‘Outlander’ castle gets huge facelift
Massive rise in visitors thanks to hit show
Doune’s historic castle, which featured in hit TV series Outlander, is undergoing a facelift to cope with a dramatic increase in footfall due to its popularity with fans of the show.
Restoration work is ongoing, with much of the 14th century building surrounded by scaffolding, to cope with the hike in visitor numbers thanks to its role as ‘Castle Leoch’ in the smash- hit show. The work comes as part of a £6.6million investment in conservation work, repairs and visitor facilities at several of Scotland’s iconic heritage sites and monuments. Improvements costing £300,000 will be carried over the next three years.
The investment was announced by Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop back in January.
A spokesperson for Historic Environment Scotland, said: ”Scaffolding is now in place at Doune Castle for consolidation works on the east face of the east courtyard wall.
“This is part of a phased programme of works which is cyclical and ongoing.”
Other work recently completed at Doune Castle includes a new shop and upgrade of the toilets.
The castle is amongst a number of Historic Environment Scotland heritage sites throughout the country benefiting from the Scottish Government investment.
The shop has been moved into the courtyard with an improved retail offering, in direct response to the increased footfall following its appearance in Outlander.
Between 2014-15 and 2015-16 visitors to Doune increased by 44 per cent. Bosses from Historic Environment Scotland have capitalised on the shows soaring popularity and have recently added a new section to their audio tours where actor Sam Heughan - who stars as leading man Jamie Fraser - talks about filming the show at the castle.
The picturesque castle plays a leading role in the show substituting for the fictional castle – home to Colum MacKenzie and his clan in the 18th century episodes. It also features in the 20th century episode where Claire and Frank visit the castle in ruins on a day trip. Doune Castle has proved popular with entertainments top TV and movie producers over the years, having also featured in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and being used as Winterfell in the pilot episode of fantasy drama Game of Thrones.
The castle features a 100 foot high gatehouse and one of the best preserved great halls in Scotland and was originally built for the Regent Albany.