The ‘Outlander effect’ has seen Scottish locations that either inspired author Diana Gabaldon’s books or were used as backdrops to the series enjoy big increases in day visits.
As the first series of Outlander is released on DVD and blu-ray, Scottish locations associated with the hit television show are reporting a surge in visitor numbers.
National Trust for Scotland (NTS) locations such as Doune Castle near Stirling and Culross in Fife, are among the places being promoted in VisitScotland’s new publication, Set in Scotland: A Film Fan’s Odyssey, which was released this week.
NTS has reported increases in day visits between September 2014 to September 2015, compared to the previous 12-month period.
Falkland – the Fife village which portrays 1940s Inverness in the first episode - has seen visits rise by12 per cent; Preston Mill – the doocot in East Lothian which features as a backdrop in several scenes - is 26 per cent up; Culross – the Fife village used as the fictional village of Cranesmuir - is 9 per cent up; and Culloden – the historic Highlands battlefield which plays a key role in the books - is 19 per cent up.
Meanwhile, Historic Scotland has already reported a 44 per cent surge in summer visitor numbers at Doune Castle, which has a starring role as Castle Leoch, while Blackness Castle in West Lothian, which stands in for the stronghold of Fort William, has seen a 31 per cent rise.
Anna Rathband, Filming Manager at National Trust for Scotland, said: “Outlander is an excellent example of how film tourism has benefited the Trust and the properties that either inspired the story or were used as backdrops have all seen an increase in visitors compared to last year.
"We worked closely with Sony to produce a digital guide to our properties that have Outlander connections and we hope this will continue to encourage visitors to explore the real places behind the series.”
Stephen Duncan, Director of Commercial and Tourism at Scotland’s new public heritage body, Historic Environment Scotland, said: “2015 has seen a record-breaking summer season for many of our fantastic heritage attractions and the ‘Outlander effect’ has certainly played a part, particularly at Doune Castle following its starring role as Castle Leoch in the TV series.
“Over the summer, Doune reported three back-to-back record breaking months and an overall surge of 44 per cent in visitors, whilst Blackness Castle, which stood in for the stronghold of Fort William, saw a 31 per cent rise. Other sites featured in filming have also seen increased footfall, and the response from the general public on our digital channels has been phenomenal – showcasing how Scotland’s history continues to enthral and engage people from around the world in new and different ways.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here