Outlander as huge as Braveheart

OUTLANDER is proving the biggest boost for Scottish tourism since Braveheart, with nearly two million visits to TV locations last year.

- By George Mair

A decade after the time-travel series first aired, the “Outlander Effect” continues to loom large, according to tourism chiefs.

VisitScotland revealed in its latest report that Doune Castle in Perthshire, one of the leading attractions to have benefited, drew 119,392 people.

That compares with 47,069 in 2014 when it first doubled as fictional Castle Leoch, an increase of 153.65%.

Blackness Castle, the 15th century fortress in West Lothian that provided the setting for the Fort William headquarters of Black Jack Randall, climbed 366.97% from 16,559 visitors in 2014 to 77,326 in 2024.