Outlander Tour In an RV

7 Day Outlander Tour In an RV

On your Outlander RV road trip to Scotland why not explore the beauty the countryside has to offer while taking in the sites that inspired the TV series and the Outlander book by Diana Gabaldon. It is easy to see why the directors of Outlander fell in love with Scotland and why it continues to inspire them, even the Gardens of the Palace of Versailles was filmed in Scotland. 

With our guide to the best outlander places to visit, you can immerse yourself in Claire and Jamie’s world.  This RV trip will allow you the freedom to travel and tour at your leisure, with our Outlander guide we aim to take you back in time with our guide to the best Scottish historic attractions, learn about some of Scotland’s ancestral past whilst you connect with the characters Jamie and Claire and immerse yourself into their world with some of the most stunning locations along the way.  

The Outlander Tour Guide can be used in conjunction with our West coast guide, we have used our experience to create a route which in our opinion takes in the most scenic areas available in a motorhome, for the full route click on this link https://www.scottishtourer.co.uk/exploring/west-coast-route

Night 1

Start your Outlander holiday in Edinburgh, Stay in the area east of the city, in Tantallon Caravan Park in North Berwick or Belhaven or Thurston Manor at Dunbar. Both towns have a good train service to Edinburgh, so you do not have the hassle of parking and can enjoy the city and the countryside. Edinburgh is a city steeped in Scottish History with so many places to visit you might want to stay longer than one night.

Bakehouse Close

Just off Edinburgh royal Mile, this preserved close is the setting where Claire and Jamie are reunited after years of being separated and takes place outside his print shop.

Palace of Holyroodhouse

Things to look out for here are the portraits of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the great gallery and the Queen’s bedroom chamber.

Hopetoun House

On the outskirts of Edinburgh, this beautiful stately home dates back to the 17th century, with house tours available where you can immerse yourself in the elegance of the Georgian era within the stunning house or enjoy a woodland walk.  Hopetoun House has been used for several film shoots, “The Red Drawing Room” was used to film the setting of the home of the Duke of Sandringham and the courtyard behind the stable tearoom has been used regularly as the setting of the Parisian street.

Midhope Castle

Also, within the Hopetoun Estate is Midhope Castle which dates back to the 15th century although it appears intact from the outside the interior is derelict.  Midhope castles fictional name is “Lallybroch”, is the home of the Jamie Fraser.

Night 2

Travel towards Inverness, I would recommend stopping at the Blair Atholl campsite there is some lovely walks, and the campsite is beautiful and clean.  Then tomorrow you can make your way toward Kinloch Rannoch and visit Craigh na Dun and then stop at Newtonmore at the Highland Folk Museum. 

Craigh na Dun

This is where it all began for Claire at the standing stones on the top of the hill, Craigh na Dun this is where she is transported back to 1743 and the start of the Outlander story.  However I should mention there are no actual standing stones here at the site at Rannoch Moor/Kinloch Rannoch - Diana Gabaldon’s inspiration is said to have come from either the standing stones on the Isle of Lewis or Clava Cairns near Inverness – however just off the road near Kinloch Rannoch there is a small notice on the gate letting you know the actual site of the film location. 

Highland Folk Museum

If you continue up the A9 towards Inverness, the next place of interest is The Highland Folk Museum at Newtonmore.  This open-air museum exhibits how highlanders live from the 1950s all the way back to the 1700s, you can wander through the village and the historically furnished building meeting the actors in period clothing, this really does feel like you have gone back in time.  The museums authentically built village was used to film scenes from season 1, where Jamie and Claire visited to collect the taxes for clan MacKenzie, some of the staff on site were there when filming Outlander and are happy to share their experience.

Night 3

There is an abundance of activities and places to stay in and around the Aviemore area plus, plus you will find lots of local amenities and places to eat out.  Then tomorrow you can make your way to Inverness to visit the Battlefield of Culloden.

Battlefield of Culloden

Continuing north our road trip takes us to Inverness where we find the Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre – The battle of Culloden took place in the Spring of 1746 between the British Army and the Jacobite forces, this was a voracious battle 1600 men lost their lives with 1500 of them belonging to the Jacobite Army.  This site is steeped in Scottish History, and the Battle of Culloden Visitor centre preserves the battlefield and the memorials and is well worth a visit for any Outlander fan. In season 2 the sounds of the battle can be heard as Jamie says goodbye to Claire and back in the 1960’s Claire is seen by the gravestone which marks the mass grave of the men who died. 

Clava Cairns

The Clava Cairns is only a few miles away from the Culloden battlefield and is a bronze age cemetery, the Clava Cairns stone circle and burial ground date back over 4000 years.  It is thought that the standing stones here inspired the “Craigh na Dun” the fictional standing stones in the outlander book.  Craigh na Dun is where the ancient standing stone circle is set in the Outlander show, it is here where Claire travels from 1945 to 1743. At the site in Kinloch Rannoch Polystyrene standing stones are moulded and erected on-site at the top of the hill.  

Night 4 & 5

Now your halfway through your Outlander Holiday, I would recommend following our west coast route and making the best of what Scotland’s history has to offer. Staying at Ullapool night 5 and making your way down the West Coast towards Fort William.  Don’t miss Eilean Donan Castle, voted as one of Scotland’s best castles and one of the most pictured this castle sits off the mainland and is accessed via a long bridge.  

Also not to be missed is the Glenfinnan monument and visitor centre, enjoy a cup of tea and scone in the café while remembering those who gave their lives to the Jacobite cause.  The monument stands at18 meters high on top of which stands alone Scotsman in his kilt enjoying the sweeping views of the glen around him. 

Glen Coe National Park

From Inverness make your way across to the west coast and enjoy the drive down through Glen Coe to Fort William – Scotland outdoor Capital. Glen Coe is perhaps Scotland’s most famous Glens.  Glen Coe features in the opening credits of every series of Outlander that’s aired and with its stunning scenery, it’s easy to see why. Glen Coe national park has rangers where you can join them in a land rover safari and get up close with nature, there is the potential to climb one or all of the eight Munros s in the area but if that not your cup of tea then there is a café and visitor centre for you to relax in and learn more about the work of the Glen Coe National Park. 

Blackness Castle

Blackness Castle although situated in Linlithgow was used to represent Fort William in Outlander, this impressive castle is shaped like a ship, and known as the ship that never sailed has been used by royalty, as a prison and as a weapons store. This was the headquarters for Blackjack Randall, and it is here that Jamie’s father dies after watching his son being tortured, the scene of Claire being rescued by Jamie is also shot here at Blackness Castle.  The castle had to undergo some significant renovations to host the outlander film crew and was closed for 2 months to allow the alterations and filming to take place.

Night 6

Stirling is a good spot for your last night its only 45 minutes from Perth so you can ensure you can have fun exploring Doune Castle before you think about returning the motorhome in the afternoon. 

Doune Castle

Doune Castle situated near Stirling, this will bring you back to Perth and this will be the last stop for our motorhome tour.  Doune Castle was known as Castle Leoch and was home to the MacKenzie Clan.   When you visit, I’m sure you will recognise many areas of this castle from different scenes in Outlander as the courtyard, great hall, kitchens (although replica kitchen has to be built offset) and the surrounding areas were all used. 

The beauty about choosing a motorhome as your mode of transport is that your outlander holiday will only be part of a fantastic tour as there is so much to see and do in Scotland, form the heritage and history of Scotland to outdoor sports and exploring nature.  The motorhome itself will provide you with a very comfortable hotel room on wheels, all you will need to bring is clothing as everything else will be supplied.  So at the end of a busy day, the satellite navigation will direct you to a wild camp spot where you can pull out your picnic seats and enjoy a barbeque and a glass of wine as you unwind with your Outlander book in the Scottish countryside.