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If you've been to Scotland, then you'll know that stepping out into the Scottish countryside, or ambling through the cobbled streets of Edinburgh, can make you feel like you've transported onto a film set. Its stretching landscapes and medieval architecture provide for the ultimate form of escapism, and can almost feel other-worldly, or as if they've been pulled from a work of fiction. So, it's no wonder Scotland is a go-to amongst Hollywood for blockbusters, pop stars for their music videos, and the biggest names in fashion for their fashion shows and shoots. Scotland has made a name for itself as the ultimate backdrop to creatives' across the world's visions. Lucky for us, these breathtaking locations are on our doorstep, and can be visited easily.
We got in touch with the fantastic team at LS Productions to find out about their favourite Scottish filming locations, and projects they've worked on. Founded by Marie Owen in 2006, LS Productions is an award-winning Scottish media production company, with Disney, Marvel Studios, HBO, and Netflix included amongst their extensive client list. Read on to find out what their top picks are, the stories behind their favourite projects, and how you can visit the locations yourselves.
St. Abbs is undoubtedly one of the most stunning locations you can visit. This breathtaking coastal headland is renowned for its vibrant seabird colonies and dramatic cliffs, all while being a protected bird and wildlife sanctuary by the National Trust. It also happens to be a much sought-after location for fashion, car, and music shoots, with many brands shooting her showcasing St. Abbs beauty to the world.
Walking along the trails here is an experience like no other, with panoramic views featuring the highest cliffs on the east coast of the UK. The scenery, paired with its close proximity to the sea, creates a captivating atmosphere. Don’t miss out on the fabulous cafes nearby that serve some of the best Cullen skink and mouthwatering scones you'll ever taste!
Getting there: Simply hop on a 40 minute train from Edinburgh Waverly to Berwick-Upon-Tweed, and take a 15 minute taxi from the station or the number 235 bus to St Abbs.
When it comes to personal anecdotes, bringing Harry Styles and his team to St. Abbs has to be one of my all-time personal highlights. It was a fulfilling achievement to play a key role in bringing their creative vision to life, especially when we identified this location as the ideal starting point for the shoot. This moment truly highlighted the potential of our collaboration.
I also felt an immense sense of pride in noticing how much the locals enjoyed the experience during the shoot and how stunning the end result was when the music video Eroda was finally released on December 6th 2019.
My favourite location is Carskiey House in the Mull of Kintyre. Carskiey House is a stunning 7,500 acre estate, including the famous Mull of Kintyre. The Kintyre peninsula is a beautiful spot and the estate features spectacular beaches with island views, dramatic cliffs, epic glens as well as lovely gardens and grounds. There is an astounding biodiversity of wildlife and it’s not unusual for a seal to pop up whilst you’re filming at the charming beach-side Shore cottage. My favourite shoot at Carskiey has been for Stella McCartney, drawing on the wonderful foliage, colours and textures around the estate. The true highlight was filming with a pipe band on the beach and creating some iconic imagery.
Getting there: Carskiey House is a 4 hour drive west from Edinburgh, and you can event rent out the house itself, or the nearby Shore Cottage, which boasts its very own private beach.
My favourite location is Ardverikie Estate in the Highlands - we have shot and recce’d there on multiple occasions (we have over 1000 images of the estate in various seasons on our locations library) and it always offers up something different each time you visit. The main house is a Baronial Victorian mansion, nestled into the surrounding mountainous landscape and was Glenbogle, in Monarch of the Glen, which was a family favourite growing up so I always half expect Archie to appear out of a doorway when I visit. This beautiful estate’s exteriors have been used as a filming location as a double for Balmoral Castle in the Netflix series The Crown, every year since the series began, including for the last two seasons.
Getting there: Arverikie Estate is a 2 and a half hour drive from Edinburgh and has a number of cosy holiday cottages you can stay in.
The estate offers so many different landscapes within a relatively short distance from each other from remote mountains (with a very accessible track which is always handy) to woodland, lochs and amazing forests, it even has a dedicated unit base which as a Location Manager I love. My favourite area is the white sandy beach of Laggan Loch, revealed in full when the water levels are low and such an unusual landscape, apparently the largest inland beach in Europe, who knew! I always love the reveal when you recce with clients and this massive beach appears through the pine forest.
We have done several fashion campaigns over the years there and one of my favourites was with a lovely team from Aerie, all the visiting US team weren’t quite believing us on how annoying the midges can be but when they appeared they were all grabbing for the midge hats and running for vehicles!
One of my favourite jobs that I produced this year was for Expedia’s Local Lens, a guide to Scotland by Ewan and Colin McGregor. The idea was to visit locations and partake in activities the brothers had experienced with their family growing up in Scotland. It was a pleasure to collaborate with the brothers, as we effectively supported our client creatively by leveraging our knowledge and expertise of the local landscape to shape the journey during a two-day shoot.
We had two film units, a small drone unit that showcased some of the beautiful Scottish countryside while our main camera unit followed the brothers from the Cairngorms to Dunkeld, driving in a retro campervan.
Getting there: The Hermitage in Dunkeld is an hour and half drive from Edinburgh and is ideal for walking.
Shooting outdoors in January always comes with weather and daylight challenges. However, I felt proud and happy to be on the journey with them, showcasing some of Scotland's delights over the two days like the Cairngorms, the Hermitage, in Perthshire, and at the Ossian’s Hall folly overlooking the Black Linn waterfall. They also visited the Aran Bakery in Dunkeld (where the cardamom buns are to die for by the way), Taymouth Marina’s Hot Box Spa and The Dell of Abernethy, a stunning Highland accommodation/retreat.
We ended their journey at The Ewe Bar within the Fortingall Hotel, at a local live music night where Ewan’s Hollywood actor wife Mary, Elizabeth Winstead, made a surprise cameo appearance joining in the singing and connecting to the McGregors brothers childhood family memories of the hotel. An extremely action packed and exciting shoot - one of my top ten shoots so far shot in our beautiful country, working with a top team and a superb, lovely cast.
Thank you so much to the brilliant team at LS Productions for taking the time to share these beautiful locations, inspiring projects, and stories with us. You can follow LS Productions on their journey here. We highly recommend that you do!
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