Outlander Tour Day 3

 

Well, today sadly my Outlander tour will come officially to an end, but of course I managed to find places in Edinburgh and beyond that were in Outlander over the month in Scotland.

As usual we were picked up near George Square in Glasgow and then headed out to our first stop on the tour which technically was not from Outlander, but was a lovely stop - the little town of Pitlochery.

I got a kick out of this "diversion" sign - here in the U.S. we would say "detour"

 Pitlochery is known for its Heathergems factory and we had a great time learning about how they made their gems. They are actually made of heather stems that are cut and dyed and then pressed together to make brooches, earrings and necklaces. Here is a link to the factory and store heathergems.com

After our tour we had some time to wander around the town and I came across another sign that truly made me laugh out loud

 

I wonder how that tasted!

There was a wonderful scene in front of the factory with willow people that made me wonder if Sam Heughan's uncle, Trevor Leat had made them.

Now if you were on this tour in the summer, your next stop would be the Highland Folk Museum where the "Rent" episode took place, but they close after the summer, so sadly it is one place I didn't get to go to. But, our next stop was so important to me, it was Culloden Moor Battlefield. This was one of those places where you could almost hear the spirits of those brave Jacobite soldiers on April 16, 1746 as they valiantly fought the British to restore the Stuart throne and thus the freedom of Scotland. In less than an hour the battle was over and over 1,000 highland soldiers lost not only their lives, but the Highland culture was lost as well.

As you enter the field, you come to Leanach Cottage which was originally built in the 18th century. It was actually lived in until 1912, but then fell into disrepair. Artisans came and made a thatched roof from the heather on the battlefield, the walls are stones and turf.

Next comes the visitor's center which houses a museum, store and cafeteria where we grabbed some lunch. They have scooters there for the handicapped which was nice to see as the field is quite large. The museum is wonderful - you truly need a few hours just to see and experience it. The 360 degree Battlefield Immersion room that places you inside the battle and has tables with the places of the battlefield as they played out was incredible. They also have a fantastic collection of swords and a blunderbuss taken from the actual battle. They have musket balls and a Jacobite necklace that someone dropped in the battle which made me think of the dragonfly in amber. From there you exit out into the battlefield.

 There are flags showing the position of the armies, a memorial cairn put there in 1881 

and of course the stones representing the clans that died on the field. 

To think of all these men cut down in their prime, as in many times of battle, is a sobering thing.

Our next stop was Clava Cairns where we would see stones similar to what they recreated in Outlander. They say the stones are over 4,000 years old.

This is one of the cairns. It is a bronze age circular chamber tomb. In the front there is an opening where the sun hits it and comes right up the middle. They believe it has something to do with fertility rites. The stones by the opening have these marks they call "Cup marks" but no one really knows what they are for or how they were made. There was another cairn there, but it was a burial cairn and closed with no entrance for it

And...of course the standing stones - there were quite a few. I tried my best to go trough to no avail.

All that was waiting on the other side was Andrew, my wee tour guide

We had one last stop this day and that was The Hermitage woodland that was created by the Third Duke of Atholl in the 18th century. It was so beautiful that I visited it twice while I was there, having more time to explore it at my leisure. It was used in the last few episodes in Season 5.

Before I forget, I want to pass on a useful piece of information. Many tours do not include entry fees, they are the paid by you, but Scotland has the Scotland Explorer Pass which can save you quite a bit of money. There is a 3, 7 or 14 day card running from £33-45. There is also a family pass. You can buy them at the first place you visit, but then you lose time on line. You can buy them online here: https://www.tiqets.com/en/edinburgh-attractions-c21/tickets-for-historic-scotland-explorer-pass-p997442/?partner=myvacation&tq_campaign=sco_pass

Next I headed out to Edinburgh to catch a  4 day Highland/Isle of Skye tour. I can tell you this - it was the most amazing of all my time in Scotland and Ireland!

Outlander Tour Day 2

 Well, I got waylaid by some things, but am ready now to tell you about my second day of touring Outlander sites with slaintescotland.com

We started off fresh and early to go to Hopetoun House where quite a few rooms were used in various seasons of Outlander.

Driving up to it was just incredible, the place just goes on and on so I knew I was going to enjoy exploring it. We were ushered in to the main entryway and immediately were taken in by the beauty of the place. It was built in the late 1600's by the Hope family and Lord Hopetoun lives there with his family today. I don't even know how they just call this a house - to me it's more like a palace.

The interiors have not changed in three centuries and that boggles the mind! Most all of it shows architecture from the Georgian era. There are painings, tapestries, studies filled with books and beautiful furniture.  The care that is given the house, rooms and grounds is impeccable.

The house of course, was used as the estate of the Duke of Sandringham in Season 1 - the first place I wanted to see was the red drawing room where Claire spoke to the Duke

Such a beautiful room with lovely portraits all around.  The McDonalds ran into Jaimie and Murtagh on the back steps and on the west lawn, the dual and sword fights took place.

 I will admit it kind of tickled my fancy to know I was walking in the same places as the cast. There is a courtyard behind the stables which doubled as the Parisian street where Mary was attacked and as the stables of Helwater. It also was used for Jamie chasing Fergus when he first met him. I specifically remember this bit of railing in one of the Helwater episodes

 

 This back wall was also used in the chase with Fergus, but of course is minus all the accoutrements of a television set. I also recognized the Maison de Elise (brothel) where Jamie and Prince Charles met.

  

After Mary's attack, she stayed in Claire and Jamie's guest room which I found on the second floor 

 The room was so beautiful with intricate tapestries covering the walls. There was another room upstairs which was used for Jamie's meeting with Lord Dunsany at Helwater. 

 

And I also found the room that Mary Hawkins stayed in at her uncle's house

Interestingly, they also used a different area of the house for the Earl of Ellesmere's home when they drive up to help Lady Geneva with the birth of Willie

 

In the back there is a small area that was used for Jamie teaching Willie how to ride, but I didn't get a picture of it. I did however find the area where Jamie sees Willie in his pram 

It was a peaceful and idyllic area. 

After our wonderful tour, we ate at the Stables Kitchen right in the house and had a nice lunch with an amazing dessert - their white chocolate and raspberry dessert is to die for!

Next stop was Callendar House which is in Falkirk and dates back to the 14th century. There is one area with a section of the Antonine Wall which dates back to 142 AD - doesn't get much older than this!

 

It's biggest claim to fame in Outlander land is they filmed the scenes when the Duke of Sandringham is at his home Belhurst Manor and Claire and Mary are there with him. They all end up in the kitchen when Jamie and Murtagh burst in to save Claire and Mary and Murtagh kills the Duke by using a sword to cut off his head to "lay your vengeanceat your feet" for poor Mary's rape.

Callendar House hosted many famous figures over the years including Mary Queen of Scots, and Bonnie Prince Charlie!

Our final visit of the day was to Drummond Castle and gardens. What a treat! 

Got to do some exploring inside

Another castle and the most beautiful gardens I have seen. Of course they were used in Outlander as the gardens at Versailles - it was breathtaking - even though it was fall and many flowers were long gone. 

That's it for today - next time, we'll be off to Culloden, Clava Cairns, Pitlochery and the Hermitage. As always, more photos of thes places  are on my facebook page facebook.com/beespit59/. I am at Instagram  @lemonslinda and twitter @sokheaven

Outlander Tour Day 1

      This was what I was waiting for! A 3day Outlander tour with slaintescotland.com - Catriona Stevenson's company. Catriona was an extra on Outlander, has been working in the travel industry since 2013 and is also a genealogist  Her tours are purposely kept small, so you won't be travelling in a giant bus. She had been so informative on the Hangover Tour, I knew her company would be a perfect fit. With covid making it difficult for those of us on the other side of the pond to visit Scotland this year, Catriona is also doing virtual tours which are incredibly reasonable as low as £5 at  https://slaintescotland.com/scotland-is-waiting/. 

My pickup was just past George Square in Glasgow and not a bad walk from my hostel on Cambridge Street - plus  there was a Nero's on the way - a nice place for a quick cup of American coffee and something for breakfast - also great on the way back in the evening for a simple dinner. 

Our guide was named Andrew - a slightly built fellow who was brimming with knowledge about all the places we visited.

We headed out past Cumbernauld Studio (So excited to see it, even from the road!) and the Kelpies into Edinburgh for another pickup. First stop was Blackness Castle -which doubled for Fort William.

The castle is amazing - I think any American faced with something that is so old has to be impressed. This is from the 1400's and is on the Firth of Forth. 

                                

 It was kind of  cool to trace Claire and Jamie's footsteps as they ran out of the castle leaving Black Jack Randall lying on the floor and jumping over the side. The area they jumped from is on the side of the castle and apparently they used giant stunt landing mats to shoot the scenes.

                   

 

             

Just imagining Jamie and Claire's time in this place as I climbed to the top and looked over the water, or stood in the long open area where he was flogged was surprisingly emotional. It did actually serve as a prison and in the mid 16th century was one of the most advanced fortifications.

Our next stop was the beloved Lallybroch - Midhope Castle. I was most excited to see this as I think it truly represents Outlander in Scotland. It was easy to imagine Jenny and Claire doing the wash, or the tenants coming to pay their rent and of course the horror of Black Jack's flogging of Jamie and assault on Jenny - yet looking at the entry, I also could see Claire sitting onthe steps in the 20th century looking out and "seeing" Jamie finish her quote

“Then let amourous kisses dwell
On our lips, begin and tell
A Thousand and a Hundred score
A Hundred and a Thousand more”

The next stop was Linlithgow Palace which was featured as Wentworth Prison. It was a pretty impressive place and I loved the foutain in the courtyard. It is said it was filled with wine when James V married Mary Guise. Their daughter was Mary Queen of Scots. Her father was killed 6 days later. My family traces back to James VI, so having the opportunity to stand in a place he did was pretty amazing. 

Of course, you would be more interested in the Outlander part - so here is a picture of the palace 

After this we were on our way to Doune Castle, also known as Castle Leoch and I am sure many of you know it was also used in Monty Python's Holy Grail.

  

 This was a busy attraction with busloads of people! I found it very interesting at both Doune and Midhope that they seem to have such large yards in the series, when it was surprising how small they really were. The inner courtyard here was under construction, but you could still call to mind the Mrs' Fitz coming out to welcome  them home, the area for horses and other things that really were kind of crammed in there!

Of course  this is the great hall

and this little nook I thought was just beautiful! 

  

Last but not least, we made our way to Culross in Fife. It is home to Geillis Duncan's house and Laoghaire McKenzie McKimmie's house where we saw Brianna end up when she was injured trying to find her Uncle Ian's house. I have a sweet place in my heart for little Joanie and her time with Brianna. 

Here I am looking up at Geillis's window.

And here is Laoghaire's house - it really was charming 

We all wandered off to have a look see at the village which was really beautiful. Lots of tiny little roads, old cottages, cobblestone streets and a lovely shop with beautiful tartan gifts.

    

                                                 

Next time I will be visitng some new Outlander sites like Hopetoun House, Callender and Drummond Castle gardens. As always, many more pictures are on my facebook account here - friend me if you like

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