Outlander Filming Locations Near Inverness: What Was Filmed and What Inspired It
The short answer. Very little near Inverness was filmed for Outlander. On screen, 1940s Inverness is Falkland in Fife and Castle Leoch is Doune Castle near Stirling. Around Inverness you find the places the story was built on: the stones behind Craigh na Dun, the battlefield, Castle Leod and Beauly. The nearest real filming location on VisitScotland’s printed film map is the Highland Folk Museum at Newtonmore.
That changes what you are booking. A trip here is a trip to the story, not the set, and the story’s places are real, old and mostly free. They sit on the same roads as the other Highland tours from Inverness, so you can see most of them in a single day.
Outlander places near Inverness at a glance
| Place | In Outlander | Filmed there? | Entry | Days that stop there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clava Cairns | Inspired the stones of Craigh na Dun | No | Free, open all year | Highland Explorer, Go Highlands, Hame, Rabbie’s Glen Affric |
| Culloden Battlefield | Where Claire and Jamie say goodbye | No, a book location | Paid; in the fare on the Rabbie’s Glen Affric day | Highland Explorer, Go Highlands, Hame, Rabbie’s Glen Affric |
| Castle Leod | Inspired Castle Leoch | No; Doune Castle was filmed | £14 on open days only | Hame private day |
| Beauly Priory | Fraser country | No, a book location | Free, open all year | Highland Explorer, Hame, Rabbie’s Glen Affric |
| Fort George | Built after Culloden | No | £10 online, £11 in person | Hame private day |
| Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle | Book locations | No, a book location | Urquhart £14 online, £16 in person | Highland Explorer, Go Highlands |
| Glen Affric | The books’ wilderness | No, a book location | Free | Rabbie’s Glen Affric |
| Highland Folk Museum, Newtonmore | Period crofts, Season 1 | Yes, Season 1 | By donation; parking £3 | None from Inverness |
The day that reaches the most of them for the least
The Highland Explorer day stops at Culloden, the cairns, Beauly and Urquhart Castle in nine hours, from $72 per person.
Filmed or written? Where Outlander was really shot
VisitScotland’s printed film map covers seasons 1 to 4, and it places no filming location in the Inverness area. The Inverness you see on screen is Falkland, in Fife: it was dressed as 1940s Inverness for Season 1 and as 1960s Inverness for Seasons 2 and 4. Castle Leoch, the MacKenzie seat, is Doune Castle near Stirling. Glen Coe runs through the Season 1 opening credits.
What Inverness has instead is the book: VisitScotland calls the city “where Claire’s adventure begins”. It is one of the things about the Highlands that surprise first-time visitors.
Did you know? Mrs Baird’s Guesthouse, in the screen Inverness of Season 1, is the Covenanter Hotel in Falkland. You can stay in Fife and see “Inverness” without ever coming north.
The Outlander locations near Inverness, one by one
1. Clava Cairns, the stones behind Craigh na Dun
Craigh na Dun is fictional. VisitScotland says its stones were inspired by the Clava Cairns outside Inverness and by the Calanais stones on Lewis. You can walk straight in: Clava Cairns is free, open all year, and signposted from the B9091, 300 yards east of the battlefield.
2. Culloden Battlefield, where the story’s rising ends
The battle was fought just east of Inverness on 16 April 1746, and in the books this is where Claire and Jamie say their goodbyes. Culloden Battlefield was not filmed; it is the real place. Highland Explorer and Hame both give you an hour and a half here. Admission is paid, and the Rabbie’s Glen Affric day is the one that puts it in the fare: the Culloden page sets out the ticket and the visitor centre.
3. Castle Leod, the real seat behind Castle Leoch
Castle Leod, at Strathpeffer, is the seat of Clan Mackenzie and the Earl of Cromartie. The castle’s own history calls it the real-life inspiration for Castle Leoch. Diana Gabaldon suggested it as the filming location and planted a rowan tree in the grounds, but the cameras went to Doune. The private Hame day stops here for half an hour, and the ticket is not in the fare.
4. Beauly and its priory, in Fraser country
The Frasers of Lovat, Jamie’s real-life clan, are centred on the River Beauly. Beauly Priory was founded in about 1230 for Valliscaulian monks, one of three such priories in Scotland, and you can walk round it free at any time of year. Neither VisitScotland’s film map nor the priory’s own page lists it as a filming location. Highland Explorer and Rabbie’s give you an hour in the village.
5. Fort George, the army’s answer to Culloden
Fort George was built after the battle as a secure base for George II’s army, took 22 years to finish, and is still a working military base. It has no screen role. It is on the Hame route because it closes the story that Culloden opens, and you get an hour inside.
6. Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle
Both are VisitScotland book locations. Highland Explorer gives you 70 minutes at Urquhart Castle. Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle covers the castle’s hours and its sell-out rule.
7. Glen Affric, the books’ wilderness
VisitScotland says Glen Affric was used to reflect the wilderness in the books. The Glen Affric and Culloden day gives you 45 minutes in the pinewood there, on a nine-hour day that also stops at Culloden, the cairns and Beauly Priory.
8. The Highland Folk Museum, the one that was filmed
This is the only place in the region on the film map. The museum’s replica turf-roofed crofts at Newtonmore were used for Season 1 period scenes, including Dougal collecting the rent. Entry is by donation, and no Outlander day from Inverness goes there.
Castle Leod opens on set days only
Useful tip: check the calendar before you plan around it. In 2026 the castle opened on set dates between 23 April and 13 September, 2pm to 6pm, last entry 4.45pm. Adults pay £14 at the car-park booth on the day. The last 2026 open day has passed, so for the rest of this year a tour stop there is the outside of the building. The castle has not yet published its 2027 dates. Private tours need two weeks’ notice.
Which Outlander tour from Inverness reaches which sites
- Highland Explorer, the Loch Ness, Outlander and Urquhart Castle day: nine hours from 15 Union Street, from $72 per person, rated 4.9 from 1,852 reviews. Culloden, the cairns, Beauly and Urquhart. The castle entry and a 30-minute cruise are paid options, and you buy the Culloden exhibition on site.
- Go Highlands: five to seven hours from the Starbucks car park on Rose Street, from $187 per person. An hour each at the cairns, Culloden and Loch Ness, with a dram if you want one. Urquhart and Culloden entry are both extra.
- Hame, private: eight hours, $860 for up to three, from your hotel or the cruise port. Culloden, the cairns, Fort George, Castle Leod, Beauly Priory and Wardlaw Mausoleum. Entry tickets are extra.
- Rabbie’s, Glen Affric and Culloden: nine hours, $87, sixteen seats, and the Culloden admission is inside the fare.
Highland Explorer and Go Highlands are among the Loch Ness tours from Inverness, and the Hame day is one of the private tours from Inverness. If the per-group price gives you pause, read whether a private tour from Inverness is worth it. The shared days leave from two different streets, so check where Inverness tours leave from before the morning.
Outlander days built around the stones and the battlefield
Full-Day Outlander Experience in the Scottish Highlands from Inverness
Eight private hours across the real Outlander sites, with hotel or cruise-port pick-up.
From $860 per group, up to 3
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Loch Ness and Outlander Sites Tour from Inverness
An hour each at Clava Cairns, Culloden and Loch Ness, with a dram on board.
From $187 per person
Check AvailabilityThe tickets the Outlander fares leave out
- Urquhart: it can sell out online, and then the castle sells none at the gate.
- Fort George: last entry is an hour before closing.
- Culloden: paid, except on the Rabbie’s day.
Outlander near Inverness: common questions
Was Outlander filmed in Inverness?
Where is Craigh na Dun?
Can you go inside Castle Leod?
Which Outlander tour from Inverness covers the most sites?
Is the Culloden ticket included on Outlander tours?
Read the books on the drive, stand at the stones, and let Fife keep the set. Compare every day on these roads at Inverness Scotland Tours.
Outlander days to book next
Loch Ness, Outlander & Urquhart Castle from Inverness
The lowest per-person fare of the Loch Ness days, with the castle entry and the cruise offered as extras at checkout rather than built in.
From $72 per person
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Glen Affric & Culloden Tour from Inverness Including Admissions
The Culloden ticket inside the fare, plus the pinewood at Glen Affric and Beauly Priory.
From $87 per person
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