While Claire and Jamie’s adventures take them all over the world, the series has been primarily filmed in Scotland, which boasts terrain and locations so diverse, it’s stood in as needed for places like France and America. So if you’re ready to celebrate the end of Droughtlander (and, hopefully, the start of more real-life travel worldwide), check out these 21 Outlander filming locations that bring the world of Claire and Jamie to life.
Where is Outlander filmed?
Northern Scotland
When the Frasers built their new life together in North Carolina, the series essentially created the American wilderness right in Scotland. Both the log cabin at Fraser Ridge and Aunt Jocasta’s (Maria Doyle Kennedy) River Run plantation home were built on location and on sound stages in Northern Scotland. The exact location of Fraser’s Ridge is not likely to be revealed; executive producer Maril Davis said due to the right to roam laws in Scotland, they try to prevent too many tourists from disrupting residents who live near filming locations. Wondering where River Run is located? Surprise, it’s not in North Carolina. It was filmed at Abercairny, a private estate close to the town of Crieff. Beecraigs Country Park and Calderglen Country Park also provided some woodsy backdrops for various scenes.
Slovakia
Showrunner RonaldMoore revealed in a 2018 interview that while the production found parts of Scotland that resembled North Carolina, they also shot some of Season 4 in Slovakia to capture scenes of rivers and mountains, then used visual effects to combine everything into one seamless location.
Faskally Forest, Highland Perthshire, Scotland
Faskally Forest, on the banks of Loch Dunmore, provided the woodsy area for the Mohawk Village. The Outlander art department researched for over a year and spent months building canoes, wigwams, the counsel house, and more to bring an entire village to life.
St. Andrews in the Square, Glasgow, Scotland
This interior of the 18th-century church in Glasgow, now the Centre for Scottish Culture, was redesigned to become a theater in Wilmington where Jamie and Claire attend a play and Claire has to perform an emergency medical procedure. In 48 hours, the production team transformed the church into an opulent theater with velvet curtains and candelabra. The lobby and entrance of the theater were filmed at Arniston House, a 6,000-acre estate that has been owned by the Dundas Family since 1561.
University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
Season 3 of Outlander started with Jamie and Claire living separate lives back in their respective centuries. When Claire and Frank move to Boston, real-life Outlander production mainly stayed in Scotland. Claire and Frank’s neighborhood was filmed on suburban Dowanhill Street, and when Claire is seen strolling through the park, she’s actually walking through Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park. Harvard also plays a prominent role for the Randall family—Frank is a professor there and both Claire and daughter Brianna attend school at various points. The University of Glasgow stood in for the Ivy League university, with some scenes filmed at the Cloisters, which connect the East and West quadrangles.
Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland
Back in Jamie’s timeline, the medieval Craigmillar Castle was featured as Ardsmuir Prison, where Jamie was imprisoned after the Jacobite rising. The castle in real life served as a safe haven for Mary Queen of Scots, who fled there in 1566.
Bakehouse Close, Edinburgh, Scotland
When Claire and Jamie finally reunite after decades apart, they do so at Jamie’s (now known as A. Malcolm) print shop. The exterior of the shop was filmed at Bakehouse Close, near a collection of streets called the Royal Mile in Edinburgh’s Old Town.
Cape Town Film Studios, Cape Town, South Africa
Filming moved to South Africa for a bit in Season 3, when Jamie and Claire sail from Scotland to Jamaica. The Cape Town Film Studios provided the ships and setting for their voyage to the Caribbean. In addition to sound stages and back lots, the studio has ships of all sizes, and has been used for numerous other productions, including Black Sails and Mad Max: Fury Road.
University of Stellenbosch Theology Faculty Building, Stellenbosch, South Africa
After arriving in Jamaica in the second half of Season 3, Claire and Jamie visit the governor’s mansion. The Theology Faculty Building at The University of Stellenbosch, a research university in South Africa, was used for the exterior of the home, while the Signet Library in Edinburgh provided the interior shots.
Dysart Harbour, Fife, Scotland
In Season 2, when Jamie, Claire and Murtagh leave Scotland for France, they arrive in Le Havre. Scotland’s Dysart Harbour, along the Fife Coast, was transformed into the 1743 French port.
Drummond Castle Gardens, Perthshire, Scotland
While living in Paris in Season 2, Jamie and Claire visit the palace of Versailles. The actors didn’t have to travel far, however, as Drummond Castle Gardens in Scotland doubled as the famed French gardens. The Drummond Castle Gardens were planted in the 17th century, redesigned and terraced in the 19th century and even received a visit from Queen Victoria in 1842.
Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow, Scotland
The crypt of medieval Glasgow Cathedral were used for scenes inside L’Hopital Des Anges, the hospital run by Mother Hildegarde, where Claire volunteers to work and is later treated as a patient in Season 2. The exterior of the hospital was filmed at the Military Church of St. John of Nepomuk in Prague.
Radnicke Schody, Prague
Despite being set in Paris, many of the “Parisian” streets in the series were filmed elsewhere. Radnicke Schody, a 127-step staircase near the Prague Castle, became a busy street that Claire frequently walked on.
Strahov Monastery, Strahov, Prague
Strahov Monastery, built in the 12th century, provided the impressive setting for King Louis XV’s library at Versailles. The monastery’s Philosophical Hall was built in the 18th century, boasts a giant ceiling fresco depicting scientific and religious developments and has hidden spiral staircases that disguised by false book spines in the corners of the room.
Kinloch Rannoch, Perthshire, Scotland
Craig na Dun is where it all starts, the place where Claire travels through the stones and back to the 1700s. The scenes were filmed at Kinloch Rannoch, but if you’re looking to try your own hand at time travel, you’re out of luck—the actual stones are fake. In the Outlander podcast, showrunner Moore said they were made of styrofoam, sculpted by an artisan and painted to look like real stones. They were then brought out and planted on the ground.
Glen Coe, Scotland
The sweeping overhead shot of the show during the opening credits was filmed in Glen Coe in the Scottish Islands, which is marked by lush valleys, rivers, and dramatic mountains. The area also has also made cameos in Skyfall and the Harry Potter movies.
Doune Castle, Stirlingshire, Scotland
The 14th-century Doune Castle was used as Castle Leoch, home of the MacKenzie clan. Doune has housed many epic families, both real and fictional. It was a royal castle from the 15th to the 17th century, and it also stood in as Winterfell, the stronghold of House Stark in Game of Thrones.
Glencorse Old Kirk, Edinburgh, Scotland
Jamie and Claire’s memorable wedding ceremony took place at Glencorse Old Kirk, which dates back to the 17th century and is now a privately owned family home available to rent for special events and (modern day) weddings. Just 20 minutes from the center of Edinburgh, the estate sits on 20 acres of secluded parkland.
Hopetoun House, South Queensferry, Scotland
Hopetoun House and its grounds provided multiple filming locations for the series. The rear of the grand house was used as the Duke of Sandringham’s home (with scenes also filmed in the Red Drawing Room) in Season 1. The courtyards provided the backdrop for the Parisian streets of season 2 as well as the Helwater stables in Season 3. Meanwhile, the front of the house served as Ellesmere Manor in Season 3.
Midhope Castle, South Queensferry, Scotland
Midhope Castle, which is also located on the Hopetoun estate, is Jamie’s family home, also known as Lallybroch. Only the exterior of the 15th-century castle was used (which is open to the public unless estate activities are happening), as the inside is run down.
Blackness Castle, West Lothian, Scotland
Blackness Castle is often referred to as the “ship that never sailed,” due to its boat-like shape. While it doubled as the Fort William, where Jamie was imprisoned and tortured, it was also an actual state prison and garrison fortress.
Falkland, Fife, Scotland
In Season 1, Claire and Frank take a second honeymoon in Inverness, staying at Mrs. Baird’s Guesthouse. In real life, the small town of Falkland doubled for 1940s Inverness (and later as 1960s Inverness in Seasons 2 and 4), and the guesthouse is a real hotel and restaurant, The Covenanter Hotel. Next, excited for the Season 6 Return on March 6, 2022 on Starz.com? Here’s a first look at Season 6.
