Our sites on screen

We were proud to work with the team to bring the first series of the programme to life, which premiered in 2023, with the dramatic St Abb’s Head National Nature Reserve standing in for the cliffs and beaches of Cornwall, and the iconic Culzean Castle & Country Park filling the role of the Duke’s home.

Those locations were added to the call sheet again last year as the cast and crew returned to film the new series. If you’ve tuned into the latest episodes, you may have seen a tense cliff-top confrontation or beautiful gowns descending Culzean’s theatrical circular staircase.

The new season of the drama, which was inspired by Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel of the same name, debuted on 18 June. It centres on a group of fun-loving young American girls in 1870s London who are dealing with the aftermath of the culture clash they have left in their wake.

If you look closely, along with St Abb’s and Culzean, you will also see Greenbank Garden and Geilston Garden setting the scene for the characters’ adventures.

The cast and crew filmed at these properties over six months, totalling 15 filming days across the four locations. As a conservation charity, the income generated by filming at our locations is greatly appreciated, and all income goes directly back to the featured location to aid in its conservation. The cast and crew of The Buccaneers were delighted to learn that the filming income for Greenbank Garden was going to be used to repair a Victorian septic tank. The crew also cared for a young rook that fledged during filming at Geilston Garden – an unofficial mascot!

Why we love our starring roles

Filming like this is so important to our work at the Trust. Not only does the income support their vital conservation work, but the tourism it prompts also supports our income and our ability as a charity to continue to share these places with the world.

We have at least one factual programme, feature film, drama TV show, documentary, student project, advert, or photo shoot on site at our places every week of the year. In 2024, this number increased to more than one project per week, with over 90 projects utilising our stunning locations.

The film tourism generated by this work aligns very closely with the Trust’s aim to share nature, beauty, and heritage with everyone. VisitScotland’s 2023 visitor survey indicates that 36% of European visitors and 37% of long-haul visitors (Australasia, USA and Canada) are inspired to visit because of films, TV, and books featuring Scotland. As a conservation charity that greatly values and relies on visitors to the places in our care, this is a fantastic way to connect with people from around the world.

What you might recognise us from

When I joined the Trust as the Filming Manager in 2013, it was fresh on the international success of Skyfall, which includes Bond and M’s iconic scene at Glen Etive in Glencoe. In the following decade, numerous projects have been filmed at Glencoe, including:

• Outlaw King
• Mary Queen of Scots
• Figaro
• Detective Pikachu

Outlander has, of course, had an incredibly significant impact on the Scottish film industry and on our charity. Six out of its eight seasons were filmed at Trust places, and if you’ve watched the show, you may have spotted:

• Culross Palace
• Falkland Palace
• The Hermitage
• Newhailes House & Gardens
• Preston Mill

Fans have visited the sites, connected with their history, attended events, bought Outlander-inspired merchandise from our shops, and even helped to fundraise when the wheel at Preston Mill needed costly repair.

If factual programmes are more your thing, then there was plenty of opportunity to see us last year. We featured in:

• Landward
• Beechgrove Garden
• Countryfile
• BBC ALBA’s Great Gardens (Gàrraidhean Mòra)
• Border Life
• Monty Don’s UK Gardens
• BBC ALBA’s Mermaid Tales
• Susan Calman’s Grand Days Out
• BBC’s Antiques Roadshow (which has filmed at five Trust places in the last seven years!)

International productions last year came from the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, and Korea, connecting viewers across the world with our places. Welcoming national and international factual programmes is hugely important as the productions interview our staff and volunteers and focus on the projects and work specific to the places in our care.

We love sharing Scotland with the world, whether visitors come from down the road or thousands of miles away. We hope that if you see one of our places on screen, you’ll come to visit in real life too – we can’t wait to welcome you!