Your own Ford Tourneo Custom minivan, your own Edinburgh-based driver-guide, a private group of up to eight. Six castles and villages that shaped the series, in one full day from Edinburgh.
This Outlander tour takes you to the real castles and preserved villages that stood in for Lallybroch, Castle Leoch, Cranesmuir, Fort William and Wentworth Prison on screen. Not studio recreations. Not signposted theme-park stops. The stones are medieval. The villages have not changed for centuries. What the camera framed is what you walk into.
Because the tour is private, your driver-guide adapts to your group's interests. Longer at Doune if you want to hear the audio guide narrated by Sam Heughan. More time in Culross if the ochre facades take you in. Less time at any site that does not connect. On a coach tour, the pace belongs to the slowest passenger. On ours, the pace is yours.
The itinerary is designed for a full day from around 8-9am to 6-7pm. Pick-up is from your Edinburgh accommodation or cruise dock. Return to the same drop-off. Between one and eight travellers per booking.
Half of our Outlander groups have not watched the show. The castles are among the finest in Scotland regardless. Come for the sites; the fiction is a bonus layer.
All six sites are within an hour of Edinburgh. The exact order and time spent at each depend on opening hours, season, and what interests your group.
Lallybroch
One of the most recognisable images from Outlander. Midhope Tower is a 16th-century stone manor sitting on the Hopetoun Estate, unchanged since the days when a real Jacobite family lived here. No colourful signs, no interpretive centre. Just grey stone, surrounding farmland, and the feeling of arriving somewhere real.
The interior is not open to visitors, but the exterior view is what the show framed. Morning light on the west-facing wall is the shot most fans remember.
Castle Leoch
Built at the end of the 14th century, Doune Castle is one of the best-preserved castles in Scotland. The audio guide is partly narrated by Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser). Standing in the great hall makes it obvious why the producers chose it for Clan MacKenzie's Castle Leoch.
Doune has also stood in for Winterfell (Game of Thrones pilot) and Camelot (Monty Python and the Holy Grail). The Historic Environment Scotland admission fee is worth every pound.
1743 Inverness
The village of Falkland played the role of 18th-century Inverness in the very first episode of Outlander. Its cobbled streets and stone facades have barely changed in three centuries. Stop for coffee at the fountain where Frank sees the ghost of Jamie.
Falkland Palace, adjoining the village, is worth a look for anyone interested in Mary, Queen of Scots. Not an Outlander site but a Renaissance royal residence.
Fort William
Perched on a rocky promontory in the Firth of Forth, Blackness rises straight from the water at high tide. Its dark, compact silhouette is why the producers chose it for the fictional Fort William, Captain Black Jack Randall's stronghold. Season 1 fans will recognise the courtyard where Jamie is flogged.
Cranesmuir
Culross has not changed since the 17th century. Ochre and pink Scottish gabled houses, a royal palace with medicinal herb gardens, and the Mercat Cross where Geillis Duncan lived. This is the site where visitors most often say the Outlander tour became something more than a fan pilgrimage.
The Palace of Culross (National Trust for Scotland) is worth going inside. The garden alone justifies the stop; it grows only plants documented in 17th-century Scottish records.
Wentworth Prison
The ruins of Linlithgow Palace stood in for the interior scenes of Wentworth Prison in Season 1, and for Beaulieu in later seasons. Beyond Outlander, this is the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots, and one of the four principal royal residences of the Stewart dynasty.
The route below covers the six filming locations we visit. Your driver-guide adjusts the order to season, opening hours, and traffic on the day.
The £650 group rate covers the private van and driver-guide for the full day. Site admissions are additional.
Flat group rate, not per person. Whether you are two or six, the tour costs £650. Admission fees are paid on the day per adult.
All prices in GBP. Contracts and payments in GBP through Stripe. Foreign currency equivalents shown alongside are indicative only.
Outlander travellers from the US and Canada represent a significant share of our day-tour bookings. Many are on stopover in Edinburgh before flying home, or docked at Leith on a cruise. Some are combining this day with Scots-American ancestry research at Register House.
What you need to know before you book: UK ETA requirement, jurisdiction, GBP payment via Stripe, tipping conventions, and Section 14 consent mechanism for our Terms & Conditions.
"Doune Castle is the technical highlight, especially with the Sam Heughan audio guide. But the site people tell me they will remember longest is Culross. It stays with you differently. Plan the afternoon there if you can; the light on the ochre walls after 4pm is worth the whole day on its own."
Six questions we hear most. For anything else, our full FAQ page covers ETA, driving, tipping, insurance and payment.
No. About half of the groups we take on this tour have not watched the show. The sites we visit are among the finest medieval castles and preserved villages in Scotland, regardless of the series. The Outlander context adds a layer of stories, but every location stands on its own historical merit.
You are private. Your group only, up to 8 travellers, in a Ford Tourneo Custom minivan with your own driver-guide. No fixed departure times, no mixed strangers, no coach schedule. Your driver-guide adapts the timing to your interests. Coach tours from Edinburgh typically run at £45 per person on fixed dates. We charge £650 for the whole group.
£650 for the whole group, up to 8 travellers. That works out at £81 per person if you are 8, £108 per person if you are 6, or £325 per person if you are a couple. Admission fees to Doune Castle (~£10), Culross Palace (~£14), Linlithgow Palace (~£8) and Blackness Castle (~£8) are paid on the day, per person. All prices in GBP.
Yes, the itinerary is designed for a full day from around 8-9am to 6-7pm. Your driver-guide adjusts the time spent at each site based on your priorities. Some groups linger in Culross and Falkland (the two village stops); others focus on the four castles. We adapt.
Yes. We pick up from your Edinburgh hotel or apartment, from Leith Cruise Terminal, from South Queensferry cruise dock, or from Waverley train station. Pick-ups from Glasgow, St Andrews or further afield can be arranged with a supplement. Tell us your accommodation at booking.
Free cancellation up to 7 days before the tour date. Between 7 and 3 days, a 50 per cent charge applies. Within 3 days of the tour, the full price is charged unless we can reschedule to another available date. Weather-forced cancellations by us are always at no cost. Full terms are in our Booking Terms & Conditions Section 12.4.