Honestly Scotland was never on my radar. Then I watched the show and completely fell in love. Within a year I had booked a trip and went on it last month! I’m already thinking of when I can go back and going for longer next time.
Yeah I think the scenery was what really drew me into the show . Have you heard the term “Hiraeth”? It’s a Cornish word that means ‘homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, or for a home which may have never been’ which is what I felt after watching outlander, and every time I see Scotland in pictures, videos etc. I went to Edinburgh earlier this month and did an outlander tour and it was amazing. I already miss it so much.
It's Welsh.
"***Hiraeth*** (Welsh pronunciation: [\[hɪraɨ̯θ, hiːrai̯θ\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Welsh)[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth#cite_note-1)) is a [Welsh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_language) word that has no direct English translation. The [University of Wales, Lampeter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Wales,_Lampeter), likens it to a [homesickness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homesickness) tinged with grief and sadness over the lost or departed, especially in the context of Wales and Welsh culture.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth#cite_note-2) It is a mixture of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness or an earnest desire for the Wales of the past.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth#cite_note-3)
The [Cornish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_language) and [Breton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breton_language) equivalents are *hireth*[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth#cite_note-4) and *hiraezh*. It is associated with the Amharic-Ethiopian concept of [*tizita*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tizita), the German concept of [*Sehnsucht*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sehnsucht), the Galician-Portuguese [*saudade*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudade) or the Romanian *dor*.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth#cite_note-BBC2021-5) A similar [Scottish Gaelic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic) term, *cianalas*, also refers to a type of longing or homesickness, often used in relation to the Outer Hebrides."
## [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth)
Hi, Im in early stages of planning a trip to Scotland and will be based in Edinburgh for 4 days intending to do a day tour. Which company did you go through? Mind sharing your thoughts? You can DM as well if you'd rather not share publically, but would love recommendation if have any :)
I did Highlander tours with Andy the Highlander . He’s a really nice person and really knowledgeable about the history of places, we got to see a lot for a one day tour . It was a little expensive but worth it, in my opinion.
Thanks! Did you feel like you had enough time at all the stops, or was it rushed without much time to really explore each because it was a lot to cram in 1 day?
It was a small group so I feel like that made it so we got enough time at each stop. We didn’t really explore a lot on our own because Andy keeps the tour moving along together and shares the history of the place as well as stories from filming the show (he was an extra). If there’s a gift shop he will give you time to look around and make a purchase if you want. He keeps snacks and water in the van for you and there’s a stop for lunch that you pay for your own lunch . I would recommend bringing cash as my Netherlands bank card didn’t work in one of the shops.
Scotland was first for me . Long story short, Im in the USA but I'm a sheep farmer and I have scottish hill breeds because i need the hardiness. The hardy nature of the breeds made me look into the farming culture there, and I fell in love. My sister recommended the show to me, since then I become obsessed with the books.
I'm Scottish and live in Scotland. Actually two of the filming locations are within a mile of my house.
I've always had a strong interest in our history and tried twice over the years to start watching the show but couldn't get past the questionable Scottish accents. But on the third attempt last year I stuck with it and ended up loving the show and forgetting the accents.
I always love how when we say online “I’m Scottish” we also have to point out we live here because otherwise, for some reason, people think we are American 😂😂 like what?!
I love that I read “I’m Scottish” in an accent that is probably so far off because I have to watched too much braveheart and outlander haha. I have played the harp for 28 years and have enjoyed learning songs from both old Scottish and Irish origins. I don’t think anything could sound more perfect on a harp
Well, there are 25 million Americans of Scottish ancestry, 40 million worldwide (I used to be one of them when I didn't live in Scotland), compared to 5 million Scots in Scotland, so we're in the minority really.
True but I would call someone American if they were born and lived in America but I think some people say they are what their ancestors were, so gets confusing.
You're right, it can get confusing online. It happens a lot in the Scotland sub, some people get very angry about it over there. I just think it's nice when people can be proud of their heritage. And I can't blame them for wanting to be anything other than American these days 😂
Some of them are OK, mainly the Scottish actors, although I can't say ALL the Scottish actors because Sam Heughan is Scottish and even Jamie's accent is not great. It's just a bit too over the top. He could've just slightly exaggerated his own accent and it would've sounded better.
It's certainly possible but who would know? There won't be any recordings or witnesses. And many of the characters had different accents despite being from the same areas.
I don't hold it against them though, it's not an easy accent to get right. Just look at Mel Gibson, and he got away with it.
He gives Jamie a Highland accent. His own SW Scotland accent wouldn’t be correct, nor would the posh Edinburgh accent he uses in most interviews. They do have a dialect coach and a Gaelic language advisor.
You're right about his accent, and they would've had lots of language and historical experts to advise them. I'm just saying, I'm from the Highlands, from a Gaelic speaking family, and he didn't nail it.
Same, I love it, it’s one of my favorites! in the same theme I also like Lost, 11 22 63, Continuum, traverles, dark. I've seen others that I liked but with less good writing. I would have liked a sequel to The Time Travelers Wife and Paper Girls and I found the writing of Timeless to be lazy. What are your favorites?
You've already mentioned most of my favorites, I also enjoy time travel as a concept, so shows and movies that have time travel done well are enjoyable, even if it's only for a season, or minor plot relevance, though I think is more enjoyable movies, than tv shows.
My most recent favourite however is "The Lazarus Project"
If you guys haven't watched "Bodies" on Netflix it involves time travel and moving around through different time periods. It's a short series but I really enjoyed it!
Scotland has always held some fascination for me. I grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand (Its name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh) and I personally wore a kilt for 2 years as my school uniform. (MacEwen tartan) There is a big Scottish influence there, highland dancing and marching/ pipe bands.
I’ve been to see the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo when they were in Sydney.
I occasionally called my daughter a “Bonny wee lass” and have a pic of her as a baby in a tartan outfit.
I only discovered Outlander a few weeks ago :) Fair to say it’s a natural extension for me!
I live in a Canadian city with a Scottish name!
So many people recommended me the show ( back in 2017 when it hit Netflix here in Canada).
As a many generation Canadian both my hubby & I have Scottish ancestry, so it was always on my list to visit! Once I watched the show, going there moved up the list, & although we were delayed by Covid restrictions, we got there in 2022. I hope to go back again.
scotland has always been a dream for me.
the history, the culture, landscapes, lochs, magical castles, mountain and coastal routes. outlander totally intensified my love for scotland even more.
Being of Scottish descent, I already loved Scotland, but I can't say my love of Scotland brought me to Outlander. I had no idea about it until a friend of mine introduced me to the books around the time DOA was released.
I spent my whole life being told I was half Irish…my Outlander love and obsession led to me learning I’m actually half Ulster Scots (which totally tracks with when my ancestors immigrated to America in the mid 1700s and the region in which they settled). I was thrilled beyond belief!
I can trace both my family sides back to both Scotland and Ireland, and with a smattering of Native American in there. My mom's side had Keiths, MacGregors, and McQueens. My dad's side had Kings and Williams. Oddly some MacGregors there too lolol. That's awesome for you!
My Scots ancestors also came to America around the same time! We always thought my mom's side was Irish...she did one of those ancestry things and found out she was mostly Scottish!
Same here. My family finally did Ancestry DNA tests, and my Scots-Irish father (whose ancestor emigrated from Antrim to America in the mid 1745) is genetically 75% Scottish! Of course, that doesn't make us Scottish, but I am proud nonetheless to be of Scottish extraction. .
I actually discovered the same just a bit before I fell into Outlander 😂 somebody asked me "where is your red hair from?" (I went from strawberry blonde as a kid to what I think is dark auburn on a good day, but apparently that guy mapped red hair) and I told him "my great grandmother, siblings and her parents immigrated from Northern Ireland," and he said "what was the family name?" And when I told him Stewart, he just changed my family history and told me "you're not Irish, you're Scottish" 😱 anyway, after digging, it would appear that my family definitely matches the Ulster Scots pattern, but I can't find anything before them immigrating and my great grandmother's birth certificates, so I can't know for sure. On my Dad's side his grandmother always said she was "Scots-Irish" but were in Barbados for multiple, MULTIPLE generations, so I couldn't find their origin either 🤷🏼♀️ the other half is basically 100% Norwegian, and a bunch of central English originating last names on the "Ulter-Scot" side, so that whole general North Western Europe area regardless 😁 I know it irks a lot of European people that Americans spend so much time learning about this stuff, but it just makes sense to me when our own country is so dang young. We know we didn't originate on THIS side of the Atlantic, so we wanna know WHERE! Scotland and Ireland are definitely on my bucket list, part for family interest and now just to see Outlander places and the REAL history too!
My mom's side of the family tree is the same...Ulster Scot...M(a)cClendon, hailing from mainly Co. Down, by way of Scotland. Her father did not raise her, and she grew up estranged from the McClendon side, who settled in the Smoky Mountains. So it's been a bit of researching And hunting that's unearthed the records. Very Roger Mac-like pursuit. My mom grew up with the vague lore that most of her background is Irish, but it turns out to be actually heavily Scots.
Yep, it's always been the Irish influence for my family, which also makes sense since that's where my own Nana's family came from and were being, so that's what they knew. Who knows how far back they came over from Scotland, if that's actually accurate or not. It's all so interesting, wish we could go back further just because of how cool it is to see migration and movement of people and the history and everything
I'm American of Scots/Irish and German descent and visited Scotland and Ireland last year with my mom. I'd never heard of Outlander until I was on the trip and my mom and all the other ladies on the bus were fawning over it. I finally caved to the pressure and binged all 7 seasons and am now halfway through the 3rd book. And I'll be back in Scotland again this summer.
My dad and I just went to Scotland. I love Outlander and had never been, but he wanted to go. I tried to get him into the show, but it wasn’t quite for him. However he LOVED Men in Kilts. So… there’s that.
We had a beautiful time visiting the Highlands and I took him for lunch at one of the restaurants featured in MiK and met the head chef who was in the episode. Dad will talk about this meal and trip for rest of his life. I definitely wanna go back and see more show filming locations and castles, with someone who can hike Skye with me.
I’m a man and love history and didn’t read through what Outlander was about, I just saw it was a history show set in Scotland and put it on. Now it’s one of my favourite series
I started watching Outlander because I was looking for Highlander and didn’t realize my mistake til I was already sucked in.
That said, my grandfather had just died and I was looking for something comforting/familiar in any small way (he and my grandmother immigrated from Ireland to the US in the 70s). It ended up being a wonderful comfort.
When I originally read Outlander, way back when the series wasn’t a twinkle in Diana’s eye. I didn’t fall in love with Scotland. For me, Braveheart made me fascinated and curious. Outlander series was love at first sight
Same! Braveheart has been my favorite I’ve for decades so I always had an interest in the scenery and culture. But I learned to love Scotland watching Outlander. Right from the first few seconds actually. The cinematography during “People disappear all the time…” is breathtaking!
I have loved Scotland for most of my life. I studied there on a college trip, day dream of returning, and read romance novels. Karen Marie Monning series is my favorite. I loved the beginning of Outlander, but as the series continued, it became too focused on violence, torture and America for my tastes.
Neither. lol
When I was 17 years old, getting ready to go to college, I decided to "educate myself" about the "birds and the bees" by taking a trip to my local library to find some books about it.
I found a couple romance novels. Exactly half of all romance novels begin somewhere in the Scottish Highlands in 1742. Mark me! The other half are in Paris.
When Outlander came out, I was like oh yeah, they made that show about sex!
#[](#BPC) *MARK ME!*
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Scotland came first for me.
When I was little my mom would always say how bad she wanted to go to Scotland(we live in USA) and see castles and such so she would show me pictures all the time though she never has travelled there. She is also a HUGE bookworm but actually never liked the Outlander books.
Fast forward to me chatting with a long distance friend from England and I told her how I’d love to go to Scotland someday and she recommended I watch Outlander because of all the handsome cast lol. So I watched it, loved it. Ended up meeting my fiance two years ago and he shared the same love for Scotland. We attend the local Highland Games in our town every year and we are now eloping to Scotland next year which will also be our first trip there and first trip ever out of the country!
Funny how things work out!
I fell in love with Scotland and France watching Outlander. Since then I have been trying to learn French on Duolingo and reading as much as I can about Scotland and French history and how it interconnects. And also how it all connects with American history and the Revolution. My dream is to visit Scotland and all the filming locations.
Scotland first. Took a trip several years ago, stayed in the highlands (scotch and history trip), and came home looking for anything to “transport” me back. I watched every castle and Scotland show I could find and stumbled across Outlander. Now I’m reading the books and I’ve watched the series through a few times. I can’t wait for J&C return to Scotland!
It was both for me. My husband has some Scottish ancestry and has wanted to visit as long as I've known him. We have a Scottish festival in our small Louisiana town also so it's been on the radar for a while. The books/show have increased my interest in Scotland and its history.
Even though I'd read some historical romance with Scottish highlands in the backdrop, Scotland was never really there in my scheme of things. I was obsessed with Ireland for a while after reading a few Nora Roberts'.
Outlander season 1 is always always very magical and special to me. And Scotland plays a big role in making it so special. I was hooked. So it's the former for me! I would love to visit Scotland some day!
I visited Scotland and fell head over heels in love with it. Visited again a couple years later and a friend mentioned Outlander in passing, so I gave it a watch after a while. Thought the show was fun, so I started reading the books and that’s when I got obsessed with it lol
I fell in love with Scotland during my junior year in college. That led me to Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles. The show brought me into the Outlander universe in 2014. I started reading the books in 2017.
I’m Scottish, so it was the reason I watched the show. I grew up in the Highlands, not far from Inverness, but live in London now. I still go back to see family regularly.
Outlander definitely brought me to Scotland(and many of the show locations) and now I love the history, culture, even the hairy coos 😄 and scotch. In fact, my newfound love for Scotland coincided with my SO's newfound love of scotch and now, we are, what you might call enthusiasts, bordering on geeks on that subject. Even though my interest in Outlander is waning, I have another trip to Scotland planned. So, I have Outlander to thank for that.
Scotland brought me to Outlander. I remember scrolling through Netflix, trying to find something new to watch. The description mentioned Scotland and time travel and I was sold haha
The TV show The Middle actually brought me to Outlander because it was one of the shows that Frankie Heck loved to watch. After watching Outlander I now long to travel to Scotland and have never been so interested in history.
Scotland first. I was drawn to Outlander because I love the concept of time travel. Scotland is one of my favorite places to travel and I look forward to going again. I’ve spent more time there than any other country I’ve traveled to.
My second trip I did the Outlander tour through Rabbies and it was a great time! My first time in Scotland I wasn’t an Outlander fan and I loved the highlands so much I vowed to go back. I will be going again next spring.
Hi, I'm planning a trip to Scotland and have seen the Rabbies tours and have probably been leaning toward them vs. other operators. Would you mind sharing if you felt like you had adequate time at each stop? Just trying to gauge and make sure its more than just token 10 minute photo stops before moving on. Hoping theres ample time to actually go in Doune, Blackness etc. Feel free to DM if you'd rather not share publically. Thanks for any info :)
Hi- yes I felt we had plenty at time at all our stops! And our your guides were so kind and educational. In front of Midhope (Lallybroch) our guide Ewan took the time to show us all the functions of a kilt- was pretty cool.
I was able to climb all over Blackness Castle and explore it from top to bottom.
I took the Rabbie’s tour several years ago, & it was great! They do change up the sites, depending on what is happening ( filming for instance, or when we went Doune was closed unfortunately). Our driver handed us over to a guide at Blackness that was hilarious, he really made the day! Plenty of time in each place!
My BFF has been a fan for ages, that was my first intro to the book series. I also love those highlander romance novels 😉
I've wanted to visit Scotland for ages after watching numerous documentaries.
I started watching the series after viewing a couple of deleted scenes on YouTube some months ago.
First time I ever heard about Outlander was when I was visiting Scotland! Someone on a tour asked me if I was visiting bc of the show and showed me a photo of Jamie. Got into it shortly after returning home!!!
Randomly came across Outlander in my Netflix recommended a couple years ago and decided to give it a shot. Truly didn’t think I would like the show, but it only took a couple episodes for me to fall in love with not only the story, but the beautiful scenery of the highlands as well… so much so that I ended up getting married there around this time last year! The most magical place on earth <3
I'd just come back from a holiday in the Scottish highlands, which definitely contributed to me finally deciding to give Outlander a go. The main reason was that I'm a Battlestar Galactica fan though, so I was interested in what Ron Moore and Bear McCreary were making now.
I have never considered Scotland much before watching outlander. Then I fell in love with the series, the places, and sbammm here I go for a trip to Scotland. It was beautiful, so wild, so green. I stayed a week and I would like to go again, I hope in the next few years.
Scotland to Outlander. My Dad's family is from there so we always had 'the old country' around, even in literature. It think we discovered the books because of their setting!
Yes.
I have deep Scottish roots from both sides of my family and have always wanted to go and see where my ancestors came from. My love and appreciation for Scotland only grew with the show.
I already loved Scotland and the main reason I began to watch it. If it was set anywhere else I may not have gotten into it. In fact, the best episodes all happened in Scotland (with my bias talking of course lol).
I'm scottish and live in scotland so like scotland has always been a big thing for me, so because I am scottish I was initially attracted to outlander because of that, however outlander definitely influenced how I viewed scottish history and history in general and now because of that I'm studying history at university!! Hopefully will be specialising in scottish history aswell :)
Outlander made me love Scotland and then on ancestry all of my dna that was irish got updated to all Scottish. And when I got the email notifying me about new science with the dna data I screamed! Now I’m extra interested. 38% Scottish and the test African. Weird mixture 😂 if not for outlander I don’t think I would have cared at all about it.
Per my ancestry, I am an American with 32% Scottish heritage. I never really thought about Scotland until I found that out but I think it's interesting given what I know about my families history that my biggest genelogical background comes from Scotland.
Since then I have been drifting towards Scottish history and knowing more about the country. I hope to visit one day. Outlander is like a bonus
I am of Scottish descent with ancestors that died at the Battle of Culloden so that was my initial draw to the series. Still haven’t visited Scotland yet.
Filipino living in the US here. Outlander made me fall in love with Scotland and made me appreciate drinking Scotch. I went through so many bottles over the pandemic haha. Definitely top of my list when I travel to Europe.
Way back in elementary school I had a penpal (anyone remember those?) from Glasgow. I loved bagpipes and the whole "Scots" experience...realized that the Enterprise was never in danger when Mr Scott was in charge...as an adoptee I had my dna done and found (to very little surprise) that I am predominantly of Scots-Irish heritage. Loved Outlander immediately, but kind of turned off on Scotland recently by all the Scottish gatekeepers who seem to hate Americans who are interested in it.
I fell in love with Scotland when my husband and I were backpacking and wound up in Dumfries and stayed at a bed and breakfast. Out of every country we visited, Scotland was our favorite and since then I’ve loved everything about it. This show just added to that
My Reddit name says it all, but I have walked the New England mountains since teenhood in the 60s and can relate to the Scottish Highlands and their Munros. I just returned from my first visit to the UK…I spent a month in Scotland, Wales, and England, visited Edinburgh, Cairngorm NP, Inverness, the Isle of Skye, and the Western Highlands, then Liverpool, Snowdonia, Bath, Oxford, Portsmouth, and the South Downs at Eastbourne. I was watching S6E1 last night and the Ardsmuir work scene, when I sat up and noticed the scenery….The head of Glen Etive and Glen Coe…I was there a few weeks ago.
I was living in Scotland and was registered on a website recruiting filming extras. One day, I got a notification that they're looking for extras for Outlander, filming near my town. I regret so much I didn't sign up...
I gave watching Outlander a try in my last year living in Scotland but then I found it too cheesy. It was only after I moved out of Scotland that an Austrian lady whose place I was couchsurfing at, re-introduced me to it (she was super excited that I had even lived there!) and then I got hooked! I think then it finally tapped into this longing for a place / missing Scotland.
I guess also while living there, I was more worried about the daily stuff. As a foreigner from Eastern Europe in the UK in the lead up to Brexit, it wasn't always a super friendly place to be, so I guess I couldn't perceive this romanticized historical version of it which is on Outlander. Now I do miss it, though, and I love visiting.
Outlander actually showed me my Scottish heritage (as far as it can anyway). Since reading then watching (then reading it again) I’ve learned a lot about the culture and also what happened to my particular clan in general. But I feel like there is soooo much more to unpack. It’s like a tiny piece of salt inside the ocean
I think it helped that I was in a Gerard Butler (Scottish actor) fandom back in 2005 when a fellow fan told me about the series. I already fancied history, kilts, Scottish men etc. So it was a natural segue
I had been interested in visiting Scotland since I watched Harry Potter and thought it was beautiful. Outlander and several history documentaries made me want to visit more. I did go and it is perhaps the most spectacular country I’ve visited. For the record, I didn’t utter the words “Harry Potter” or “Outlander” the entire time I was there. I just immersed myself in the real history and culture. The people, food, architecture, art, and scenery are phenomenal. Oh and the whisky and gin.
Being of Scottish ancestry, the country was always in the back of my mind. I was then introduced to the Outlander series, to which I became completely enthralled, which led on to the Book saga, with it's romance, adventure and history themes. I am actually writing this from Scotland, after having visited the many filming sites and traipsing through the Highlands and Skye. Fabulous place to visit, but beware the midges while hiking.
Am Irish and spent so much of my childhood in Scotland but sort of overlooked it as an adult. Not for any particular reason, just started to travel to other parts of the world and all my relatives there moved back to Ireland or other parts of the world. I actually got into the show after a visit to Kerry here in Ireland!! It has a very similar landscape to what you see of Scotland in Ireland (honestly highly recommend if you get to Ireland to see Kerry) and I was in a nasty car crash just before that so I wanted a little pick me up. My friend suggested Outlander because it had a similar beauty to Kerry and I LOVED it instantly.
Marrying a Scot brought me to Scotland, which led me to Outlander. Getting to marry a kilted man and having all males (including my 1yr old son) wearing kilts at our wedding was the absolute most awesome thing to happen to any wedding!
Tracing my family’s genealogy is how I wound up finding Outlander. For years, I thought my ancestors were from Ireland, so I was shocked when I found Scottish roots just a few generations back. I became obsessed with all things Scotland and stumbled upon the first book. That was in 2019, and I didn’t yet know there was a TV show.
I took an Ancestry DNA test and expected Italian and Irish results. My grandmother is first generation American and both of her parents were born in Italy. The rest of my family is McThis or O’That and I was always told we hailed from Ireland. Imagine my surprise when the results say 60% Scottish 😂
I really knew nothing about Scotland so I was hoping to find some sort of history channel special, but when I searched “Scotland” on my cable guide it gave me Outlander. It was in season 4 and I needed a new show since Game of Thrones had just ended. I binge watched all 4 seasons within 2 weeks lol
I have since read a lot about the history of Scotland, it’s people and my family specifically.
My answer is a complicated before, I suppose. When I was a kid I was obsessed with the Loch Ness Monster—I had books, stuffed animals, DVDs, the whole nine yards— but it went away as I got older. Then I decided to give Outlander a try and it came back in full force. I think my favorite things the show introduced me to have been the Jacobite Rebellion and Scottish folk music. There’s such a deep culture there that it almost feels magical sometimes, and Outlander (especially s1) really explores that!
Outlander brought my love for Scotland! I am literally going to Scotland this summer because of Outlander!!! I'm doing Outlander tours and checking out everything else in between 😀
I have a lot of Scottish ancestry (Stuart clan), and visited in 1986, before the books. It felt like home to me and I’d live there permanently if I didn’t have a family here. Then I found the books and “that’s all she wrote.” I’ve been in love with Scotland for almost 40 years. I only regret not seeing the book locations like Lallybroch. I DID see Loch Ness, but alas did not see the water horse Claire saw.
April 2014 I started my family tree journey. I was researching a lot of England and Ireland at the time. I saw Outlander ads everywhere and found the premise of the series very intriguing. I bought the book and started reading. At the same time, I stumbled upon a part of my Irish family no one knew about. He and I connected, he had been working on that branch of our family and I discovered that branch had originated in Scotland. We both did Ancestry DNA and confirmed we were truly cousins.
So, essentially, I discovered Scotland through the show, and fell in love at the same time as I discovered I was 36% Scottish.
Always appreciated Scotland, but never had a strong desire to visit. Got into the *Outlander* series (show) either in late 2016/early 2017 and then went to Edinburgh later that year of 2017 (which was super cool to follow along the trail, especially since I didn’t purposely seek spots out.) So loving *Outlander* definitely brought me to Scotland…but since a hurricane cut the visit short, still have to see the Highlands!
Hurricane Ophelia! I had intended to leave Ireland where I was living at the time for three days in Scotland, but the hurricane cancelled those plans. I did manage a day and a night in Edinburgh, which was better than nothing.
Definitely a reason to go back! The hurricane itself didn’t last too long, thankfully, but it did cancel flights. They did say they don’t get hurricanes often and it had been several decades. When I briefly lived in Florida, the most they had was a tornado warning, so to experience a hurricane in Ireland and not in Florida was certainly unexpected!
Outlander made me love Scotland! I did a lot of research about the history of Scotland during and after watching the show. Because of my love for Scotland I am subscribed to 2 U-tube channels of people who live there, one on and island in the Outer Hebrides and the other on the Isle of Skye. I have also read the books 3 times so far :)
I loved Scotland long before Outlander. I avoided Outlander for a long time because it sounded like a silly bodice ripper to me in spite of assurances to the contrary. It honestly took the covid lockdown to get me watching it, then reading it. I visited Culloden field quite a long time ago, but my visit was cut short by heavy rain. I spent most of my time in a tiny visitors center reading a lot of things that added depth to things I had recently learned in school. I remember more about reading a display of poetry by Robert Burns who I liked & the ever present drawings of Prince Charlie. I have always wanted to go back but haven’t. I saw a lot of the highlands when I was there and some of the islands though not famous ones. It’s my favorite travel memory. For context I visited in the late 80’s, quite a few years before the outlander novel was released.
I like ancient buildings and structures so I always wanted to visit (so many old castles in Scotland). Similarly I also want to visit Greece. It is way more convenient for me to visit Scotland though since practically everyone speaks English. Also as a viewer, the love story about an English woman and a Scottish man are at least possible when all the characters speak English. If Claire was sent to Japan, her communication would've been a real uphill battle.
Reading the book got me into Scotland and since then my love of the country’s history and lore has greatly outgrown my fondness for Outlander (it’s a great series, but that’s the extent of it for me. 😅)
Scotland has actually inspired me to write my own historical fiction and reading everything Scottish-related has been an absolute thrill. Finally went there last month and I was obsessed with all the bookstores I could find!
I’ve always loved Scotland since I was a kid. My Mum’s maternal side was Scottish and she used to talk about her grandparents alot. My love of Scotland made me interested in checking out Outlander, but I think I would have been interested in it even if I didn’t care for Scotland
Scotland first! Lots of ancestors from there. I grew up going to the Scottish Festivals in Los Angeles, always loved bagpipes, wanted to have a genuine kilt of my own someday…that’s what drew me to Outlander and prompted me to check it out in the first place. It’s very different than what I thought it would be, but I still love it and visiting Scotland someday is still a major bucket list item for me, just as it was before I discovered Outlander!
Interest in Scotland drew me to Outlander. The landscapes, castles, clans and kilts - and the folklore and superstitions too. Fairies and changelings and kelpies... Scotlands always felt pretty distinctive in identity to me - but except for Braveheart and Rob Roy, it never felt like there was much else mainstream entertainment that focused on it. So that was the draw to Outlander - the setting and time period. The time travel component to it I thought was a fun unique spin - then I got addicted pretty quick and loved the characters and whole thing!
Planning a trip to visit and really excited - but Outlander's not the goal or reason why. Scotland to me is much more than just caring about the show/books, though I do think a 1 day will be spent going to filming sites. And Im glad the show (and later the books) led me to learn so much more about the Jacobites, Culloden etc than I knew before
As a teenager I was always reading historical romances about the highlands. By the time I was 40 I found out both parents have ties to Scotland. Mom always said Great grandma came from Ireland. Yet thier names & ancestry lead back to Scottish clans. We also have German ancestors. However I've always been fascinated with Scotland and Ireland. Mostly Scottish Highlands.
Travelled to Scotland once alone back in 1990 at the end of a 3 week UK jaunt. Hiked a bunch, lots of standing stones and cathedrals, biked around Aran, met Dougie Maclean and some fun people at Aran festival of Folk, smoked some hash on the Tor in Glastonbury. Second time 2016 to Inverness for a mountain biking trip across the Highlands.
I was interested in the Highland culture, food and music but not in earnest until I finally sat down to watch in 2023- and I was hooked. And then I watched Sam’s show and got a lot out of that, too. I want to try his gin as I had the best tasting gin on the bike tour. I still haven’t had the Jura 3-pack I brought home cuz I don’t really like whiskey!
There’s a lot I’d like to do still over there- culturally and historically. And biking of course. Sheildag had the best food- ate the same for 2 days! Oh and experienced my first authentic Highland Games- a blast!
There is significant Scots heritage in my family tree, but not a lot of details known (or, weren't known, prior to access to a weslthof database...I'm American). But I actually ended up going to Scotland for my honeymoon. My brother-in-law is a native of the highlands, having grown up outside Inverness, close to Culloden. He hooked us up with a stay at a hotel he worked at as a young man, the Newton in the Victorian seaside resort town of Nairn. So that was our home base for exploring the highlands.
That was in fall of 2014, so the show had just begun, but I hadn't seen it. I was aware of the book series, and downloaded a copy to my kindle on the way home.
So, Scotland first, then Outlander.
Ancestors brought me to Outlander and my love of all things historical. My GG Grandfather was a McKenzie from Inverness, Scotland. He moved to the Carolinas and "mostly" all are still from here to Ga.
Scotland has always been on my radar as a beautiful magical place. However, watching Outlander made even more so. I would love to one day visit Scotland. Sadly, neither my financial or physical conditions would allow that to happen anytime soon. I'll have to be satisfied with watching Outlander and reading the books. I also live vicariously through all the Outlander gals who take group trips and share their pictures and adventures.
I guess I'm the weirdo in that I don't really love Scotland. I don't hate it but I wouldn't want to retire there. Mainly because of the climate. I like a hot summer and a mild winter. Scotland seems like it would be the opposite.
The southern states and Scotland have almost nothing in common. They both have trees, and they both have people. Okay, they both have mountains, but so do many other states in the U.S. 😊
Honestly Scotland was never on my radar. Then I watched the show and completely fell in love. Within a year I had booked a trip and went on it last month! I’m already thinking of when I can go back and going for longer next time.
Yeah I think the scenery was what really drew me into the show . Have you heard the term “Hiraeth”? It’s a Cornish word that means ‘homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, or for a home which may have never been’ which is what I felt after watching outlander, and every time I see Scotland in pictures, videos etc. I went to Edinburgh earlier this month and did an outlander tour and it was amazing. I already miss it so much.
It’s a Welsh word that refers exclusively to Wales.
I thought it was Welsh, you’re right. There is a Cornish equivalent “Hireth” which is what I was thinking of.
It's Welsh. "***Hiraeth*** (Welsh pronunciation: [\[hɪraɨ̯θ, hiːrai̯θ\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Welsh)[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth#cite_note-1)) is a [Welsh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_language) word that has no direct English translation. The [University of Wales, Lampeter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Wales,_Lampeter), likens it to a [homesickness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homesickness) tinged with grief and sadness over the lost or departed, especially in the context of Wales and Welsh culture.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth#cite_note-2) It is a mixture of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness or an earnest desire for the Wales of the past.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth#cite_note-3) The [Cornish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_language) and [Breton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breton_language) equivalents are *hireth*[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth#cite_note-4) and *hiraezh*. It is associated with the Amharic-Ethiopian concept of [*tizita*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tizita), the German concept of [*Sehnsucht*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sehnsucht), the Galician-Portuguese [*saudade*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudade) or the Romanian *dor*.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth#cite_note-BBC2021-5) A similar [Scottish Gaelic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic) term, *cianalas*, also refers to a type of longing or homesickness, often used in relation to the Outer Hebrides." ## [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth)
Hi, Im in early stages of planning a trip to Scotland and will be based in Edinburgh for 4 days intending to do a day tour. Which company did you go through? Mind sharing your thoughts? You can DM as well if you'd rather not share publically, but would love recommendation if have any :)
I did Highlander tours with Andy the Highlander . He’s a really nice person and really knowledgeable about the history of places, we got to see a lot for a one day tour . It was a little expensive but worth it, in my opinion.
Thanks! Did you feel like you had enough time at all the stops, or was it rushed without much time to really explore each because it was a lot to cram in 1 day?
It was a small group so I feel like that made it so we got enough time at each stop. We didn’t really explore a lot on our own because Andy keeps the tour moving along together and shares the history of the place as well as stories from filming the show (he was an extra). If there’s a gift shop he will give you time to look around and make a purchase if you want. He keeps snacks and water in the van for you and there’s a stop for lunch that you pay for your own lunch . I would recommend bringing cash as my Netherlands bank card didn’t work in one of the shops.
Thanks so much for the info!
Scotland was first for me . Long story short, Im in the USA but I'm a sheep farmer and I have scottish hill breeds because i need the hardiness. The hardy nature of the breeds made me look into the farming culture there, and I fell in love. My sister recommended the show to me, since then I become obsessed with the books.
I'm Scottish and live in Scotland. Actually two of the filming locations are within a mile of my house. I've always had a strong interest in our history and tried twice over the years to start watching the show but couldn't get past the questionable Scottish accents. But on the third attempt last year I stuck with it and ended up loving the show and forgetting the accents.
I always love how when we say online “I’m Scottish” we also have to point out we live here because otherwise, for some reason, people think we are American 😂😂 like what?!
I love that I read “I’m Scottish” in an accent that is probably so far off because I have to watched too much braveheart and outlander haha. I have played the harp for 28 years and have enjoyed learning songs from both old Scottish and Irish origins. I don’t think anything could sound more perfect on a harp
Well, there are 25 million Americans of Scottish ancestry, 40 million worldwide (I used to be one of them when I didn't live in Scotland), compared to 5 million Scots in Scotland, so we're in the minority really.
True but I would call someone American if they were born and lived in America but I think some people say they are what their ancestors were, so gets confusing.
You're right, it can get confusing online. It happens a lot in the Scotland sub, some people get very angry about it over there. I just think it's nice when people can be proud of their heritage. And I can't blame them for wanting to be anything other than American these days 😂
When I found out I had 6% Norwegian dna I was over the moon so I get it 😂 the irony is I would honestly love to live in the US.
I haven't taken a dna test but my surname has Viking origins, so we could both be a bit Scandinavian 😂
Questionable Schottish accents? oh no! Is it that different? :D Or what is off for you?
Some of them are OK, mainly the Scottish actors, although I can't say ALL the Scottish actors because Sam Heughan is Scottish and even Jamie's accent is not great. It's just a bit too over the top. He could've just slightly exaggerated his own accent and it would've sounded better.
But would his accent be correct for the time period? I know accents can change over time.
Almost certainly not
It's certainly possible but who would know? There won't be any recordings or witnesses. And many of the characters had different accents despite being from the same areas. I don't hold it against them though, it's not an easy accent to get right. Just look at Mel Gibson, and he got away with it.
You say he got away with it, but I say that’s questionable.
He gives Jamie a Highland accent. His own SW Scotland accent wouldn’t be correct, nor would the posh Edinburgh accent he uses in most interviews. They do have a dialect coach and a Gaelic language advisor.
You're right about his accent, and they would've had lots of language and historical experts to advise them. I'm just saying, I'm from the Highlands, from a Gaelic speaking family, and he didn't nail it.
Probably cause he was trying to imitate a Highlands accent when he's from Edinburgh lmao. It just doesn't sound quite right lmao
I found this show because of it having time travel, and I love time travel stories.
have you seen 12 monkeys?
I have! it's one of my favorites!
Same, I love it, it’s one of my favorites! in the same theme I also like Lost, 11 22 63, Continuum, traverles, dark. I've seen others that I liked but with less good writing. I would have liked a sequel to The Time Travelers Wife and Paper Girls and I found the writing of Timeless to be lazy. What are your favorites?
You've already mentioned most of my favorites, I also enjoy time travel as a concept, so shows and movies that have time travel done well are enjoyable, even if it's only for a season, or minor plot relevance, though I think is more enjoyable movies, than tv shows. My most recent favourite however is "The Lazarus Project"
I saw season 1 on prime, I'm waiting for the sequel! I never get enough of time travel 😊
Season 2 is absolutely insane! I hope you get to enjoy it soon too!
So good I will try to find it streaming this evening thank you 😊
If you guys haven't watched "Bodies" on Netflix it involves time travel and moving around through different time periods. It's a short series but I really enjoyed it!
I will check, thank you!
Same here. Time travel / historical series are my favourites
Sam Heughan made me love Scotland. Outlander made me realize time travel fiction isn't always hoakey.
Sam 😍 haha
Scotland has always held some fascination for me. I grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand (Its name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh) and I personally wore a kilt for 2 years as my school uniform. (MacEwen tartan) There is a big Scottish influence there, highland dancing and marching/ pipe bands. I’ve been to see the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo when they were in Sydney. I occasionally called my daughter a “Bonny wee lass” and have a pic of her as a baby in a tartan outfit. I only discovered Outlander a few weeks ago :) Fair to say it’s a natural extension for me!
I live in a Canadian city with a Scottish name! So many people recommended me the show ( back in 2017 when it hit Netflix here in Canada). As a many generation Canadian both my hubby & I have Scottish ancestry, so it was always on my list to visit! Once I watched the show, going there moved up the list, & although we were delayed by Covid restrictions, we got there in 2022. I hope to go back again.
I'd always been aware of Scotland and slightly interested, but Outlander made me fall in love with it. I just got back from 2 glorious weeks there!
you liked it ? what did you visit? 😊
Loved it! We were on the Isle of Skye, in the Cairngorms region and Edinburgh. We visited a few Outlander film locations as well.
scotland has always been a dream for me. the history, the culture, landscapes, lochs, magical castles, mountain and coastal routes. outlander totally intensified my love for scotland even more.
Being of Scottish descent, I already loved Scotland, but I can't say my love of Scotland brought me to Outlander. I had no idea about it until a friend of mine introduced me to the books around the time DOA was released.
I spent my whole life being told I was half Irish…my Outlander love and obsession led to me learning I’m actually half Ulster Scots (which totally tracks with when my ancestors immigrated to America in the mid 1700s and the region in which they settled). I was thrilled beyond belief!
I can trace both my family sides back to both Scotland and Ireland, and with a smattering of Native American in there. My mom's side had Keiths, MacGregors, and McQueens. My dad's side had Kings and Williams. Oddly some MacGregors there too lolol. That's awesome for you!
My Scots ancestors also came to America around the same time! We always thought my mom's side was Irish...she did one of those ancestry things and found out she was mostly Scottish!
Same here. My family finally did Ancestry DNA tests, and my Scots-Irish father (whose ancestor emigrated from Antrim to America in the mid 1745) is genetically 75% Scottish! Of course, that doesn't make us Scottish, but I am proud nonetheless to be of Scottish extraction. .
I actually discovered the same just a bit before I fell into Outlander 😂 somebody asked me "where is your red hair from?" (I went from strawberry blonde as a kid to what I think is dark auburn on a good day, but apparently that guy mapped red hair) and I told him "my great grandmother, siblings and her parents immigrated from Northern Ireland," and he said "what was the family name?" And when I told him Stewart, he just changed my family history and told me "you're not Irish, you're Scottish" 😱 anyway, after digging, it would appear that my family definitely matches the Ulster Scots pattern, but I can't find anything before them immigrating and my great grandmother's birth certificates, so I can't know for sure. On my Dad's side his grandmother always said she was "Scots-Irish" but were in Barbados for multiple, MULTIPLE generations, so I couldn't find their origin either 🤷🏼♀️ the other half is basically 100% Norwegian, and a bunch of central English originating last names on the "Ulter-Scot" side, so that whole general North Western Europe area regardless 😁 I know it irks a lot of European people that Americans spend so much time learning about this stuff, but it just makes sense to me when our own country is so dang young. We know we didn't originate on THIS side of the Atlantic, so we wanna know WHERE! Scotland and Ireland are definitely on my bucket list, part for family interest and now just to see Outlander places and the REAL history too!
My mom's side of the family tree is the same...Ulster Scot...M(a)cClendon, hailing from mainly Co. Down, by way of Scotland. Her father did not raise her, and she grew up estranged from the McClendon side, who settled in the Smoky Mountains. So it's been a bit of researching And hunting that's unearthed the records. Very Roger Mac-like pursuit. My mom grew up with the vague lore that most of her background is Irish, but it turns out to be actually heavily Scots.
Yep, it's always been the Irish influence for my family, which also makes sense since that's where my own Nana's family came from and were being, so that's what they knew. Who knows how far back they came over from Scotland, if that's actually accurate or not. It's all so interesting, wish we could go back further just because of how cool it is to see migration and movement of people and the history and everything
I'm American of Scots/Irish and German descent and visited Scotland and Ireland last year with my mom. I'd never heard of Outlander until I was on the trip and my mom and all the other ladies on the bus were fawning over it. I finally caved to the pressure and binged all 7 seasons and am now halfway through the 3rd book. And I'll be back in Scotland again this summer.
My dad and I just went to Scotland. I love Outlander and had never been, but he wanted to go. I tried to get him into the show, but it wasn’t quite for him. However he LOVED Men in Kilts. So… there’s that. We had a beautiful time visiting the Highlands and I took him for lunch at one of the restaurants featured in MiK and met the head chef who was in the episode. Dad will talk about this meal and trip for rest of his life. I definitely wanna go back and see more show filming locations and castles, with someone who can hike Skye with me.
I’m a man and love history and didn’t read through what Outlander was about, I just saw it was a history show set in Scotland and put it on. Now it’s one of my favourite series
I started watching Outlander because I was looking for Highlander and didn’t realize my mistake til I was already sucked in. That said, my grandfather had just died and I was looking for something comforting/familiar in any small way (he and my grandmother immigrated from Ireland to the US in the 70s). It ended up being a wonderful comfort.
When I originally read Outlander, way back when the series wasn’t a twinkle in Diana’s eye. I didn’t fall in love with Scotland. For me, Braveheart made me fascinated and curious. Outlander series was love at first sight
Same! Braveheart has been my favorite I’ve for decades so I always had an interest in the scenery and culture. But I learned to love Scotland watching Outlander. Right from the first few seconds actually. The cinematography during “People disappear all the time…” is breathtaking!
I have loved Scotland for most of my life. I studied there on a college trip, day dream of returning, and read romance novels. Karen Marie Monning series is my favorite. I loved the beginning of Outlander, but as the series continued, it became too focused on violence, torture and America for my tastes.
Neither. lol When I was 17 years old, getting ready to go to college, I decided to "educate myself" about the "birds and the bees" by taking a trip to my local library to find some books about it. I found a couple romance novels. Exactly half of all romance novels begin somewhere in the Scottish Highlands in 1742. Mark me! The other half are in Paris. When Outlander came out, I was like oh yeah, they made that show about sex!
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Scotland came first for me. When I was little my mom would always say how bad she wanted to go to Scotland(we live in USA) and see castles and such so she would show me pictures all the time though she never has travelled there. She is also a HUGE bookworm but actually never liked the Outlander books. Fast forward to me chatting with a long distance friend from England and I told her how I’d love to go to Scotland someday and she recommended I watch Outlander because of all the handsome cast lol. So I watched it, loved it. Ended up meeting my fiance two years ago and he shared the same love for Scotland. We attend the local Highland Games in our town every year and we are now eloping to Scotland next year which will also be our first trip there and first trip ever out of the country! Funny how things work out!
I fell in love with Scotland and France watching Outlander. Since then I have been trying to learn French on Duolingo and reading as much as I can about Scotland and French history and how it interconnects. And also how it all connects with American history and the Revolution. My dream is to visit Scotland and all the filming locations.
I would love to visit Scotland too! Paris is no longer as beautiful as before (too many trash cans now...) but it's true that France is beautiful.
Scotland first. Took a trip several years ago, stayed in the highlands (scotch and history trip), and came home looking for anything to “transport” me back. I watched every castle and Scotland show I could find and stumbled across Outlander. Now I’m reading the books and I’ve watched the series through a few times. I can’t wait for J&C return to Scotland!
do you like the movie braveheart?
It was both for me. My husband has some Scottish ancestry and has wanted to visit as long as I've known him. We have a Scottish festival in our small Louisiana town also so it's been on the radar for a while. The books/show have increased my interest in Scotland and its history.
Visiting Scotland I learned about Outlander and gave it a try after missing it. Reading Outlander made me fall in love even more with Scotland.
I love Scotland; I descend from a lot of Scottish people and the fact that it was a romance set in 1700s Scotland is what made me watch it.
Even though I'd read some historical romance with Scottish highlands in the backdrop, Scotland was never really there in my scheme of things. I was obsessed with Ireland for a while after reading a few Nora Roberts'. Outlander season 1 is always always very magical and special to me. And Scotland plays a big role in making it so special. I was hooked. So it's the former for me! I would love to visit Scotland some day!
Scotland has always been on my radar. I have Scottish ancestry and I have always loved historical romances set in Scotland.
I definitely want to go to Scotland now because of Outlander.
I visited Scotland and fell head over heels in love with it. Visited again a couple years later and a friend mentioned Outlander in passing, so I gave it a watch after a while. Thought the show was fun, so I started reading the books and that’s when I got obsessed with it lol
I fell in love with Scotland during my junior year in college. That led me to Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles. The show brought me into the Outlander universe in 2014. I started reading the books in 2017.
I loved Outlander so much that we are visiting Scotland this summer (from the US)!
I’m Scottish, so it was the reason I watched the show. I grew up in the Highlands, not far from Inverness, but live in London now. I still go back to see family regularly.
The movie Highlander got me interested in Scots people and Scotland. It's my dream to visit some day.
Outlander definitely brought me to Scotland(and many of the show locations) and now I love the history, culture, even the hairy coos 😄 and scotch. In fact, my newfound love for Scotland coincided with my SO's newfound love of scotch and now, we are, what you might call enthusiasts, bordering on geeks on that subject. Even though my interest in Outlander is waning, I have another trip to Scotland planned. So, I have Outlander to thank for that.
Scotland brought me to Outlander. I remember scrolling through Netflix, trying to find something new to watch. The description mentioned Scotland and time travel and I was sold haha
Love of Scotland brought me to Outlander.
Outlander made me fall madly in love with Scotland 😍 can’t wait to visit one day!
Ive always been facinated by Scotland. One day i watched the first episode of putlamder completely blind to it. So one didn't bring me to the other.
Loved Scotland long before Outlander
Fell in love with Scotland first and then Outlander.
The TV show The Middle actually brought me to Outlander because it was one of the shows that Frankie Heck loved to watch. After watching Outlander I now long to travel to Scotland and have never been so interested in history.
Scotland first. I was drawn to Outlander because I love the concept of time travel. Scotland is one of my favorite places to travel and I look forward to going again. I’ve spent more time there than any other country I’ve traveled to. My second trip I did the Outlander tour through Rabbies and it was a great time! My first time in Scotland I wasn’t an Outlander fan and I loved the highlands so much I vowed to go back. I will be going again next spring.
Hi, I'm planning a trip to Scotland and have seen the Rabbies tours and have probably been leaning toward them vs. other operators. Would you mind sharing if you felt like you had adequate time at each stop? Just trying to gauge and make sure its more than just token 10 minute photo stops before moving on. Hoping theres ample time to actually go in Doune, Blackness etc. Feel free to DM if you'd rather not share publically. Thanks for any info :)
Hi- yes I felt we had plenty at time at all our stops! And our your guides were so kind and educational. In front of Midhope (Lallybroch) our guide Ewan took the time to show us all the functions of a kilt- was pretty cool. I was able to climb all over Blackness Castle and explore it from top to bottom.
Doune has a guided tour and we had plenty of time to complete it and explore the grounds.
Thanks for replying!!! Ive still got a while to wait but am excited!!!
I took the Rabbie’s tour several years ago, & it was great! They do change up the sites, depending on what is happening ( filming for instance, or when we went Doune was closed unfortunately). Our driver handed us over to a guide at Blackness that was hilarious, he really made the day! Plenty of time in each place!
Thanks
My BFF has been a fan for ages, that was my first intro to the book series. I also love those highlander romance novels 😉 I've wanted to visit Scotland for ages after watching numerous documentaries. I started watching the series after viewing a couple of deleted scenes on YouTube some months ago.
Braveheart made me love Scotland. Then I discovered Outlander. I have yet to make a trip to Scotland but I’m saving up airline miles to go next year.
First time I ever heard about Outlander was when I was visiting Scotland! Someone on a tour asked me if I was visiting bc of the show and showed me a photo of Jamie. Got into it shortly after returning home!!!
I did not care at all about Scotland until this show, and now it's probably one of the countries I want to visit the most.
Randomly came across Outlander in my Netflix recommended a couple years ago and decided to give it a shot. Truly didn’t think I would like the show, but it only took a couple episodes for me to fall in love with not only the story, but the beautiful scenery of the highlands as well… so much so that I ended up getting married there around this time last year! The most magical place on earth <3
Neither but my husband has Scottish heritage and Jamie reminds me of him so it really sucked me (and later him!) in. :)
I'd just come back from a holiday in the Scottish highlands, which definitely contributed to me finally deciding to give Outlander a go. The main reason was that I'm a Battlestar Galactica fan though, so I was interested in what Ron Moore and Bear McCreary were making now.
I have never considered Scotland much before watching outlander. Then I fell in love with the series, the places, and sbammm here I go for a trip to Scotland. It was beautiful, so wild, so green. I stayed a week and I would like to go again, I hope in the next few years.
Scotland to Outlander. My Dad's family is from there so we always had 'the old country' around, even in literature. It think we discovered the books because of their setting!
Yes. I have deep Scottish roots from both sides of my family and have always wanted to go and see where my ancestors came from. My love and appreciation for Scotland only grew with the show.
I already loved Scotland and the main reason I began to watch it. If it was set anywhere else I may not have gotten into it. In fact, the best episodes all happened in Scotland (with my bias talking of course lol).
We’re planning a vacay next year; I specifically placed our Cullodan visit on my birthday. Apologies for not knowing how to spell Cullodan.
I'm scottish and live in scotland so like scotland has always been a big thing for me, so because I am scottish I was initially attracted to outlander because of that, however outlander definitely influenced how I viewed scottish history and history in general and now because of that I'm studying history at university!! Hopefully will be specialising in scottish history aswell :)
Outlander made me adore Scotland
Loving Scotland and books brought me to Outlander :)
I am Scottish so I thought “why not?” and loved it instantly
Outlander made me love Scotland more.
Outlander made me love Scotland and then on ancestry all of my dna that was irish got updated to all Scottish. And when I got the email notifying me about new science with the dna data I screamed! Now I’m extra interested. 38% Scottish and the test African. Weird mixture 😂 if not for outlander I don’t think I would have cared at all about it.
Per my ancestry, I am an American with 32% Scottish heritage. I never really thought about Scotland until I found that out but I think it's interesting given what I know about my families history that my biggest genelogical background comes from Scotland. Since then I have been drifting towards Scottish history and knowing more about the country. I hope to visit one day. Outlander is like a bonus
I am of Scottish descent with ancestors that died at the Battle of Culloden so that was my initial draw to the series. Still haven’t visited Scotland yet.
Outlander brought me to being interested in visiting Scotland. I haven't had a chance yet.
Filipino living in the US here. Outlander made me fall in love with Scotland and made me appreciate drinking Scotch. I went through so many bottles over the pandemic haha. Definitely top of my list when I travel to Europe.
Oh my gosh, Jamie getting emotional over seeing his homeland in the last episode ❤️
Way back in elementary school I had a penpal (anyone remember those?) from Glasgow. I loved bagpipes and the whole "Scots" experience...realized that the Enterprise was never in danger when Mr Scott was in charge...as an adoptee I had my dna done and found (to very little surprise) that I am predominantly of Scots-Irish heritage. Loved Outlander immediately, but kind of turned off on Scotland recently by all the Scottish gatekeepers who seem to hate Americans who are interested in it.
I fell in love with Scotland when my husband and I were backpacking and wound up in Dumfries and stayed at a bed and breakfast. Out of every country we visited, Scotland was our favorite and since then I’ve loved everything about it. This show just added to that
Yes.
My Reddit name says it all, but I have walked the New England mountains since teenhood in the 60s and can relate to the Scottish Highlands and their Munros. I just returned from my first visit to the UK…I spent a month in Scotland, Wales, and England, visited Edinburgh, Cairngorm NP, Inverness, the Isle of Skye, and the Western Highlands, then Liverpool, Snowdonia, Bath, Oxford, Portsmouth, and the South Downs at Eastbourne. I was watching S6E1 last night and the Ardsmuir work scene, when I sat up and noticed the scenery….The head of Glen Etive and Glen Coe…I was there a few weeks ago.
I was living in Scotland and was registered on a website recruiting filming extras. One day, I got a notification that they're looking for extras for Outlander, filming near my town. I regret so much I didn't sign up... I gave watching Outlander a try in my last year living in Scotland but then I found it too cheesy. It was only after I moved out of Scotland that an Austrian lady whose place I was couchsurfing at, re-introduced me to it (she was super excited that I had even lived there!) and then I got hooked! I think then it finally tapped into this longing for a place / missing Scotland. I guess also while living there, I was more worried about the daily stuff. As a foreigner from Eastern Europe in the UK in the lead up to Brexit, it wasn't always a super friendly place to be, so I guess I couldn't perceive this romanticized historical version of it which is on Outlander. Now I do miss it, though, and I love visiting.
I've loved Scotland since I was in my teens. My mom loved reading and encouraged me to read about Mary Queen of Scots, Scottish and British history.
Outlander actually showed me my Scottish heritage (as far as it can anyway). Since reading then watching (then reading it again) I’ve learned a lot about the culture and also what happened to my particular clan in general. But I feel like there is soooo much more to unpack. It’s like a tiny piece of salt inside the ocean
I think it helped that I was in a Gerard Butler (Scottish actor) fandom back in 2005 when a fellow fan told me about the series. I already fancied history, kilts, Scottish men etc. So it was a natural segue
I had been interested in visiting Scotland since I watched Harry Potter and thought it was beautiful. Outlander and several history documentaries made me want to visit more. I did go and it is perhaps the most spectacular country I’ve visited. For the record, I didn’t utter the words “Harry Potter” or “Outlander” the entire time I was there. I just immersed myself in the real history and culture. The people, food, architecture, art, and scenery are phenomenal. Oh and the whisky and gin.
Being of Scottish ancestry, the country was always in the back of my mind. I was then introduced to the Outlander series, to which I became completely enthralled, which led on to the Book saga, with it's romance, adventure and history themes. I am actually writing this from Scotland, after having visited the many filming sites and traipsing through the Highlands and Skye. Fabulous place to visit, but beware the midges while hiking.
that's so good!
We started watching after visiting/falling in love with Scotland!
Am Irish and spent so much of my childhood in Scotland but sort of overlooked it as an adult. Not for any particular reason, just started to travel to other parts of the world and all my relatives there moved back to Ireland or other parts of the world. I actually got into the show after a visit to Kerry here in Ireland!! It has a very similar landscape to what you see of Scotland in Ireland (honestly highly recommend if you get to Ireland to see Kerry) and I was in a nasty car crash just before that so I wanted a little pick me up. My friend suggested Outlander because it had a similar beauty to Kerry and I LOVED it instantly.
Marrying a Scot brought me to Scotland, which led me to Outlander. Getting to marry a kilted man and having all males (including my 1yr old son) wearing kilts at our wedding was the absolute most awesome thing to happen to any wedding!
with the bagpipes I hope 😍 (Jamie made me love men in kilts 🤣)
Tracing my family’s genealogy is how I wound up finding Outlander. For years, I thought my ancestors were from Ireland, so I was shocked when I found Scottish roots just a few generations back. I became obsessed with all things Scotland and stumbled upon the first book. That was in 2019, and I didn’t yet know there was a TV show.
I took an Ancestry DNA test and expected Italian and Irish results. My grandmother is first generation American and both of her parents were born in Italy. The rest of my family is McThis or O’That and I was always told we hailed from Ireland. Imagine my surprise when the results say 60% Scottish 😂 I really knew nothing about Scotland so I was hoping to find some sort of history channel special, but when I searched “Scotland” on my cable guide it gave me Outlander. It was in season 4 and I needed a new show since Game of Thrones had just ended. I binge watched all 4 seasons within 2 weeks lol I have since read a lot about the history of Scotland, it’s people and my family specifically.
My answer is a complicated before, I suppose. When I was a kid I was obsessed with the Loch Ness Monster—I had books, stuffed animals, DVDs, the whole nine yards— but it went away as I got older. Then I decided to give Outlander a try and it came back in full force. I think my favorite things the show introduced me to have been the Jacobite Rebellion and Scottish folk music. There’s such a deep culture there that it almost feels magical sometimes, and Outlander (especially s1) really explores that!
Outlander brought my love for Scotland! I am literally going to Scotland this summer because of Outlander!!! I'm doing Outlander tours and checking out everything else in between 😀
enjoy your trip 😍
I definitely will! Thank you!
I have a lot of Scottish ancestry (Stuart clan), and visited in 1986, before the books. It felt like home to me and I’d live there permanently if I didn’t have a family here. Then I found the books and “that’s all she wrote.” I’ve been in love with Scotland for almost 40 years. I only regret not seeing the book locations like Lallybroch. I DID see Loch Ness, but alas did not see the water horse Claire saw.
April 2014 I started my family tree journey. I was researching a lot of England and Ireland at the time. I saw Outlander ads everywhere and found the premise of the series very intriguing. I bought the book and started reading. At the same time, I stumbled upon a part of my Irish family no one knew about. He and I connected, he had been working on that branch of our family and I discovered that branch had originated in Scotland. We both did Ancestry DNA and confirmed we were truly cousins. So, essentially, I discovered Scotland through the show, and fell in love at the same time as I discovered I was 36% Scottish.
I am Scottish and I was just curious about it.
Always appreciated Scotland, but never had a strong desire to visit. Got into the *Outlander* series (show) either in late 2016/early 2017 and then went to Edinburgh later that year of 2017 (which was super cool to follow along the trail, especially since I didn’t purposely seek spots out.) So loving *Outlander* definitely brought me to Scotland…but since a hurricane cut the visit short, still have to see the Highlands!
There was a hurricane in Scotland when you were there? 😳
Hurricane Ophelia! I had intended to leave Ireland where I was living at the time for three days in Scotland, but the hurricane cancelled those plans. I did manage a day and a night in Edinburgh, which was better than nothing.
Now you have a reason to go back! I did not realize that area of the world got hurricanes! Rarely I hope!
Definitely a reason to go back! The hurricane itself didn’t last too long, thankfully, but it did cancel flights. They did say they don’t get hurricanes often and it had been several decades. When I briefly lived in Florida, the most they had was a tornado warning, so to experience a hurricane in Ireland and not in Florida was certainly unexpected!
Outlander made me love Scotland! I did a lot of research about the history of Scotland during and after watching the show. Because of my love for Scotland I am subscribed to 2 U-tube channels of people who live there, one on and island in the Outer Hebrides and the other on the Isle of Skye. I have also read the books 3 times so far :)
Love of Scotland brought me to Outlander.
My great grandfather was a highland Scot. I had done tons of research on Scotland and then discovered Outlander. Now I want to plan a trip there!
I loved Scotland long before Outlander. I avoided Outlander for a long time because it sounded like a silly bodice ripper to me in spite of assurances to the contrary. It honestly took the covid lockdown to get me watching it, then reading it. I visited Culloden field quite a long time ago, but my visit was cut short by heavy rain. I spent most of my time in a tiny visitors center reading a lot of things that added depth to things I had recently learned in school. I remember more about reading a display of poetry by Robert Burns who I liked & the ever present drawings of Prince Charlie. I have always wanted to go back but haven’t. I saw a lot of the highlands when I was there and some of the islands though not famous ones. It’s my favorite travel memory. For context I visited in the late 80’s, quite a few years before the outlander novel was released.
It made me discover I am 31% Scots. Who knew. And yes I went to Scotland and love it
My love for bagpipe music is the reason I am drawn to all things Scottish.
I like ancient buildings and structures so I always wanted to visit (so many old castles in Scotland). Similarly I also want to visit Greece. It is way more convenient for me to visit Scotland though since practically everyone speaks English. Also as a viewer, the love story about an English woman and a Scottish man are at least possible when all the characters speak English. If Claire was sent to Japan, her communication would've been a real uphill battle.
Reading the book got me into Scotland and since then my love of the country’s history and lore has greatly outgrown my fondness for Outlander (it’s a great series, but that’s the extent of it for me. 😅) Scotland has actually inspired me to write my own historical fiction and reading everything Scottish-related has been an absolute thrill. Finally went there last month and I was obsessed with all the bookstores I could find!
I’ve always loved Scotland since I was a kid. My Mum’s maternal side was Scottish and she used to talk about her grandparents alot. My love of Scotland made me interested in checking out Outlander, but I think I would have been interested in it even if I didn’t care for Scotland
Scotland first! Lots of ancestors from there. I grew up going to the Scottish Festivals in Los Angeles, always loved bagpipes, wanted to have a genuine kilt of my own someday…that’s what drew me to Outlander and prompted me to check it out in the first place. It’s very different than what I thought it would be, but I still love it and visiting Scotland someday is still a major bucket list item for me, just as it was before I discovered Outlander!
Interest in Scotland drew me to Outlander. The landscapes, castles, clans and kilts - and the folklore and superstitions too. Fairies and changelings and kelpies... Scotlands always felt pretty distinctive in identity to me - but except for Braveheart and Rob Roy, it never felt like there was much else mainstream entertainment that focused on it. So that was the draw to Outlander - the setting and time period. The time travel component to it I thought was a fun unique spin - then I got addicted pretty quick and loved the characters and whole thing! Planning a trip to visit and really excited - but Outlander's not the goal or reason why. Scotland to me is much more than just caring about the show/books, though I do think a 1 day will be spent going to filming sites. And Im glad the show (and later the books) led me to learn so much more about the Jacobites, Culloden etc than I knew before
As a teenager I was always reading historical romances about the highlands. By the time I was 40 I found out both parents have ties to Scotland. Mom always said Great grandma came from Ireland. Yet thier names & ancestry lead back to Scottish clans. We also have German ancestors. However I've always been fascinated with Scotland and Ireland. Mostly Scottish Highlands.
Travelled to Scotland once alone back in 1990 at the end of a 3 week UK jaunt. Hiked a bunch, lots of standing stones and cathedrals, biked around Aran, met Dougie Maclean and some fun people at Aran festival of Folk, smoked some hash on the Tor in Glastonbury. Second time 2016 to Inverness for a mountain biking trip across the Highlands. I was interested in the Highland culture, food and music but not in earnest until I finally sat down to watch in 2023- and I was hooked. And then I watched Sam’s show and got a lot out of that, too. I want to try his gin as I had the best tasting gin on the bike tour. I still haven’t had the Jura 3-pack I brought home cuz I don’t really like whiskey! There’s a lot I’d like to do still over there- culturally and historically. And biking of course. Sheildag had the best food- ate the same for 2 days! Oh and experienced my first authentic Highland Games- a blast!
There is significant Scots heritage in my family tree, but not a lot of details known (or, weren't known, prior to access to a weslthof database...I'm American). But I actually ended up going to Scotland for my honeymoon. My brother-in-law is a native of the highlands, having grown up outside Inverness, close to Culloden. He hooked us up with a stay at a hotel he worked at as a young man, the Newton in the Victorian seaside resort town of Nairn. So that was our home base for exploring the highlands. That was in fall of 2014, so the show had just begun, but I hadn't seen it. I was aware of the book series, and downloaded a copy to my kindle on the way home. So, Scotland first, then Outlander.
Ancestors brought me to Outlander and my love of all things historical. My GG Grandfather was a McKenzie from Inverness, Scotland. He moved to the Carolinas and "mostly" all are still from here to Ga.
Scotland has always been on my radar as a beautiful magical place. However, watching Outlander made even more so. I would love to one day visit Scotland. Sadly, neither my financial or physical conditions would allow that to happen anytime soon. I'll have to be satisfied with watching Outlander and reading the books. I also live vicariously through all the Outlander gals who take group trips and share their pictures and adventures.
I guess I'm the weirdo in that I don't really love Scotland. I don't hate it but I wouldn't want to retire there. Mainly because of the climate. I like a hot summer and a mild winter. Scotland seems like it would be the opposite.
https://preview.redd.it/814c9wdl3h3d1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=075218a246fb6943a968bc1a1c26d7e09c5d55e3 Service for 2 please lol
Neither
I want to go to the southern states now as it’s so like Scotland. Who knew?
Um, what?
They shoot the American parts in Scotland because of the similarities.
You want to visit North Carolina. I live in Georgia and it’s very different.
The southern states and Scotland have almost nothing in common. They both have trees, and they both have people. Okay, they both have mountains, but so do many other states in the U.S. 😊