July 14, 2026

We had to be off to the Edinburgh bus station by 9:00 to catch our tour of Outlander filming locations outside of Edinburgh.

Our guide’s name was Fitz, and he gave us great info on the buildings and history of Edinburgh and beyond as we journeyed from stop to stop.

The first location, Midhope Castle, or in Outlander, Lallybroch.

And we finally got to see a Highland Cow!

Then onto Castle Blackness, Outlander location for Fort William, and the whipping scene.

Then onto Linlithgow, home of the Linlithgow palace, birthplace of Mary Queen of Scotts. Some exterior shots filmed here, but we took the stop to eat lunch, and visit the Saint Michael’s Parish Church, with some incredible stained glass some of which seemed to incorporate some Celtic design.

Onward to Castle Doune, known for Monty Python, Game of Thrones, and Outlander. It served as Winterfell in the pilot episode of GoT, and in Outlander, it was Castle Leoch.

We’d actually been here once before, on our honeymoon in 2022. Interesting to return and have some familiarity.

The last stop was the small fishing village of Culross, used for some exterior shots of the village of Cranesmuir, and Claire’s herb garden.

We ended our day walking a bit more of Edinburgh, spotting much larger thistles than we’d seen all over Ireland.

One cannot sneak, shoeless through a field of thistles.

We ended the night with a couple of drams at the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society’s Queen’s St. establishment. An incredible independent bottler, and one of the whiskey clubs I am a member of. Met up with a friend who travels in the same whiskey circles as I, we’d first met in person in Texas a couple of years ago.

And so our last night in Scotland ends for the second time, Vanessa and I agreeing that our preference is for the Edinburgh city center compared to Dublin’s.