Culloden visitors asked to ‘respect’ burial ground after Outlander pilgrimage site sealed off

A grave marker at Culloden Battlefield which has become a must-see landmark for Outlander fans has been sealed off.

The Clan Fraser stone is temporarily out of bounds to visitors given damage caused by heavy footfall at the marker for the Jacobite soldiers who died at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

In recent years, the stone has become a popular stop for fans of the Outlander books and television series given its main character, Jamie Fraser, who is entirely fictional, fought at the battle in the stories by US author Diana Gabaldon. Numerous Outlander-themed tours now include the stone on their itineraries, with laying of flowers and stopping for selfies common practice.

NTS, which owns part of the historic battlefield, has carried out work around the Clan Fraser stone to halt the deterioration of the area and said it was now cordoned off to allow the ground to firm up and grass to re-grow.

The Clan Fraser at Culloden Battlefield, pictured in 2016. It has now been temporarily sealed off given wear and tear to the area caused by high visitor numbers. PIC: Flickr/Jennofarc/CC.

The conservation charity urged visitors to give the area “space” – and reminded those planning to visit that the site that the burial site for those who died on the field should be “respected”.

NTS did not attribute the damage to Outlander fans but said damage at the Clan Fraser stone was worse than at other graves on the battlefield.

A spokesman said: “Wear and tear around the Fraser Stone is more extensive than in other parts of the graves area at Culloden Battlefield.

"We are unable to say that this is explicitly due to Outlander fans or not. Having said that, the damage to the ground in this area is due to a high traffic of visitors wanting their pictures taken with the stone for their own reasons."

“While we want to allow everyone to come and remember the Battle of Culloden in their own way, we ask that if visitors notice that areas are becoming deteriorated that they give the area space. It is important that we remind all visitors to Culloden that this area of the battlefield is where over 1,500 people lost their lives in 1746 and are buried in mass graves directly beside most of the stone markers.

"We ask all visitors to Culloden Battlefield to show the graves area the respect given to any other burial site and we are doing our best as its guardian to conserve it."

NTS posted the cordon announcement on social media, with followers sharing their views.

One said: “ I know that it's a minority of people but I just wish they would remember that Outlander is fiction. The Frasers featured there NEVER EXISTED ! Please stop damaging the graves !”

Another added: “Visiting film and historical sites featured in Outlander was the main agenda of my trip to Scotland, and I was shocked to see the state of that area. He wasn't even a real person! He was based off a Doctor Who character for crying out loud. That's a real marker, for a real clan, of real people, who died in a real battle.”

Issues at the Clan Fraser grave marker have been reported since at least 2018 and visitor numbers to Culloden starting to bounce back following the pandemic

An additional path the Clan Fraser stone has been built to help manage visitor numbers to the scheduled monument.