Edinburgh Day Trip Castles St Andrews Optional Clay Shooting

9 hours (approximately)
Pickup offered
Offered in: English

Three of Outlander's most famous locations sit within forty minutes of each other. Almost nobody does them in one day. We do - four guests to a car, from your door.

Blackness Castle was Fort William. Culross was Cranesmuir, and that garden was Claire's. Falkland was 1945 Inverness - the fountain where Claire sees Jamie's ghost, and the palace where Mary Queen of Scots' father died six days after she was born.

Then St Andrews: the Swilcan Bridge, the cathedral ruins and the Chariots of Fire beach.

Something no other Edinburgh day trip offers: clay pigeon shooting on a private estate with a gamekeeper of thirty years. No licence, no experience, all kit provided. Most have never held a shotgun; nearly all break a clay within the hour.

No coach. No meeting point. No forty strangers and a raised umbrella.

Our Glencoe trip has 62 reviews and nothing but five stars. Guests call him King Jimmy; more than one has written he felt like family.

A dram on the road home.

What's Included

Soda/Pop
Bottled water
Snacks
blackness castle Payment due on site
Falkland palace Entry Payment due on site
Clay Pigeon Shooting Payment due on site

Meeting and pickup

Pickup points
You can choose a pickup location at checkout (multiple pickup locations are available).
Pickup details:

We collect you door to door from your Edinburgh accommodation - there is no meeting point and no queue. Your driver-guide will confirm your exact pickup time with you before the day. If you are staying outside central Edinburgh, message us through Viator after booking and we will confirm arrangements.

OR
Meeting point
Caffè Nero

We will be parked right across from caffe Nero within the parking area.

End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Duration: 9 hours (approximately)
  • 1
    Culross

    One of the most complete 17th-century burghs in Scotland. Your guide takes you along the cobbled streets past the ochre-washed Palace, the Town House and the Mercat Cross, and up to the Abbey for the view out over the Forth. Outlander filmed Cranesmuir here, and the Palace garden was Claire's. Wandering the village is free and open all year; entry to Culross Palace and its terraced garden is optional, paid locally, and available April to October only.

    1 hour Admission ticket free
  • 2
    Blackness Castle

    A 15th-century fortress built in the shape of a ship's hull and driven out into the Firth of Forth — known as the ship that never sailed. Outlander viewers will recognise it as Fort William. Your guide walks you round the curtain wall and out onto the stern tower, with the Forth bridges behind you, and explains how the castle served in turn as royal fortress, state prison and gunpowder magazine. The exterior, the foreshore and the views are free to enjoy; entry to the interior is optional and paid locally.

    1 hour Admission ticket not included
  • 3
    Falkland Palace & Garden

    The palace where Mary Queen of Scots' father died - six days after she was born. James IV and James V turned an old castle into this between 1501 and 1541, one of only two true Renaissance palaces in Scotland. It was here in December 1542, broken after defeat at Solway Moss, that James V took to his bed and died at thirty - days after hearing his wife had borne a daughter, not the son he needed. Tradition gives him a last word on the crown: "It cam wi' a lass, it will gang wi' a lass." The lass was Mary, six days old and already Queen. Outlander viewers know Falkland as 1945 Inverness. The Bruce Fountain in the square is where Claire first sees Jamie's ghost, and the Covenanter Hotel facing it played Mrs Baird's. In the grounds is the tennis court James V built in 1539 - the oldest in the world still in play. He used it barely a year. Your guide walks you round the village and palace exterior; entry inside is optional and paid locally.

    1 hour Admission ticket not included
  • 4
    St. Andrews

    Free time in the home of golf. Your guide shows you the medieval street plan, the university quads where student life has run since 1413, and the best of Market Street and South Street, then leaves you to explore at your own pace. There is no entry fee for the town itself.

    2 hours Admission ticket free
  • 5
    Old Course At St Andrews Links

    The most famous golf course in the world. We walk out towards the 18th fairway and the Swilcan Bridge, with the R&A clubhouse and the red sandstone Hamilton Grand behind you — the view every golfer recognises. No tee time and no green fee are needed to stand and photograph it. The Old Course is closed to golf on Sundays and open to the public for walking, so a Sunday visit gets you furthest onto the course.

    1 hour Admission ticket free
  • 6
    St Andrews West Sands Beach

    Two miles of open sand running north from the Old Course, and the beach used for the opening scene of Chariots of Fire. A short walk with the dunes on one side and the North Sea on the other — a good place to finish the day before the drive back to Edinburgh.

    1 hour Admission ticket free

Additional info

  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • Private Range Rover Vogue — air conditioning, privacy glass, panoramic sunroof Native Scottish driver-guide Door-to-door Edinburgh hotel pickup and drop-off and a wee dram of whisky at the end of the day
Supplied by Scottish Coast Tours

Tags

Day Trips
Full-day Tours
Private and Luxury
Private Sightseeing Tours
4WD Tours
Ports of Call Tours
Outback Tours
Shore Excursions
Additional fees
Port Pickup
Short term availability

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

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