Culross Palace & Abbey Ruins, Fife Scotland
Culross (pronounced as kuhl-raas) is well known for its yellow palace in the center of town and also as a filming location in the hit Starz television series Outlander.
Culross is a small village and former royal burgh located in Fife, Scotland. It feels like you are stepping back in time with the red-roofed cottages and stone walkways throughout the village. This charming village had some hidden gems that Garrett and I really enjoyed exploring, follow our journey below.
Culross Palace
Culross Palace was built between 1597 and 1611 by Sir George Bruce, Laird of Carnock. It was never considered a royal residence, it was more so a "Great Lodging" because Bruce was a wealthy merchant and had an interest in many different trades. The Palace is now in the care of The National Trust for Scotland and they restored it with model seventeenth-century and renaissance paintwork. Unfortunately, we were unable to go inside that palace or take photos inside the courtyard. You had to have a ticket to tour the palace and because of covid restrictions and limited time, Garrett and I (and a good amount of others) didn't get to go through.
Outlander Filming Location
If Culross Palace and surrounding areas look familiar to you, you may have seen it on the television show Outlander. The Culross Palace gardens were used in Season 1 as the gardens to Castle Leoch where Geillis and Claire picked herbs and talked. The stairway and courtyard are seen in Season 2 as the Jacobite encampment where Clarie pulls a tooth and Murtagh waits on Jamie while he is meeting with the prince. The inside of the palace has rooms that have been used as Geillis Duncan's parlor, Jacobite meetings, and as part of the inside of Laoghaire's home. Walking more into the village we see the outside of what is Geillis Duncan's home. We also saw the pillory where a young boy had his ear nailed to a board and Claire created a distraction so Jamie could help him get free.
Culross Abbey Ruins
The village has been a religious site since the 6th century, the Culross Abbey has been on the top of the hill since the 13th century. The Abbey is now in ruins but seeing some of the stone and iron architecture that went into the building of this grand abbey is a great history lesson. With iron-wrought window panes, stained glass at the top of the building, and a stone tower you won't know where to look first but you will want to take the time to see it all. There is plenty to explore here, so I will tell you to plan your time accordingly to see all of the ruins.
If you ever get the chance to visit Scotland, I highly recommend adding the village of Culross to your itinerary. Even if you aren't a fan of "Outlander", you will appreciate the quaint feel of the village and find the history interesting.
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