-party product we have no affiliation with.
You saved a TikTok walking tour of a Scottish castle three weeks ago because someone in the comments said it was where they filmed Lallybroch. You screenshotted an Instagram Reel of the cobblestone village that doubled as 1940s Inverness. You pinned a Highland road trip itinerary on Pinterest. You texted yourself a Google Maps pin for Culloden Battlefield. Now you are trying to plan an actual trip and you cannot find half of it. The TikTok is buried under hundreds of other favorites. The screenshot is lost in your camera roll. The Pinterest pin is in a board you forgot you made.
The Outlander series finale airs May 15, 2026, ending an eight-season, twelve-year run on Starz. The final episode, “And the World Was All Around Us,” wraps the story of Jamie and Claire Fraser with a march toward the Battle of Kings Mountain — and producers filmed multiple endings to keep even the cast guessing. With over 100 Outlander filming locations in Scotland spread across Edinburgh, Stirling, Fife, and the Highlands, planning the trip means saving research from more apps than you can keep track of.
How Outlander changed Scottish tourism
Screen tourism in Scotland now generates £787 million in annual spending and supports nearly 3,000 full-time jobs, according to VisitScotland. Outlander accounts for 54 percent of all screen-tourism interest in the country and has driven over one million additional site visits to filming locations since the show premiered in 2014.
The numbers at individual sites tell the story. Blackness Castle, which served as Fort William and Black Jack Randall's garrison, saw visitors jump from 16,559 in 2014 to 77,326 in 2024 — nearly five times the pre-Outlander count. Newhailes House surged from 4,831 to 304,111 visitors in the same period, a 63-fold increase. VisitScotland called the effect “astonishing” and expects the desire to visit will last well beyond the series finale, especially with the prequel Blood of My Blood now in development.
Filming locations by region
Outlander used locations across Scotland, from Edinburgh's Royal Mile to remote Highland landscapes. Here are twelve key sites grouped by region, so you can plan routes rather than zigzag across the country.
| Location | Region | Depicted as |
|---|---|---|
| Doune Castle | Stirling | Castle Leoch, seat of Clan MacKenzie |
| Midhope Castle | West Lothian | Lallybroch, Jamie Fraser's family home |
| Blackness Castle | West Lothian | Fort William, Black Jack Randall's garrison |
| Culross | Fife | Village of Cranesmuir |
| Falkland | Fife | 1940s Inverness (opening scenes) |
| Craigmillar Castle | Edinburgh | Ardsmuir Prison |
| Bakehouse Close, Royal Mile | Edinburgh | Jamie's Print Shop (Season 3) |
| Hopetoun House | West Lothian | Duke of Sandringham's estate |
| Culloden Battlefield | Inverness-shire | Site of the 1746 Jacobite battle |
| Clava Cairns | near Inverness | Inspiration for the Craigh na Dun standing stones |
| Palace of Holyroodhouse | Edinburgh | Where Claire and Jamie meet Prince Charles |
| Kinloch Rannoch | Perthshire | Landscape surrounding the standing stones |
Edinburgh and the Lothians
Start in Edinburgh, where Craigmillar Castle (Ardsmuir Prison), Bakehouse Close on the Royal Mile (Jamie's Print Shop from Season 3), and the Palace of Holyroodhouse are all within the city. A short drive west into West Lothian covers Midhope Castle (Lallybroch), Blackness Castle (Fort William), and Hopetoun House (the Duke of Sandringham's estate). You can hit all six in one or two days with a rental car.
Stirling and Fife
Doune Castle, the iconic Castle Leoch where Claire first arrives in the eighteenth century, sits just north of Stirling. Across in Fife, the village of Culross served as Cranesmuir where Geillis Duncan lived, and Falkland stood in for 1940s Inverness in the show's opening scenes. All three are within an hour of each other.
The Highlands and Inverness
Culloden Battlefield, just east of Inverness, is where the Jacobite rising ended in 1746 and where the show staged Jamie and Claire's farewell. Nearby Clava Cairns provided the visual inspiration for the Craigh na Dun standing stones. Further south, the Kinloch Rannoch landscape was used for the surrounding scenery of the stones. Allow at least two days for the Highlands, more if you want to hike.
How to plan an Outlander filming locations trip
The challenge is that Outlander trip research comes from everywhere at once: TikTok castle walking tours and “things I wish I knew” driving videos, Instagram Reel tours and show-vs-reality comparisons, Pinterest road trip itineraries and packing boards, Google Maps pins for every castle and battlefield, and booking sites for flights, accommodation, and car rental. If you are saving from all of these, your research ends up in six or seven different places before you have even booked a flight. Turning scattered saves into a real trip plan is a common problem, but Outlander trips are especially research-heavy because of the sheer number of locations spread across a large country.
Getting there and getting around
Fly into Edinburgh (EDI) or Glasgow (GLA), both well-connected from the US with round-trip fares typically ranging from $558 to $862. Deals as low as $261 to $377 appear on aggregator sites, especially for midweek departures. Book two to four months in advance for the best prices.
May, June, and September offer the best balance of long daylight hours, mild weather, and manageable crowds. Scotland in summer gets 17 to 18 hours of daylight, which means more time at each location. A rental car is essential — most filming locations are not reachable by public transit. Budget seven to ten days to cover the Edinburgh/Lothians, Stirling/Fife, and Highlands regions without rushing.
Organized tours
If you prefer not to drive, several tour operators run dedicated Outlander itineraries. Highland Explorer Tours offers a nine-hour day trip from Edinburgh covering Midhope, Doune, Blackness, and Culross. Clans & Castles runs a multi-day small-group tour (maximum seven people) across the Highlands. Rabbie's Tours and Haggis Adventures both offer one-day and multi-day options from Edinburgh and Glasgow. Guides have watched every episode and cover the real Jacobite history behind the show's storylines.
How to organize your Outlander trip saves
Start saving everything that catches your eye without trying to organize it yet. Screenshot the TikTok castle tour. Save the Instagram Reel of the Highland road. Pin the packing list. Drop the Google Maps pin. After a week of collecting, sort your saves into groups: locations by region, logistics (flights, car rental, accommodation), packing, and food and restaurants.
Google Maps lists work well for the locations themselves — you can create a list per region and see all your pins on a map. The limitation is that Google Maps only holds places, not the TikTok video that convinced you to visit a specific castle or the Instagram post showing the best angle for a photo. Saving places from social media is one of the hardest parts of trip planning because the content and the location live in different apps.
If your research includes TikTok videos, Instagram Reels, Pinterest pins, Google Maps locations, and booking pages, Tote (free on the App Store, iPhone only) lets you save from any app into one searchable feed. AI extracts place names, addresses, and categories, so you can search “castle” and find every castle save regardless of which app it came from. Saved places appear as pins on a map view, which is useful when you are driving between locations and want to see what is nearby. Create a shared list if you are traveling with someone so both people can contribute research. The full comparison of place-saving apps covers more options.
Trip save methods compared
| Method | Multi-platform | Search | Maps view | Sharing | Survives deletion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Maps Lists | Maps only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Screenshots | Yes | No | No | Via text | Yes |
| Pinterest Boards | Pins only | Yes | No | Yes | Partial |
| Instagram Collections | No | No | No | No | No |
| Notes app | Yes (manual) | Text only | No | Yes | Yes |
| Tote | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (shared lists) | iPhone only |
FAQ
When does the Outlander series finale air?
The Outlander series finale, “And the World Was All Around Us,” airs May 15, 2026 on Starz. It is available at midnight ET on the Starz app and at 8 PM ET on cable. This is the tenth episode of Season 8 and the final episode of the series.
How many Outlander filming locations are there in Scotland?
Outlander used over 100 filming locations across Scotland over its eight seasons. The most popular visitor sites are concentrated in three regions: Edinburgh and the Lothians, Stirling and Fife, and the Highlands near Inverness. You can cover the major sites in seven to ten days with a rental car.
Can you visit Lallybroch in real life?
Lallybroch was filmed at Midhope Castle in West Lothian, about 30 minutes west of Edinburgh. The castle exterior is on the grounds of Hopetoun House and is accessible during visiting hours, though the interior is not open to the public. Many fans photograph the courtyard that appears in the show.
Where are the standing stones from Outlander?
The Craigh na Dun standing stones were inspired by Clava Cairns, a Bronze Age cemetery site near Inverness. The actual filming used a purpose-built stone circle, but Clava Cairns is the closest real-world equivalent and a popular fan pilgrimage site. Kinloch Rannoch in Perthshire provided the surrounding landscape.
What is the best time to visit Outlander filming locations?
May, June, and September offer the best weather and long daylight hours (17 to 18 hours in summer) without peak-season crowds. March and November have the cheapest flights from the US but shorter days and colder weather. Book flights two to four months ahead for the best prices, with round-trip fares from the US typically ranging from $558 to $862.
Are there guided Outlander tours in Scotland?
Yes. Highland Explorer Tours, Clans & Castles, Rabbie's Tours, and Haggis Adventures all run dedicated Outlander itineraries from Edinburgh and Glasgow. Options range from one-day trips covering four to five sites to multi-day small-group tours across the Highlands. Guides are familiar with every episode and cover the real Jacobite history alongside the filming details.
Is Outlander filmed in Scotland or Ireland?
Outlander is filmed primarily in Scotland. The majority of exterior locations are real Scottish castles, villages, and landscapes, with studio work done at Wardpark Studios in Cumbernauld, about 13 miles northeast of Glasgow. Unlike some period dramas that substitute Ireland or Eastern Europe for Scotland, Outlander used authentic Scottish sites for most of its eight seasons.
Related reading
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