What Comes After Outlander

If you’re like me and love all things Scottish you will have devoured the series Outlander and will be hanging out for the next season. I binge-watched the first 5 seasons and then started to rewatch from the beginning. We are now in what we call a “Droughtlander”. Covid 19 destroyed all the plans for Season 6 and we are desperate to see more of our beloved Laird Jamie and his Sassenach bride, Claire. I believe there is still something in me of the Scottish blood from my Ayrshire ancestors who braved the seas to travel across the world to Australia all those many years ago. The skirl of the bagpipes makes my heart soar. The scenery is to die for – and Outlander is full of beautiful scenery. The food – okay some of the food, while delicious and filling, is probably not terribly healthy, but haggis...and yes I have eaten it...is a surprising delight. Scotland calls to my soul.

Dinna fash, we’re getting back to Outlander. Based on the series of books of the same name by Diana Gabaldon , the main characters jump from steamy bedroom scene to stormy arguments, to terrifying, death defying struggles, back to steamy bedroom scenes. We love the obvious chemistry between Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and the sexiness of the Scottish accent and seeing multiple men wearing kilts.

Yes, you have to suspend disbelief during the show. We all know that you can’t time-travel through stones – even at the magical sounding (but totally fictional) Craigh Na Dun, but we watch rapt as Claire finds herself two centuries in the past, while at the same time knowing the future and all that it holds. We watch as she immerses herself in the MacKenzie Clan, becoming revered in her own right as a medicine woman. We watch as those not understanding her knowledge of the science of the future label her a witch and seek to destroy her. We watch as she travels with her Scottish husband to France in a futile attempt to change history and stop the Jacobean revolution and the devastation of the Battle of Culloden.

We watch and grieve as she finally returns to a future that she no longer enjoys when she thinks her Scottish husband slaughtered at Culloden, only to find him again 20 years later, older, more battle-weary but still the same old Jamie. We watch as they travel to the new world in America and start to prepare for the upcoming War of Independence. And then, here we are, in a Droughtland waiting to discover what happens next. And rewatching the old episodes over and over, while it fills the void, still leaves you feeling slightly dissatisfied.

So then, what do you watch while you’re in a Droughtlander and you need your Scottish fix? The answer is, of course, Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham. Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish (Dougal MacKenzie from Outlander) team together showcasing the delights of Scotland. Oh, be still my heart…

Filmed pre-Covid, while it was still safe to dance sans masks – or even to dance at all - they travelled the length of Scotland in a camper van, with a lot of cheeky banter and fooling around, to highlight the history and culture of what could arguably be described as at least one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

Episode 1 sees them visiting Edinburgh and the birthplace of Rolling Stones founding member Ian Stewart, Pittenweem, to explore the country’s love of seafood, followed by a trip to the Isle of Islay on the other side of the country to learn about whisky-making at the Laphroaig distillery.

In Episode 2 they compete in a number of Scottish sports, such as rugby, golf, and hammer throwing. The competition is serious- the loser must skinny-dip in the North Atlantic. I have swum in the North Atlantic off Scotland and let me tell you, it is not for the faint-hearted.

In Episode 3 we explore Borthwick Castle, south-east of Edinburgh, and Doune Castle in central Scotland, which was the site for Castle Leoch on Outlander, and also Winterfell on the first season of Game of Thrones. Interestingly it was also used in the 1952 MGM film Ivanhoe with Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor.

Future episodes will see them exploring Witchcraft and Superstition, Culture and Tradition, Scotland by Land, Air and Sea, Clans and Tartans and Culloden, the site of the heartbreaking battle between the Jacobites and the English which saw the exile of Bonny Prince Charles and the dismantling of the Clan structure of Scotland.

So there you have it, if you are an Outlander tragic, waiting for the next season to escape from Covid lock-down, then Men In Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham may just be what the doctor ordered.