Outlander effect Tourists from all over world flock to Fife.

As Courier Country basks in the afterglow of high-profile film and TV productions such as Outlander and The Outlaw King, Michael Alexander asks if the area can further benefit in future.

Retired Scottish Crime Squad detective Bob Beveridge has been no stranger to unusual experiences over the last 40 years while he has been collecting – and selling – violins from his shop in Falkland.

From the times he got to know legendary American singer/songwriter Johnny Cash and his daughter Rosanne, who were researching their Fife roots, to the day he found an unexploded Luftwaffe bomb during his daily run up East Lomond and caused “panic” when he carried it down the hill to be made safe, he admits it’s “never been a dull moment”.

But some of the most interesting experiences he’s had in recent years have been the use of his shop front for scenes in the British-American TV drama Outlander.

“It’s been remarkable,” Bob, 76, told The Courier.

“For the past three years, just about every day without fail, two tour buses turn up from Edinburgh with Outlander tourists.

“They get out, get photographs taken in front of the shops or next to the fountain, get back in and off they go. They are not the biggest of spenders, but it’s great publicity for the village!”

Bob’s shop has been used as the backdrop in several episodes and in the fourth Outlander series, filmed three months ago, it doubled as Allingham Music in Inverness.

From Rebus and Trainspotting in Edinburgh, to Local Hero filmed in Pennan, and from Glasgow’s George Square used in World War Z to Waterloo Road in Greenock, Scotland is no stranger to our screens.

Courier Country locations used for filming of TV dramas over the years include Doctor Finlay’s Casebook in Callander and Victoria at Blair Castle, both in Perthshire; Broughty Ferry featured prominently in the filming of Bob Servant Independent, with the Bell Rock Lighthouse featuring in Seven Wonders of the Industrial World.

According to recent figures from Tay Screen – the screen office for the local authorities of Dundee, Angus, Fife and Perth and Kinross, which works to bring production crews into the region – high-profile productions such as Outlander and Outlaw King have injected around £5 million into the Tayside and Fife economy.

The Outlander series and the new Netflix movie about Robert the Bruce, both partially filmed in Fife, have attracted a huge following of fans eager to visit the filming locations and some of the historic places depicted on screen.

Media productions in the region have also created jobs and business opportunities in areas such as accommodation and catering, as well as promotion for local activities, services and products including golf, windsurfing, food and drink.

But with plans announced for a major Scottish film studio at Port of Leith, is there even-greater potential for Scotland to benefit from the film and TV industry?

Falkland SNP Fife councillor David MacDiarmid said the “Outlander bounce” has brought tourists from all over the world to visit Falkland – and they are very welcome.

However, he thinks the area still “undersells” itself and perhaps more can be done to capitalise.

“This wonderful series seems to stir the imagination in people,” he said.

“I am not sure how the filming has affected the local shops, trade wise.

But certainly the uptake on accommodation seems to have risen. I would never be in favour of turning Falkland into Disneyland.

“But I think as a village we may undersell ourselves. The palace and the shops in my view should make much more of the obvious popularity of Outlander.”

Dunfermline-based former St Andrews University rector Catherine Stihler, who will soon leave her post as Fife-based Member of the European Parliament to take up a new role following Brexit, has also been excited by the recent filming of Outlander at Falkland, Culross and Dysart harbour.

Filming for Outlaw King took place at Dunfermline and Tullibardine.

She is delighted that tourists – including many from cruise ships on the Forth – now visit these villages especially.

With Scotland’s beautiful scenery and so much history, it should be rich pickings for film crews in future – and the new film studio will definitely help.

However, she thinks “lessons have to be learned” about maximising the benefits in future – and, if Brexit does go ahead, she says there also remains an element of uncertainty about what impact there might be attracting film crews and investment from Europe.

“In Falkland and places like Culross, Outlander tourism has certainly increased,” she said.

“There’s a permanent Outlander exhibition in Culross now and we’ve now got two coffee shops instead of one – it’s great to see young entrepreneurs doing well!

“But I think we need to learn from the Outlander experience. Tourists were turning up before people here even knew about the series because it aired in America before the UK.

“That was a learning curve for us. It needs to be much more joined-up in future.”

Paul Carey, projectionist at the NPH Cinema in St Andrews, was just four when Chariots Of Fire was filmed on the town’s West Sands in 1980.

The independent cinema has hosted a number of locally filmed premiere’s in recent years, including golf biopic Tommy’s Honour in 2017.

However, he has mixed views on whether St Andrews – already busy with tourists and students – truly benefits from films being made on the doorstep.

He said: “We haven’t really seen much of a boost in numbers at the cinema as a direct result of all the various productions filmed in the area.

“I really do struggle to fathom where Tay Screen get that figure of £5 million from. It’s not coming to us anyway.

“However, even though it may not be affecting us directly with business, I would certainly agree that having any filming in the area is a positive thing.

“Fife and Tayside have so many diverse locations, and over the years, you can see that the Hollywood system is starting to take more of an interest.

“With talk of building a new studio facility in Edinburgh to cope with the increase demand for sound stages, clearly Scotland is proving to be a hit and I would hope that it would indeed bring more visitors.”

For the past three years, just about every day, two buses turn up with Outlander tourists. They are not the biggest spenders, but it’s great publicity