THE tangled pipes, towering security fences, belching chimneys and sky-high flares that light up Grangemouth’s night sky may not sound like the ideal “must see” tourist destination.
And it might be just as hard to imagine the creepy Victorian psychiatric hospital in West Lothian, with its crumbling buildings and weed-covered grounds, competing with Scotland’s unspoiled Highlands, rugged coastline or historic castles.
However, a new campaign is set to put a string of unusual – and perhaps less than traditionally picturesque – locations on the tourist map, in the hope of cashing in on a screen tourism boom.
Inspired by the popularity of television series Outlander, which has seen tourists flock to see film locations for themselves, the new Film On Forth campaign will use locations that have appeared on the big and small screen to showcase Falkirk and West Lothian as a visitor destination.
Aided by £15,000 from national tourism body VisitScotland, the campaign will point screen tourists to historical sites such as Blackness Castle, Linlithgow Palace and Falkirk’s Callendar House – which have already seen huge rises in visitor numbers as a result of the “Outlander Effect” – along with some of the area’s more unusual film locations.
They include Grangemouth’s twisted pipes and concrete chimneys, which feature fleetingly in the background as Hollywood A-lister Brad Pitt races to escape zombies in World War Z.
Also on the list is crumbling Bangour Village Hospital in Dechmont, used as a location for producer George Clooney’s 2005 movie, The Jacket.
Blackness Castle has been seen in Outlander
For fans of Still Game, the campaign points out the humble surroundings of The Red Hoose pub in Dunipace, which played the part of a secluded island hostelry visited by Jack and Victor in their 2007 Hootenany episode of Still Game.
Spots along the Union and Forth and Clyde canals in Falkirk, which have featured on BBC’s Great Canal Journeys, and sections of the Antonine Wall at Roughcastle, near the Falkirk Wheel, which have featured in documentaries, are also included.
Screen tourism has ballooned in recent years, with almost one in five visitors saying they were inspired to travel to Scotland after seeing the country’s landscapes and heritage on the screen.
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The Film On Forth campaign will include digital itineraries, maps and videos spotlighting the locations, while there are plans to offer businesses and groups advice on how to promote their on-screen connections and boost their chances of becoming potential filming locations.
Backing for the joint Visit Falkirk and Visit West Lothian initiative has come from VisitScotland’s Growth Fund, which helps nation, regional and sectoral tourism groups across Scotland deliver marketing campaigns designed to boost tourist numbers.
The Union and Forth and Clyde canals in Falkirk have featured on BBC’s Great Canal Journeys
Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Film and TV influences are a big draw for visitors coming to Scotland, and they can play a key role in ensuring the benefits of tourism are spread across Scotland.
“This guide will help encourage tourists to venture beyond our cities and visit places such as Falkirk and West Lothian, where major productions are filmed.
“We recognise that film and TV-influenced tourism brings a significant boost to Scotland’s economy, creates jobs, and enhances our international reputation.”
Among the most popular location for film-makers is Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway, with its traditional railway platform and working steam engines.
It has appeared in The Railway Man, starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman, Silent Witness, and various BBC dramas, including Case Histories and 2018 film Tell It To The Bees.
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However, trainspotters of a different kind are also catered for: Trainspotting 2 featured scenes filmed at Beecraigs Country Park, near Linlithgow.
Visitor numbers to attractions used in the Outlander series have soared by 67 per cent since 2013, from 887,000 to 1.5 million.
Since the show was first broadcast in 2014, Linlithgow Palace in West Lothian has seen a 49.69% increase in visitor numbers, while Blackness Castle, near Bo’ness, has seen a 252.6% increase.
Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, leader of Falkirk Council, said: “The Falkirk area has seen a huge growth in tourism, but we are keen to ensure we sustain this growth.
“Highlighting and promoting the wide range of film locations within our areas helps us reach out to a different market and bring in more visitors to the area.”
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