We travel to Scotland, land of heroes, evocative music, mysterious and elegant cities, and an unparalleled historical heritage. In recent decades, many filmmakers have made ancient Caledonia their favorite backdrop for their productions. We encourage you to design a cinematic adventure to visit the locations where your favorite series and feature films were shot!
Discover a destination straight out of a movie, where nature reveals its wildest side and paints dreamlike postcards featuring towering mountains and crystal-clear lakes. Experience the most cinematic Scotland: from the famous Harry Potter saga and the Oscar-winning ‘Braveheart’ to popular films like Ron Howard’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and the locations of series like ‘The Crown’. Sit back, relax into your seat and enjoy the show!
Rosslyn Chapel, The Da Vinci Code
Before leaving Edinburgh, we recommend you visit another popular film location: Rosslyn Chapel. Located south of the city, a 25 km drive away, filmmaker Ron Howard chose this mysterious and beautiful medieval chapel to shoot a sequence for the film adaptation, starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou, of Dan Brown’s bestselling novel.
The expectations of anyone who decides to visit Rosslyn are quite high. This renowned author has contributed to fueling the legends and conjectures that have surrounded this marvelous architectural work since its inception. Built by William St Clair in 1446, Prince of Orkney and Grand Master Templar, it is one of the most beautiful churches of medieval Scotland.
If you are a fan of Templar stories, you will enjoy trying to decipher the meaning of its famous stone carvings like never before. Many of them contain symbols related to the Old Testament, Medieval Orders, Templars, and Freemasonry… but above all, maintain silence during the visit, lest you disturb the eternal sleep of the spirits of the monks who wander in the atmosphere.
INDIANA JONES, Glasgow and Bamburgh Castle
We continue delving into the history of cinema and discovering filming locations of series and movies. For this, we travel to the second most important city in Scotland, Glasgow, an hour’s drive or train ride from Edinburgh. If you’re a fan of the Indiana Jones saga, this is the place for you. Do you remember the thrilling chase at the beginning of ‘The Dial of Destiny’ where Indy rides through Manhattan on horseback, crossing a huge parade? Well, it was filmed far from the Big Apple!
Another location from ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny‘ is Bamburgh Castle, in the picturesque coastal town of the same name. An impenetrable castle from the 5th century by the sea that you can visit on another of the tours departing from the Royal Mile in Edinburgh!
THE CROWN, discover the place where the British royal family spends their vacations
We continue wandering through the wild and green Highlands to discover the filming locations of one of the most acclaimed series of recent times: ‘The Crown’. A historical drama about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II created by Peter Morgan. Although many locations were chosen throughout its six successful seasons, the grand Ardverikie House (Aberdeenshire) recreates the exteriors of Balmoral Castle. In real life, this fortress is a private residence of the British royal family in Scotland where Queen Elizabeth II spent every summer of her life.
But this castle is best known for the “behavior tests” to which the royal family subjects their guests, unknowingly, when they visit this royal summer residence. Ardverikie House is a Victorian estate from the 19th century in the heart of the Highlands, the largest and wildest region of Scotland!
BRAVEHEART and the wild beauty of Glen Nevis
Just five minutes from Fort William, Ben Nevis stands in all its splendor, the tallest mountain in the United Kingdom that challenges the sky with its 1,344 meters of altitude. Time seems to have stood still in this glen whose unforgettable beauty has been captured by the cameras of various filmmakers. Among them, the directors of ‘Braveheart’, ‘Rob Roy’, ‘Highlander’, and ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’.
If you are lovers of adventure and enjoy hiking, we encourage you to take some of the marked green routes that will allow you to discover the most remote corners of these beautiful mountains. The Scottish film settings of Braveheart appear at the beginning of the film: the village of Lanark where young Wallace grows up, which was located at the foot of Ben Nevis, and The Mamores, a group of mountains in the Lochaber area.
BRAVEHEART and the legend of William Wallace
Directed by Randall Wallace, this epic production was awarded five Oscars and has rightfully earned a honorary place in the history of epic and action cinema. A little further south, in the city of Stirling, are the real settings where fundamental episodes of Scotland’s history were forged. Additionally, it is here where you can immerse yourself in all the details related to the legend of William Wallace, the patriotic son of a small landowner who became an acclaimed national hero after wresting Scottish sovereignty from the English in the famous Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.
Today it is possible to stroll across a magnificent bridge from the late 15th century, built very close to the site where the wooden bridge stood on which Wallace defeated the English cavalry. You can reminisce about the battle while enjoying the green areas provided nearby!
Another center of inexorable interest is the National Wallace Monument, a monumental tower erected on Abbey Craig (1869), a hill on the outskirts of the city, in homage to the Scottish patriot. Here you will find an audiovisual exhibition about the life of Wallace and other characters and heroes related to the history of Scotland. If you want to capture one of the most beautiful panoramas of Stirling in your mind’s eye, you must ascend to the top of the tower. From there, you will overlook the places where two of the most important battles were fought: Stirling Bridge and ‘Bannockburn Heritage’, the site where the battle of the same name took place in 1314. It is here, as depicted in Mel Gibson’s film and following the example of his compatriot William Wallace, that King Robert I of Bruce defeated Edward II of England and his army!
