In Search of Jamie Tour

Hopetoun is possibly Scotland’s grandest stately home, being the joint work of Sir William Bruce and the remarkable Adam family of architects (no finger clicks required). As such, it was the perfect candidate to house the scheming Earl of Sandringham. The interior, as well as parts of the grounds, were used in multiple scenes in Seasons 1 and 2.

Also on the Hopetoun Estate (close by, as the crow flies, but quite a drive) and of still more interest is Lallybroch itself. Sadly, Midhope Castle is in a state of considerable interior disrepair, but the outside is unmistakably Jamie’s (and Jenny’s) home base.

Whilst there is next to nothing to see of the historic Fort eponymous to Fort William, Blackness Castle (which was used as the filming location) is quite an impressive bastion of the 15th century, being still in use as an armaments depot by The Royal Navy as late as the First World War. See where Jamie’s poor back was laid bare and where he later sprang Claire from the nefarious Black Jack Randall. Bo’ness was central to the Industrial Revolution, and as a testimony to its locomotive history, the Bo’ness & Kinneil steam railway proved an ideal location for the tearful WWII farewell scenes between Frank and Claire in episode 1. Just a short hop over the River Forth we find ourself transported to Cranesmuir and particularly the home of Gilleas Duncan.

Home of George Bruce, a coal and salt merchant during the reign of James VI, Culross Palace and the village in which it sits is a perfect snapshot of a long bygone age and required little green-screening to recreate the village nearby Leoch.

Similarly unspoiled, although very different in character, is the village of Falkland, which stood for 1940s Inverness, though the feeling of antiquity within this chocolate box dream is of an earlier era altogether. See the guest house wherein Claire and Frank rekindled their marriage and the fountain where Frank spied a mysterious Jacobite gazing toward their window (a still unexplained phenomenon, as it seems until now that Jamie is not himself a traveller).

We wrap up at the French Abbey where Jamie convalesced following the savagery of Black Jack at Wentworth. Aberdour is itself perhaps Scotland’s oldest intact castle.

Not all attractions are opened year-round, but there are a host of other places to visit within easy striking distance of Edinburgh. Your guide will fill your day with experience, humour and expertise. *Adonis may be slightly out of shape.