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.