Scottish Outlander Tour

Outlander Tour

Day 1 - Morning pick up from your hotel by your Inspiring Travel Driver/Guide – Today you will leave beautiful Edinburgh behind and begin your Outlander themed tour of Scotland in earnest, visiting 3 of the locales used in the famous series. The fictional Castle Leoch, home of the MacKenzie Clan, the Castle HQ of Black Jack that doubles as Fort William and a visit to Linlithgow Palace which as well as being a set has its own huge historical significance as the birth place of Mary Queen of Scots. You can enter each of these sites and tour them at your leisure, why not take the optional audio tour of the fictional Castle Leoch, narrated by Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. Your guide will always be on hand too, to tell you all about the places you are visiting. After a busy day of sightseeing you will be dropped off at your traditional Scottish lodgings by your Driver/Guide. Tonight you will enjoy a stay in Perthshire in a 5-star Spa Hotel or Castle.

Day 2 - After Breakfast we will continue our journey through the beautiful countryside of the Kingdom of Perth, scene of lots of the sets and backdrops for Outlander. Today you will visit Castle Gardens that double as The Palace of Versailles, these Gardens have been voted one of Europe’s best examples of a formal garden, keep an eye out for Peacocks wandering the lawns, as well as that you will visit the church where Claire stood trial for being a Witch and visit the town that is the set for Inverness in the 40’s and 60’s, to fans of the series this location will seem very familiar. You will travel through the spectacularly picturesque Cairngorms today on your way up north, but before that you have the option of either a short walk in beautiful Dunkeld or visiting the fictional Craigh na Dun where Claire from the Outlander series was transported back in time.

After your drive through the National Park you will be dropped at Culloden House Hotel by your Driver/Guide. Long before it was a luxury hotel Culloden House was HQ of Bonnie Prince Charlie before the battle of Culloden, this is where you will stay for 2 nights to really connect with the history and immerse you in the drama of the area. A stay here sets you up perfectly for tomorrow’s visit to the battlefield of Culloden.

Day 3 - After an early breakfast we will leave the Jacobite HQ where you spent the night to take in the history that is pivotal to Outlander, the battle of Culloden. Here you will be able to get a feel for the atmosphere and explore the battle site with your guide as well as visit the visitors centre to find out more about the last battle fought on British soil. Today you will also visit a prehistoric site, thousands of years old, here you will see the standing stones placed there at that time. You will also visit Beauly Priory and Wardlaw Mausoleum, resting place of the ‘old fox’ Clan Chief of the Fraser Clan, Jacobite leader and last man to be beheaded in Britain. After a day of discovering and unlocking the history, myth and legend on which Outlander is based you will be taken back to Culloden House Hotel by your Driver/Guide to relax in the luxurious surroundings for one final night.

Day 4 - In the morning after breakfast you will visit the real town of Inverness, a town that features heavily in the books and series, here you will have the chance wander along the Ness Islands walk before being taken to a viewpoint of Loch Ness (Nessie sighting is never guaranteed). After which we will visit the Highland Folk Museum, where history will come to life, actors in period costume show you what life would have been like hundreds of years ago. We will cross over to the west of Scotland, giving you a chance to marvel at the wonderful scenery on the way to Glenfinnan, made famous by the Harry Potter Railway line scene, here you will recognise the viaduct used on the films. Glenfinnan is also the site of the raising of the Stewart standard by Charles Edward Stewart otherwise known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, the catalyst to the ill-fated Jacobite rebellion leading to the final battle fought on British soil, Culloden. You will see the spot where that is marked by the statue of the lone Highlander. Tonight you will stay in Glencoe area in another wonderful Heritage property which was once the home of a laird and is now a luxury 5-star hotel.

Day 5 - After Breakfast we will drive through Glencoe taking in all its rugged beauty while you find out more about the Clan feuds and the politics and history that gave rise to the tensions between Clans. After leaving Glencoe you will enter Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park where you will be able to view the Bonnie Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond. While in the national park you have the option to either visit the grave of infamous outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor or take a short walk in the park before the final visit of the tour. How else to finish a tour of Scotland than with a wee dram and a tour of a whisky distillery. In the late afternoon you will be dropped off in Glasgow or Edinburgh by your Driver/Guide.