Highlands set to stand in for USA in new Outlander series

The Scottish Highlands are set to stand in for North Carolina when filming when filming of the next series of Outlander get under way later this year, its creator has revealed.

Diana Gabaldon said it was likely to make more financial sense to use the Scottish mountains for the filming. Picture: Starz

The fourth novel in the series features main characters Jamie and Claire trying to settle in the North Carolina foothills in the late 18th century.

But author Diana Gabaldon said it was likely to make more financial sense to use the Scottish mountains for the filming of those scenes because Outlander’s base is in central Scotland.

A vast warehouse complex in Cumbernauld has been taken over by the show since production began in 2013.

The show, which saw Scotland stand in for various locations in France in its second season, has been uprooted to South Africa for the filming of Caribbean scenes.

Speaking during a visit to the National Museum of Scotland, Ms Gabaldon said: All of the books have at least one foot in Scotland. The interiors could be filmed almost anywhere. They have more than doubled the size of the studio in Scotland since the first season.

“It’s astonishing to walk through the studio in Cumbernauld. There are about 75 people working in the costume department and the props department is equally amazing.

“I don’t know for sure where the fourth season will be filmed, but a great deal of the fourth book is set in North Carolina and many of the Scottish Highlanders who settled there felt that it looked like Scotland, which in turn means Scotland looks a lot like North Carolina.

“It makes sense to film in Scotland because they have the studio facility and around 250 crew and technicians who live and work in Scotland. Filming on each series goes on for around nine months solidly.

“To begin with, I had no idea whether Outlander would be filmed in Scotland, but luckily Sony decided that it should be. It was a good decision because Scotland is an important character in the show.”

Drummond Gardens in Perthshire, Gosford House in East Lothian, Glasgow Cathedral and Dysasrt Harbour in Fife stood in for locations in France in the second series of Outlander.

Season three of the show is due to go on air in September.