Outlander

Outlander (2014–2026) is a historical fantasy drama series developed by Ronald D. Moore, based on Diana Gabaldon’s book series of the same name. The television network behind Outlander is Starz, which broadcasts and streams the show. The series begins in 1945, when Claire Randall, a former Second World War nurse, is visiting Scotland with her husband Frank and is mysteriously transported back to 1743. There she becomes caught in the Jacobite world of the Scottish Highlands and meets Jamie Fraser, a young Highland warrior whose life becomes inseparable from her own. Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan star as Claire and Jamie, with Tobias Menzies, Graham McTavish, Duncan Lacroix, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin and many others appearing across the series. Outlander combines time travel, romance, historical drama, political conflict and adventure, moving from Scotland to France, the Caribbean and colonial America while keeping Claire and Jamie’s relationship at the centre of the story.

Outlander is strongly associated with Scotland, and many of its most recognisable locations were filmed there, even when the story later moves to other countries. Doune Castle near Stirling stands in for Castle Leoch, the seat of Clan MacKenzie, while Midhope Castle on the Hopetoun Estate is used as the exterior of Lallybroch, Jamie Fraser’s family home. Falkland in Fife doubles for 1940s Inverness in the early episodes, with the Covenanter Hotel used as Mrs Baird’s Guesthouse. Culross appears as the village of Cranesmuir, and its palace and streets give the series some of its most atmospheric early Scottish settings. Blackness Castle is used as Fort William, the headquarters of Black Jack Randall, while Linlithgow Palace stands in for Wentworth Prison. Other important Scottish locations include Highland Folk Museum as the MacKenzie village, Drummond Castle Gardens as the gardens of Versailles, Glasgow Cathedral as L’Hôpital des Anges in Paris, and the University of Glasgow and Kelvingrove Park for later material connected to Boston. The series also used locations outside Scotland as its story expanded: Prague and other Czech locations helped represent 18th-century Paris, South Africa stood in for the Caribbean, and parts of Scotland were later used to create North Carolina and Fraser’s Ridge. Even with this wider geography, Outlander’s strongest location identity remains Scottish. Castles, closes, villages, glens, lochs, palaces, forests and historic streets give the series its physical foundation, turning Scotland into both the literal setting of the early story and the emotional landscape that the characters keep returning to.