These Real-Life Stones Look Just Like "Outlander's" Craigh na Dun
Outlander season 5 premieres February 16 on Starz.
Claire Fraser, as well as several other characters, time travel throughout the series by passing through a stone at a place called Craigh na Dun.
You can visit standing stone circles in Scotland and around the world.
Claire Beauchamp Randall never would've met her true love, Jamie Fraser, if she hadn't put her hands on a magical rock. Craigh na Dun, the site of an ancient stone circle in the Scottish Highlands, is an iconic place in the world of Outlander, the Starz show based on Diana Gabaldon's book series.
In the very first episode, Claire visits Craigh na Dun to pick flowers while on vacation; moments later, she's transported from 1945 to 1743 after tumbling through a Craigh na Dun stone that turns out to be a portal of sorts. Eventually, we learn that Claire isn't the only time traveler on the show, and there are at least two other standing stone portals in the world.
Outlander's success has been a boon for tourism in Scotland, where the majority of the show's five seasons have been filmed. And while we're all pretty clear on the fact that time travel isn't possible, no one could blame a person for wanting to visit Craigh na Dun themselves...you know, just to make sure there's not a Jamie-esque soulmate waiting on the other side.
Like many Outlander locations, Craigh na Dun is a fictional place constructed just for the show. Fortunately, there are several other gorgeous stone circles in Scotland and around the world that you can visit to channel your inner Claire.
Kinloch Rannoch is the site of Craigh na Dun in season 1.
Not to shatter the illusion even further, but the "stones" of Craigh na Dun aren't actually made of stone. They're styrofoam. "You could pick them up by yourself," executive producer Ronald D. Moore revealed on the official Outlander Podcast. "They were sculpted by an artisan, a craftsman and painted to look like actual stone. And then we hauled them out to the actual location and we planted them in the ground."
"When we did the first year, we did tons of research on the stones," Outlander production designer Jon Gary Steele told Harper's Bazaar. "It was so much easier to build our own stones. I hear stories all the time from people who live in the area trying to find those standing stones. I'm like, 'Well, keep looking.'"
A hilltop in Kinnoch Rannoch, a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, served as Craigh na Dun's location in the scene where Claire goes through the stones.
The Callanish Stones are the next best thing.
The Callanish standing stones, or Calanais as they're known in Scottish Gaelic, are located on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides archipelago. According to Historic Environment Scotland, the 5,000-year-old stone circle was "an important place for ritual activity for at least 2,000 years."
While the reason for erecting the Callanish standing stones has always been a mystery, in December of 2019 a group of archeologists shared a new theory that the circle's pattern may have been inspired by a massive lightning strike. What we do know for sure is that the Callanish stones are as gorgeous Craigh na Dun itself, you can visit year-round, and they're perfect for your next ritual activity (Druid dance, anyone?).
The Ring of Brodgar belongs on your bucket list, too.
In the Orkney Islands, off the southern tip of Scotland, you'll find a variety of standing stones that predate the Egyptian pyramids. Among the most famous is the Ring of Brodgar, located on the West Mainland, which dates back to around 2,500 to 2,000 BC. While older theories posit that the Ring of Brodnar was a site of sacrifice in the Druid religion, Scottish engineer Alexander Thom argued that it was actually an astronomical observatory.
Originally containing 60 megaliths (that's archeologist speak for a large stone that's part of a structure), you'll see 27 remaining stones today.
The Clava Cairns are right near the Culloden battlefield.
Located near Inverness—the real Scottish city where the fictional Craigh na Dun is located—the Clava Cairns are a piece of 4,000-year-old Bronze Age history. Plus, Outlander fans who learned about the Battle of Culloden over the show's first three seasons can check out the Culloden battlefield for themselves in just a 30-minute walk from the Clava Cairns.
There's no admission charge to visit, and it's open all year. There are three large circular rock structures (a cairn is a man-made stone structure, most commonly a pile of stones), and yes, you'll find standing stones worthy of a "look, I'm Claire!" Instagram.
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