Hopetoun House
If you prefer to get married in a church, and Glencorse Old Kirk was not to your tastes, or you needed a venue that could seat more guests, try Tibbermore Church, which played host to Claire and Geillis’s trial after they were accused of being witches while Jamie was away performing a task for the Laird MacKenzie. Even though the church played host to one of the ugliest scenes in the show, it also emphasized the true friendship that had developed between the two ladies and many a Jamie fan were swooning upon his late but timely arrival and the declaration that he would defy all—including God—to protect his wife, as he rescued her from the whipping leading to her execution. (What girl doesn’t want such devotion? *swoon*)
Tibbermore Church
Tibbermore Church has a fascinating history. The earliest monument in the church was a large stone tablet inserted into the aisle wall in 1631 by Sir James Murray of Tibbermore, as a gift to his family. Then in 1632 the church was significantly rebuilt when the local lairds altered it to the medieval east-west alignment, proving a church was dedicated to St Mary during the late middle ages. In 1789 James Stobie, architect and surveyor, removed an aisle at the east end and stretched the church 10 feet eastwards, making other changes including adding a new door and porch on the west gable, installing new galleries at each end to add extra seating, and rearranging pews to face the pulpit, which now was positioned in the traditional Scottish Presbyterian location between the central windows. The south windows were made symmetrical and then in 1810 a north aisle added transformed the church into a late T-plan making it capable of seating 600 warm bodies. In 1874 the present pulpit (with its rarely-surviving stenciled decoration) and the horseshoe seating with recessed celtic crosses were installed (the seats in the galleries and aisle were left alone), and in 1920 a marble First World War I memorial was added as well as stained glass inserted into the two central windows to commemorate women who served in the War.
Tibbermore Church Interior
While the church is in serious need of repair, many of these fascinating alterations could be seen during the witch trial scene, following which Claire reveals her remarkable origins to Jamie—who believes her! They head to his ancestral family home of Lallybroch (also known as Broch Tuarach), which is represented in Outlander by Midhope House. Unfortunately, the 16th century tower house near Edinburgh is in serious disrepair, so if you visit it, please admire from a distance, as the interior is not entirely safe.
Linlithgow Castle
Linlithgow Palace, on the other hand, in West Lothian, might be ruined, but it is entirely safe to explore. Once the royal seat of the Stewart Kings of Scotland, and the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots, the 15th century site was used to represent Wentworth Prison, where Jamie is taken to Jack Randall and abused after he is captured outside Lallybroch. Maintained by the Scotland Trust, this majestic venue would make for an intimate outing with your significant other, despite its representation in the TV show as the location of a brutal prison. In reality the Palace hosts many a marital occasion with couples saying “I do” in an open air ceremony in the Great Hall, or beneath the Undercroft’s cosy, vaulted ceiling in the palace’s charming courtyard.
Linlithgow Castle Interior
After you have proposed to your significant other, or maybe even married them, go visit Balgonie Castle, which was built in 1296-1300, and located on the South Bank of the River Leven, several miles east of Glenrothes, Fife, in Scotland. Also mostly in a ruined state, the castle is where Claire goes when she left Wentworth Prison to plan Jamie’s escape, and excepting the recently-restored keep and tower (the later of which is used for residential purposes), the rest of the castle are roofless ruins and considered a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Aberdour Castle, on the other hand (also in Fife), is arguably one of the two oldest standing stone castles in Scotland. Built around 1200, the beautiful building, with a stunningly well-preserved early 17th century painted ceiling, stands in for the Abbey of St. Anne de Beaupré in the show, where Claire takes Jamie to recover from the horrific abuse he suffered at the hands of Jack Randall. While obviously not a monastary in real life, you can see why the location scouts of the show thought the castle a soothing and romantic setting for the reacquainting of Jamie and Claire, as you stroll through its beautiful gardens and halls.
Aberdour Castle
If it’s a sea change you and your partner are after, then visit the Troon coastline and stroll hand in hand, barefoot, down the sandy beach in the exact location Claire, Jamie, and his mentor, Murtagh, leave Scotland for France in order to sabotage the Jacobite Rebellion’s efforts, to prevent the slaughter Claire knows will happen if the Battle of Culloden occurs. Or alternately, you can visit Historic Dysart Harbour (also, yet again, in Fife), and the Reaper Tall Ship, which is berthed nearby, both of which were used in the scenes depicting the trio’s arrival in France.
Dysart Harbour
Dysart Harbor was once part of a wider estate owned by the St. Clair or the Sinclair family, whom were responsible for gaining burgh of barony status for the town towards the end of the 15th century. Following a swift decline of the town’s harbor traffic in 1930, caused by the closure of the Lady Blanch Pit, the harbor and attached town were amalgamated into the royal burgh of Kirkcaldy under an act of parliament. It was only through the protests of local residents that part of the historic town (specifically the 16th and 18th century houses of Pan Ha’ opposite the harbor) were protected and preserved for future generations.
Outlander Season 2
Dysart Harbour isn’t the only Scottish location that doubles for a French location in the second season of Outlander. Located on the banks of River Teith, eight miles from the historic town of Sterling, Deanston Distillery stands in for the winery in France that Jamie’s cousin owns and loans to Jamie as a place to operate from while he is staying in France. Known (in real life) as being the largest distillery owned by Scotch whisky producer Distell Group Limited, Deanston Distillery started its life in 1785 as a cotton mill designed by Sir Richard Arkwright, and it wasn’t until 1966 it was converted into producing whisky which is handmade by ten local craftsmen, unchill-filtered, natural colored and bottled at a hearty strength of 46.3% ABV.
Claire also works while the couple are in France, at L’Hôpital des Anges, a charity hospital run by the imperious Mother Hildegarde. But there is no need for you and your partner to sail over the Channel to go on a date at any of these season two France-set Outlander locations, because the hospital is represented in the show by the gorgeous Glasgow Cathedral (also called the High Kirk of Glasgow, or
Glasgow Cathedral
St. Kentigern’s, or even St Mungo’s Cathedral), which is located beside the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Built from the late 12 century onwards, it is an exemplary example of Scottish Gothic architecture that served as the seat of the Bishop and later the Archbishop of Glasgow. It is also one of only few medieval churches (and the only one on the Scottish mainland) which amazingly survived the Reformation without being unroofed.
Glasgow Cathedral Interior
When you can tear yourself away from the ornate steeples and breathtaking stained glass windows of the Glasgow Cathedral (perhaps yet another great venue to get engaged or married?), travel to the Drummond Castle in Perthshire, to visit ornate formal gardens and the orchard that Outlander used as a very convincing representation of the gardens at the Palace of Versailles. Jamie and Claire’s continued efforts to sabotage the Jacobite’s ability to obtain funds to build a credible army for the Bonnie Prince Charles are thwarted time and time again, and it is at those gardens they are confronted by the reappearance of Captain Randall.
Drummond Castle Gardens
Seen as one of Scotland’s—and even Europe’s—most important formal gardens, the Drummond Castle estate dates back to the 17th century, with the gardens being redesigned and terraced in the 19th century and then replanted in the 1950’s. While you take a stroll with your partner through the many hedgew
ays, or enjoy a picnic in the orchard, take note to spot the ancient yew hedges and remaining beech tree that was planted by Queen Victoria, commemorating her visit in 1842.
And if you are not Outlander-ed out by the time you have travelled to all these gorgeous locations steeped in history and romantic beauty, take some time to travel to the pivotal location of the Battle of Culloden, near Inverness, in the Scottish Highlands. It would not take long for you and your partner will realize the vast scope of the battle, where many clans, including the real Frasers and MacKenzies, fought in the final 1745 Jacobite battle alongside Bonnie Prince Charlie. You can learn more about the events leading up to, during, and after the Battle of Culloden at the award-winning Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, through watching a film they prepared, attending an interactive exhibition or by joining a tour of the battlefield.
Drummond Castle Gardens
Culloden is also where Jamie and Claire say their tearful goodbyes, before Jamie joined the Jacobite army to fight for the Stuarts, and Claire returns through the Craigh na Dun stones to the 1940’s, and Frank, to raise Jamie’s baby away from the threat and danger of war. It’s heartbreaking, and evocative, and only adds to the experience of touring the Culloden Battlefield with your partner, as you have a better understanding of the scope of what it must have been like for couples to have been separated at the onset of battle.
Battle of Culloden
You can finish off your Outlander experience for now (I will be writing a second article to cover the filming locations in season 3 and 4 of the show) by heading into Beauly and visiting the 13th century Priory ruins where Claire meets Maisri the seer. It’s associated with the (real) Clan Fraser of Lovat from whom the (fictional) Jamie descends, and you can take a romantic stroll up to the tomb of Lord Lovat, in the heart of Fraser lands, and see the burial cairn upon which the Fraser Clan’s name has been carved—as seen in the show when Claire pays her respects to the grave in the 1960’s and tells Jamie of how accomplished his daughter has become, and how much she still loves him.
Beauly Priory
Clan Fraser
It’s hard not to be swept away by the beauty and romance of Jamie and Claire’s love story. It’s almost as if visiting real locations—even if they represent fictional scenes—makes the couple more real to us somehow; showing us that we, too, can have a love that profound, if we just reach out to our partner and hold on to them fast as we take the leap into uncertain futures, together.
Copyright © 2018 by Lezli Robyn.
Outlander photos copyright © 2014-2018 by the Starz Network, and included in this article via their fair use policy. All other photos sourced on government tourism sites or fotolia.com.
C.S. DeAvilla writes award-winning science fiction, fantasy, and romance under another pen name. She has been a romance fan since she sneaked a peek at her mother’s massive historical romance bookcase and fell in love with all the characters. She reads every romance genre—as long as two people are falling in love, she’ll give it a read. Her favorite authors are Jennifer Crusie, J.R. Ward, Darynda Jones, Suzanne Brockmann, Sarah MacLean, and Kristan Higgins. But she always has room for one more.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
by C.S. DeAvilla
Title: Dating You/Hating You
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books (Simon and Schuster)
ISBN: 150116581X
Release Date: June 6th 2017
I’d really fallen in love with Hating Game by Sally Thorne and I’d been searching for a similar book. As a reader, when I find a story I love I want to read more of it. And sometimes the author doesn’t have anything else out yet so I’m sent on a long journey to find the book that will quench my thirst. Dating You / Hating You had shown up on several recommendation-lists alongside Hating Game and I’d recognized Christina Lauren’s name on other books I’d been wanting to read, so I gave it a chance. It was amazing. Christina Lauren is actually two authors working together under one pen name. Their style is smooth and humorous with a lot of character depth. Though the storyline didn’t deliver two feuding co-workers who fall in love, it did provide a lot of conflict between two agents who had instant chemistry suddenly finding themselves competing for the same job. Carter benefits from the boss being sexist, yet doesn’t stand up against it until the end. Evie works hard with no complaints, but is stuck in a delicate position where she can’t say much (not to mention her own personal vow not to gossip). By the end both come together when they realize someone in the office is possibly doing something illegal and Evie will take the fall if they don’t pursue it. Overall a compelling story that had enough angles to keep my interest and crave more from this author.
Title: How to Date a Douchebag: The Learning Hours
Author: Sara Ney
Publisher: Three Legacies
ISBN: 0999025333
Release Date: July 19th 2017
I’ve been reading Sara Ney’s Douchebag series since the release of the first book. I’m a sucker for New Adult books. I think it’s the best genre creation that has come out of the self-publishing industry. How to Date a Douchebag follows the members of a college wrestling team. Typical set up: a jerk jock gets paired with a nice girl who doesn’t let anyone push her over. Love and hilarity ensues. That all changes in this third installment. The Learning Hours focuses on Rhett, a new recruit to the wrestling team who is actually a really nice guy. Trouble is he’s targeted repeatedly as the new member of the team. The hazing begins right away when the team takes him out to dinner, orders over four hundred dollars of food and then leaves him with the bill. Problem is Rhett doesn’t have the money to carry that kind of bill and his credit card takes a hit he can’t afford. The team? They really don’t see the big deal at all. To them this is something Rhett just needs to accept and get over. Laurel witnesses this event with a friend, but that doesn’t stop her from calling Rhett when the team’s next prank is to post his photo around school asking women to call him if they want to help him lose his virginity (he’s not a virgin, but damn near close, having only slept with one girl). Laurel appears to play the part of the douche in this book with her repeated misleading as to her real identity. Even after she discovers he’s a sweet guy. The problem is Rhett isn’t classically cute or hot in the way she’s come to expect in her other dates. Being gorgeous herself, she can’t see herself with him, except he keeps surprising her at every turn. Though she judged him shallowly in the beginning, she soon falls for Rhett in the real ways that count. I recommend this entire series. It’s taking bad boys to new levels, but the heroes still respect the women they attempt to woo. They don’t actually turn out to be the jerks their reputations would make readers believe.
Title: Acting on Impulse
Author: Mia Sosa
Publisher: Avon Impulse (HarperCollins Publishers)
ISBN: 0062690345
Release Date: October 31st, 2017
I knew I’d love Mia Sosa’s Acting on Impulse from the first chapter. Her unexpected humor hits were a blast as was the pop-corn popping dynamic between her two main characters. Tori escapes to Aruba after her boyfriend announces on radio that he’s single and there’s nobody special in his life, which is news to Tori. But that paired with other relationship issues between the two means she’s done. Actor Carter Stone, her seatmate on the plane, is instantly attracted to the spunky personal trainer. One problem? He’s on the island to get some alone time away from the cameras and prepare himself for a new role. However, once at their destination he can’t resist seeking Tori out and quickly building a flirty friendship with her. But once they get close enough to really experiment with the chemistry they both feel, Carter’s real identity is outed and Tori freaks over falling for yet another guy in the public spotlight. They end their vacation not connecting again, but a harmless tweet by one of Tori’s co-workers brings them back together. And this time Tori gets to take out all her frustrations by becoming Carter’s personal trainer to prep him for his nex
t role. This is a great book that readers will love. Sosa’s writing style has echoes of Susan Elizabeth Phillips with her own stamp of originality.
Title: Bountiful
Author: Sarina Bowen
Publisher: Rennie Roads Books
ISBN: 1942444486
Release Date: October 20th, 2017
Sarina Bowen very quickly became one of my favorite authors this year as I swept through most of her catalog of novels. Each of her books get better and better, and Bountiful is the latest offering, meshing together two different books series: the Brooklyn Bruisers and True North. The Bruisers is a fantastic sports romance series through Berkley Publishing and True North, a self-publishing venture. Watching the two worlds collide effortlessly was part of the fun, having read through both series. Zara and Dave met two summers ago in a whirlwind romance that was supposed to just stay in the summer, but a surprise pregnancy makes that fun couple of a few weeks impossible to forget—for Zara. She searches for Dave, but, natch, she insisted they keep it first names only. She doesn’t even know that he’s a professional hockey star. Two years later he shows back up in her small Vermont town looking for more fun, never really forgetting the woman he left behind. He’d been expecting another summer hook up, maybe the option of something more, but discovering he’s a father leaves him with a choice. Either embrace the family life he’s sworn away from due to his own traumatic past, or pay child support and let Zara continue raising Nichole as a single mother. And she’s totally willing to give him complete permission to walk away and not look back. It would be easy, though he cares for Zara too deeply to ever let her go. Bowen’s style is compelling and fresh. Her characters are people I’d love to be friends with and the romance is always realistic and believable. The relationships between side characters gives it the feel that the town exists, and I could visit at any time. If you love sports romance, small towns, rural themes, and sizzling chemistry—then pick up any of the books from Bowen’s series, mix it with a full three days to binge, rinse and repeat.
Issue 7, Febraury 2018: Featuring Jayne Ann Krentz: Heart's Kiss, #7 Page 15
