IT is the hit adventure TV series shot in Scotland that has provided a massive economic boost with visitor numbers more than doubling at locations in the show.
Now fans of Outlander can take an audio guide around the Scottish sites made famous by the TV phenomenon.
The digital audio guide, created by Geotourist in association with the national tourism organisation VisitScotland, allows fans to immerse themselves in the romantic adventure and follow in the footsteps of time-crossed lovers Claire and Jamie.
The Outlander Scottish Filming Locations Tour, downloadable free from an app direct to visitors’ smartphones, comes as the TV series returns to UK screens for a fifth season on Monday, on Amazon Prime.
Launched today, it includes landmarks from Seasons One to Four, such as Glen Coe, Doune Castle in Perthshire and Preston Mill near East Linton, East Lothian, with some doubling as locations in France, the US and the Caribbean.
Jenni Steele, Film and Creative Industries Manager at VisitScotland, said: “The Outlander Scottish Filming Locations Tour is a fantastic way for viewers to immerse themselves in the TV show and fall in love with Scotland, just as they fell in love with the story of Claire and Jamie.
“What better way to spend Valentine’s Day than to create your own romantic adventure in these unique settings?
“The impact of film and TV goes far beyond the production spend. With research finding that one in five visitors are inspired to plan a trip to Scotland after seeing it on-screen, the opportunities for the tourism industry are immense.”
Outlander was introduced to readers by American author Diana Gabaldon, 68, in 1991. A further seven novels and nine spin-off books have been published in 43 countries and in 39 languages, selling more than 35 million printed copies worldwide.
Adapted for television by Sony Pictures, film production continues to be based in Scotland starring Dumfriesshire born Sam Heughan as Jacobite Highlander Jamie Fraser, opposite Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall, a Second World War combat nurse transported back to the 18th century and the eve of the Battle of Culloden.
The TV series has been credited with bringing the landscape and scenery of Scotland to a new worldwide audience since it first aired in 2014.
The so-called “Outlander Effect” has seen visitors flock to locations associated with the series.
The new audio guide, which is expected to attract even more fans of the show to Scotland, opens at Tweeddale Court in Edinburgh before embarking on a 42-point tour, which winds its way across the country to finish at Drumlanrig Castle, near Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway.
Using GPS technology, the app pinpoints where users are and triggers various stories to play automatically as they pass by tour points, although the tour can also be accessed and enjoyed from anywhere in the world, either through the app or via the website.
Using the tour, visitors can travel with the characters through time from Culross in Fife and the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore, to experience the 1740s, before leaping into the 1940s at Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway in West Lothian and taking in a majestic 1960s Harvard, recreated by the University of Glasgow.
For those visiting the actual locations, the tour offers an easy-to-follow Outlander itinerary.
However, users can also discover settings further afield such as Paris, Le Havre and the Palace of Versailles in France, the US states of North and South Carolina and also Jamaica – without ever leaving Scotland.
Geotourist founder and CEO Shaon Talukder, who created the Geotourist concept, said: “We are proud advocates of using storytelling to help visitors and travellers enrich their experience and this multi-layered tour will do exactly that.
“Taking Diana Gabaldon’s outstanding story, with love and loyalty at the core, and then overlaying it with Scotland’s world class landscapes, landmarks and attractions and weaving in Scotland’s history and heritage means that we can capture something very special, but very nuanced and complex, in an easy-to-use, free-to-all audio tour. “
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