Flights, camera, action: Set-jetting in Scotland
Blockbusting spy thrillers, wizarding adventures, heart-rending romances… Scotland’s cities, castles and countryside have played lead roles in them all. Prepare to be starstruck
From the enchanting capital of Edinburgh to the picture-perfect lakes, mountains and waterfalls of the Highlands, Scotland is prime for set-jetting. Scottish scenery is the star of many a classic movie—in fact, the country has been a backdrop in five of the top 30 grossing films of all time. What’s more, according to VisitScotland, 17% of visitors from the U.S. visit a film or TV location while on vacation. Here are our top spots to tick off.
A city to fall for in One Day
Edinburgh’s most recent starring role is in the new small-screen adaptation of David Nicholls’ hit novel One Day on Netflix. A graduation party is set in the courtyard of the university’s Old College; and the main characters hike up Arthur’s Seat (pictured top), the remains of an ancient volcano in Holyrood Park, the climbing of which is a firm fixture on the tourist trail. A pivotal scene of budding romance also takes place on the Vennel Steps off Grassmarket, a cheeky alleyway with perfect views of Edinburgh castle. Treat yourself to a stay in the iconic Balmoral Hotel.
Bond’s breathtaking drive in Skyfall
The 12-mile, single-track “James Bond Skyfall Rd.”—Google Maps has named it, it’s official—could be Scotland’s most beautiful road, and that’s a bold claim in a country overrun with beautiful roads. You might not drive it in an Aston Martin and you won’t spot Bond’s childhood home (for that was built on a set some 500 miles south at Pinewood Studios), but you will see herds of red deer, heather-strewn moors, the Buachaille Etive Mòr waterfall and Loch Etive, a lake stretching out to the ocean 30 miles away. Stay at Ballachulish Hotel in Glencoe. Incidentally, a plethora of other Bond movies have featured Scottish backdrops—Eilean Donan Castle (also in Highlander) is the MI6 headquarters in The World Is Not Enough, while the Cairngorms and Loch Laggan star as Norwegian forests and fjords in No Time to Die.
A Trainspotting tour
The trail of the seminal 1996 movie starring Ewan McGregor involves two cities and a train to the Highlands. Scenes were filmed on Edinburgh’s main drag, Princes Street, and by the Calton Street Bridge, as well as venues around Glasgow—including Cafe d’Jaconelli, a delightful vintage eatery selling homemade ice cream. The cast filmed in Rouken Glen Park, just outside the city (also used in another McGregor movie, Shallow Grave), while rural scenes were set at Corrour Railway Station, which is the highest and most remote train station in the U.K. On the West Highland Line from Glasgow to Fort William, you can only visit by train—because the nearest road is, oh, a mere 10-mile walk away.
Ewan McGregor’s guide to Scotland
The Hollywood star returns to the Highlands
On the trail of The Traitors
Filmed in and around the 19th-century Ardross Castle, the scenery in Peacock’s The Traitors is as much a star as those scheming contestants. You can’t stay unless you rent it with 40 of your closest friends, so try nearby Kincraig Castle Hotel for all your turret-dwelling desires. Explore the locations for the show’s challenges around Loch Glass in the shadows of Ben Wyvis mountain, where you can walk to the Pink House, an abandoned home on the shores, for highly Instagrammable scenes. The area is a great jumping-off point for the scenic North Coast 500 road trip. Plus, unlike much of the Highlands, it’s pleasingly accessible, being close to Inverness where the faithful and traitors stay (in the Courtyard by Marriott—because they don’t get to sleep in the castle, either).
Braveheart’s rugged landscape
Much of the Mel Gibson blockbuster about warrior William Wallace was, perplexingly, shot in Ireland, though the most sweeping, majestic of scenes simply had to be done in the Highlands. One location was the Mamores mountain range between Loch Leven and Glen Nevis—if climbing is your thing, try the formidable Ring of Steall, a 10-mile ridge wall. All that remains of what was a set for the village of Lanark is the Braveheart Car Park (actual, official name) at the foot of Ben Nevis, the U.K.’s highest mountain. Scenes inside Mornay’s castle were filmed in Edinburgh City Chambers, with a viewing gallery open to the public.
The Crown’s regal retreats
The Ardverikie Estate on Loch Laggan is a dead ringer for Balmoral, King Charles’ not-so-modest summer house, and, as such, makes regular appearances in Netflix series The Crown. Stay in one of their cottages or eco pods and visit Fort William, Glencoe and the Strathspey Steam Railway. Other locations include Keiss Harbour and Ackergill Tower on the North Coast 500 (depicting Mullaghmore and Classiebawn Castle in Ireland). In the final season, crew headed to the seaside golfing town of St. Andrews, where William and Kate met over a pint of cheap lager in the student union (possibly). Eat like a (future) king at Forgan’s restaurant and stay at the five-star Old Course Hotel.
2001: A Space Odyssey’s otherworldly loch
A location has to be seriously rugged and barren to pose as another planet—which is what the Isle of Harris did when it landed the part of Jupiter in the Stanley Kubrick sci-fi classic. The rocky ground on the shores of Loch Airigh was filmed (with colored filters) from small planes to appear like the planet’s surface. There might not really be interplanetary opportunities but there are stunning walks, trout fishing and chances for quiet solitude aplenty on this remote Hebridean island. Get to Harris on the ferry directly from Skye, or travel to Stornoway in Lewis (the top half of the same island) from beautiful Ullapool on the mainland, and drive south. Hotels are not plentiful but there are lodges and cottages for hire.
Harry Potter’s magical train line
Perhaps the most iconic Scottish backdrop of all is Glenfinnan Viaduct in the western Highlands. Take the Jacobite Steam Train—a worthy alternative, given the lack of an available Hogwarts Express—from Fort William to Mallaig to cross the viaduct. Nearby Loch Shiel stars as the Black Lake in the Harry Potter films The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Half-Blood Prince, while Hagrid’s hut was built in Clachaig Gully in Glencoe. In the same area, Ben Nevis was spotted in the background of many a Quidditch match and Steall Falls (reached by a moderate hike) features in scenes at the Quidditch World Cup.
Castle-hopping, Outlander style
Get your best sightseeing shoes on, because Starz time-traveling period drama Outlander seems to have featured almost every historical site in Scotland. Hopetoun House outside Edinburgh posed as Lallybroch, home of the Fraser clan, while Drummond Castle Gardens in Perthshire stood in for Versailles. Doune Castle (made famous in Monty Python and the Holy Grail) and Blackness Castle (from Hamlet) also appear. Outlander fans can also make a pilgrimage to the site of the battle of Culloden near Inverness (though the series’ scenes were filmed in Cumbernauld Glen near Glasgow). Touch House in Stirling posed as Culloden House—but you can stay in the real house, where Bonnie Prince Charlie spent the night before the battle, as it is now a hotel.
Lara Kilner
Writer
Lara Kilner is a lifestyle journalist who has contributed to The Times, The Telegraph, and more. She has traveled extensively through five continents, but her most memorable trip was the one on which she met her Malaysian husband.
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