The scenes where
The Callanish standing stones, or Calanais as they're known in Scottish Gaelic, are located on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides archipelago. According to Historic Environment Scotland, the 5,000-year-old stone circle was "an important place for ritual activity for at least 2,000 years."
As the stones used in Outlander are a temporary replica constructed for shooting scenes, these themselves cannot be visited, but the filming locations used in the series can be visited, alongside the historical sites of Clava Cairns and the Callanish Stones.
INVERNESS AREA
Situated in Glen Urquhart (8 miles west of Drumnadrochit) is the Corrimony chambered cairn surrounded by a circle of 11 standing stones. Robert Pollock has a guide to this site. Six miles east of Inverness are the Clava Cairns (also known as Balnuaran of Clava).
According to Diana Gabaldon, the author of the books the show is based on, Fraser's Ridge is located "up near Boone and Blowing Rock." But scenes set in the U.S. are primarily filmed in Scotland, and Scottish woods stand in for northwest North Carolina for much of filming.
Is Lallybroch a real place? Yes, my friends, Lallybroch from the Outlander novels and series is REAL. The real Lallybroch can be found at Midhope Castle just 30 minutes drive outside of Edinburgh in South Queensferry. Midhope Castle, Lallybroch or Brach Tuarach, can be found on the wider Hopetoun Estate.
Used for the site of Fraser's Ridge, Hill of Row appears in Outlander from season 4 onwards as the iconic home of Claire and Jamie in North Carolina.
Unfortunately for those loyal viewers seeking to see Craigh na Dun in real-life, it's a fictional place, so there's not an exact real life location to plan a trip around.
“The history/historical detail in the books is as accurate as history is—i.e., what people wrote down wasn't always either complete or accurate, but they did write it down,” she tells Parade.com exclusively.
Midhope Castle as Lallybroch
Also known as Broch Tuarach, Lallybroch scenes were filmed at the striking Midhope Castle, which is located on the Hopetoun Estate – not too far from Edinburgh. This 16th century tower house is a category A listed building, and features five storeys and a garret.
Well, according to some sources, the character was not based on any real person from the Jacobite era, unlike other characters on the show. Outlander featured some real figures including the Duke of Sandringham (Simon Callow) and Bonnie Prince Charlie (Andrew Gower).
Although Jamie Fraser wasn't a real person, he was inspired by a real person. Gabaldon said that she developed the character after reading the book Prince in the Heather by Eric Linklater. In the book, Linklater describes how 19 wounded Jacobite soldiers hid in a farmhouse after the Battle of Culloden.
Mrs Baird's Bed & Breakfast
The Exterior of the hotel was featured in Outlander as Mrs Baird's Bed and Breakfast set in “Inverness” In Season one, episode one you can see Claire and Frank Randal arriving in the town to enjoy their second honeymoon along with the “ghost” gazing up at Claire!
Claire is about four years older than Jamie in Outlander
She was born on Oct. 20, 1918. It was 1945 when she fell through the stones, and she would have been turning 27 that year. In the show, she has already turned 27 by the time she falls through the stones as the series is set in October rather than May at first.
The way it was portrayed in Outlander was very historically accurate, aside from the fictional characters participating in the war. It was a bloody fight that the Jacobites quickly lost. The clans forever changed after this battle and things never went back to how they were before the war.
Outlander, the TV phenomenon that airs on Starz, is based on an eponymous book series by Diana Gabaldon. Although it is clearly a fictional show, some portions of the plot are actually rooted in historical truths.
Did you know? Culloden was the last pitched battle on British soil and, in less than an hour, around 1,300 men were slain – about 1,250 of them Jacobites.
The battle, which lasted only 40 minutes, resulted in bitter defeat for the heavily outnumbered Jacobites. Some 1,000 of the Young Pretender's army of 5,000 weak and starving Highlanders were killed by the 9,000 Redcoats, who lost only 50 men.
Soon after Culloden, laws were passed that banned Highlanders from wearing clan colors or bearing arms. The Gaelic language was marginalized by officialdom. Clans lost land and power. The clan system suffered irreparable harm.
Fraser's Ridge is a tract of land in western North Carolina located about 10 miles from Blowing Rock.
Estimated location of the fictional Fraser's Ridge in the western part of North Carolina. This location was the historic epicenter of Scottish migration during the Colonial era. Fayetteville was once known as Cross Creek, mentioned in Drums of Autumn and The Fiery Cross.
Doune Castle ('Castle Leoch')
The exterior of Doune Castle was used in Outlander as the fictional 'Castle Leoch' - home to Clan Mackenzie in the Scottish Highlands. Visitors to Doune Castle today are invited to explore the 14th-century courtyard, 100ft gatehouse and well-preserved great hall.
As a matter of fact, the series isn't filmed in the U.S. at all. According to TV Insider, Outlander is primarily filmed in Scotland with additional shots taken in Cape Town, South Africa and Prague, Czech Republic.
But first the Frasers headed to River Run — a fictional plantation belonging to Jamie's wealthy Aunt Jocasta, who is supposed to live beside the Cape Fear River just outside Cross Creek. In the real world, Cross Creek and nearby Campbellton eventually became Fayetteville.
Dunure Beach & Castle – Ayr Harbour & The Silkies' Isle
The small village of Dunure on Scotland's west coast was used for a number of scenes in Outlander.