The Highlands of Scotland Film Locations (Part 1)
Have you ever wondered why Inverness and the Scottish Highlands are so popular with visitors? Clearly it’s got an awful lot to do with The Great Outdoors. The abundance of wild landscapes, the mountains and monuments, the stags, grouse and eagles and everything in between. Oh and let’s not forget the draw of its world class driving routes like the NC500.
The North Coast 500 begins and ends in Inverness
It’s a pretty safe bet that everyone who has heard of The Highlands has also seen them featured in some sort of film or tv production more than once in their life. So here is a short run down of some of the most famous film locations to be discovered whilst based at the luxurious Frisco Villas of Inverness.
1: HARRY POTTER
Harry’s films have always has a soft spot for Scotland, hardly surprising given the author J K Rowling spent so long living there. Glenfinnan Viaduct is a 380 metre long and 31 metre high Victorian railway viaduct that was most famously used for the Weasley’s flying Ford Anglia car scene in the opening of Chamber Of Secrets.
It’s a film scene you might even recreate when you book a trip on the fully restored steam train The Jacobite as part of the Fort William to Mallaig run. Not far away lies Loch Shiel and Loch Morar (the deepest loch in Scotland and home to Morag the Monster) that were featured in the Triwizard tournament scenes for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. J K Rowling says that she always imagined Hogwarts located in the remote Scottish Highlands with its lochs and rugged mountains.
2: JAMES BOND No Time To Die
So many locations and so many films over time but the latest (and maybe the last?) great Bond saw Aviemore hosting No Time To Die in July 2019 at the fairy tale Ardverikie Estate whilst Loch Laggan was the ideal spot for Daniel Craig’s high speed chase with the Range Rover driving baddies.
There may be many Bond scenes shot in Scotland but this must rank amongst the best.
3: HIGHLANDER
Out of all the wonderful places they chose to film this sci-fi fantasy the very best of those must surely include Eilean Donan Castle which is also famous for being the most filmed and photographed castle in the whole of Scotland.
The film’s two main stars Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery shot many of the most memorable scenes there and Lambert later joked, “I love the beauty of the place but it wasn’t always easy filming there with four seasons in a day.” In fact Lambert even confessed to the press that Sir Sean had made him an honorary Scot during filming this Sci-Fi classic.
The film spawned a series of sequels and spin offs but none could ever match the original.
4: THE WICKER MAN
Plockton was the place where this film’s strange pagan rituals clash with modern police probing into a mysterious disappearance that gives the film its shock ending.
Not much has changed in this lovely seaside fishing village since its first first film appearance in this 1973 horror classic starring the much missed Christopher Lee. In fact the film became such a cult classic that Hollywood felt that it needed revisiting in the lesser sequel of the same name starring Nic Cage and a considerably higher budget than the first film of 1973.
5: TRANSFORMERS The Last Knight
The Last Knight , another feature in the Transformers film franchise from big budget action director Michael Bay. Enamoured with the moody beauty and breathtaking scenery, Bay chose the iconic mountains of Skye and added some local drama of his own to the somewhat sleepy surroundings of this tourist top ten destination.
Watch out for The Quiraing and The Old Man of Storr when you catch up with this film next time you stream it on Amazon Prime.
