'It demonstrates what the fandom does best – turning our love for the story into real-world impact' (Image: Archive)
‘It demonstrates what the fandom does best – turning our love for the story into real-world impact’ (Image: Archive)

Outlander fans have raised £10,115 in just over a month for Scotland’s Culloden battlefield in honour of actor Sam Heughan‘s birthday.

The National Trust for Scotland site is renowned as the location of the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746.

It is also a central part of the Outlander story.

The battlefield was pivotal in the fictional life of lead character Jamie Fraser, portrayed by actor Sam Heughan.

The show inspired Australian Outlander fan Tash Pow to make the trust’s Culloden Fighting Fund the recipient of her fundraiser.

The money will support the trust’s conservation of Culloden and continue to interpret the battle and tell the stories of the people who were there.

“As fans of Diana Gabaldon’s books and the Outlander series, Culloden is one of the central and most emotionally charged elements in the saga,” Ms Pow said.

“Defining and haunting the entire series, it shapes Jamie Fraser’s life and Culloden Moor is where fans go to honour the history behind Jamie and his story. It is our 21st-century bridge between Jamie and his 18th-century Scottish heritage.

“With the series ending this year, the National Trust for Scotland’s Culloden Fighting Fund seemed the perfect recipient, honouring both Sam Heughan and the fictional character he portrays.”

Old Leanach Cottage at Culloden Battlefield. Outlander fans have raised £10,115 in just over a month for Scotland’s Culloden battlefield in honour of actor Sam Heughan’s birthday. The National Trust for Scotland site is renowned as the location of the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746. (Image: Harvey Wood/National Trust for Scotland/PA Wire)

Ms Pow said the fundraiser was an opportunity for supporters to “leave a small part of their hearts on the battlefield, just as so many others had done before”.

“The generosity and passion for both Outlander and Scotland’s heritage have made this possible,” she said.

“It demonstrates what the fandom does best – turning our love for the story into real-world impact.”

Six out of eight seasons of Outlander have been filmed at trust places between 2013 and 2024, including Falkland Palace, Preston Mill, Culross Palace and Newhailes House.

Anna Rathband, the National Trust for Scotland’s filming manager, said: “I spent more than a decade working with the brilliant Outlander production team to bring Diana Gabaldon’s story to life on screen, and to see the legacy of this work continuing to inspire visitors, and incredible donations like this one for Culloden, is such a joy and really shows the importance of film tourism.”

In honour of the show’s final season, the National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA has made the Outlander effect on Scottish tourism the recipient of its annual Great Scot award.

Chosen by the foundation’s board of trustees, the award is presented to a Scot or American who has contributed to the countries’ shared heritage.

Diana Gabaldon, the American author of the Outlander novels, won the award in 2022 and this year’s award was accepted by Outlander’s executive producer and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts, and cast members John Bell, Richard Rankin, and Jamie Roy.