FROM 'The 39 Steps' to the Harry Potter series they have promoted images of Scotland to cinema-goers across the globe for near a century.
Now the country's popular movie locations are being captured in a book which will be available free to domestic and overseas tourists.
Set in Scotland: A Film Fan’s Odyssey, contains details of more than 100 films shot in Scotland over the decades.
Featuring everything from Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps in 1935, which includes the Forth Bridge, through Chariots of Fire (see recreation below) and Gregory’s Girl to the Harry Potter films and Prometheus, right up to 2015 movies Macbeth and Sunset Song, shot in part in Skye and Aberdeenshire, Set in Scotland is aimed at visitors eager to follow in the footsteps of the film stars.
There are special sections on James Bond and Bollywood, as well as honorary mentions for popular television series such as Outlander, Downton Abbey and Balamory.
The book will be available free in VisitScotland information centres throughout the country, in branches of Waterstones and for download at visitscotland.com from today. The agency also said the book would tap into the growing trend of set-jetting, visit the locations of well-known movies.
Culture secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Scotland’s towns, cities and countryside play their own show-stealing parts in the stories being told here for production firms across the world.”
Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland, said: “The guide serves as a fantastic way to introduce visitors to our country’s many scene-stealing roles on the silver screen. It is a handy and fun way for people to enjoy a set-jetting holiday in Scotland, to follow in the footsteps of the stars and to find out why this country has inspired generations of film-makers.”
David Martin-Jones, professor of film studies at Glasgow University, provided specialist research for the book.
He said: “Scotland has provided unforgettable settings for some of the most iconic moments in film history. This helpful guide will allow visitors to experience these memorable locales first hand, turning memories of the silver screen into reality.”
Braveheart in 1995 led to a leap in the number of annual visitors to the Wallace Monument in Stirling from 30,000 a year to nearly 200,000 in 1996, while The Da Vinci Code had a huge effect on Rosslyn Chapel. Visitor numbers increased by 72 per cent, from 68,603 in 2004 to 118,151 in 2005. In 2006, following the release of the film visitor numbers reached 175,053.
From June to August 2015, Doune Castle saw the biggest increase in visitor numbers of all Historic Environment Scotland properties on the back of its use as a location for hit US TV show Outlander.
In June 2015, Scotland was voted Best Cinematic Destination by readers of USA Today in an online poll, while research shows that 40 per cent of visitors to the UK are inspired to visit locations after seeing them on film or on television.
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