Aberdour Castle and Falkland

While we spent a big chunk of our day in Culross, we did not stay there overnight.  We drove to Aberdour Castle, about a 30 minute car ride away. Aberdour Castle is an Historic Scotland site so there will be an admission charge and hours vary depending on the season so check the website before you travel.

Aberdour Castle stood in for the Sainte Anne de Beaurpe monastery where  Claire helps nurse Jamie back to health after his horrific assault and rescue from Wentworth Prison.  While most of the castle is in ruins there are a couple of intact rooms that have been restored.  The long hall and the kitchen were used in filming this episode.  

 After we left here we went to Falkland.  All Outlander fans are familiar with this town which stands in for the 1940's Inverness.  My husband booked our room at the Covenanter Hotel  which is Mrs. Baird's B&B in the show.  I was so excited when we checked in and discovered our room was the Stuart Room, "the one" that Claire and Frank stayed in.  Of course, the room looked nothing like the set that was used for filming but our window would have been the one that Frank discovers the mysterious "Highlander" ghost looking up at Claire.

The dining room is nice and the staff was very friendly.  The location is great as it's right across from Falkland Palace and we toured there the next morning.  There is public parking around the corner.  However, this wasn't one of our favorite places to stay at on our travels through Scotland.  Honestly, unless you're an über fan of Outlander I wouldn't recommend staying here.  We had stayed at so many wonderful B&B's that this location just fell flat for us. 

The town is rather charming.  There are flowers everywhere and it's easy to walk to a restaurant or shop.  We ate at a local place up the hill since the restaurant at The Covenanter was closed that evening.  And there were plenty of shops to pop into if you feel like buying some trinkets.  

Culross

The next morning we headed towards Culross.  This is a must see for Outlander fans as they have  used this location several times for filming!  Part of the town stood in as Cranesmuir, the palace gardens stood in for Castle Leoch's and various rooms in the palace were used as well.

Just outside of town is the West Kirk Churchyard.  This is the spot where Claire discovers that the young boys were being poisoned by lily of the valley in season 1. The ground is a bit uneven and the stones are falling into disrepair so be careful if you decide to visit.  It's really a beautiful place and the benefits of arriving early on mean we had the site to ourselves. 

In town we found public parking along the waterfront which has a small park with playground equipment and public restrooms. 

Culross Palace is across the street from the parking.  While this grand home was never a royal residence the family was wealthy and the home is opulent for it's time.  It's easy to see why this was an ideal location for many Outlander scenes.  I know we couldn't photograph the interior but the exterior and gardens were fair game. We spent a decent amount of time wandering through the garden and even though it looks rather small it's easy to spend an hour looking at everything.  Okay, maybe not an hour, but I love gardens and this particular style is the stuff of my dreams so perhaps I spent longer wandering through than the average person might.  I would love nothing more than to convert my entire backyard into something similar.  

Harry Potter was hiding in the bird house!  That was a fun discovery. 

After leaving the palace grounds we walked through town.  We purchased a National Trust for Scotland guidebook for Culross at the gift shop and it was helpful as we made our way around.  It gives a brief history of the town as well as the buildings and landmarks of significance.  It has a map of the Culross Trail and it's easy to follow.  We didn't purchase these books anywhere else but since we were touring the town and not just the palace it came in handy.  

The Town House

Mercat Cross

Located up the hill is the Mercat Cross.  This is in season 1 of Outlander where the young man has his ear nailed to the boards after he was found guilty of stealing.  Geillis' house is to the right of here.  Unfortunately for me, there were cars parked there so I didn't get a great photo of the square.  The crew painted everything white for filming and then returned it to the colors seen here. 

The Lockit Well

The Abbey with the church in the background

Culross is a charming village and the people we chatted with were quite nice.  Actually, everyone we talked to in Scotland was so kind and they were just as interested in our story as we were theirs.  I enjoyed talking to the locals and it really was a highlight of the trip for me.  Travel seems to bring people together in the very best way.  I hope you enjoyed this post and my photos today.