Wales (or Cymru in Welsh) is a mountainous country on the western side of

Scotland at the Movies

With its stunning landscape, breathtaking choice of architecture and castles, and an uncomparable

quality of light - Scotland is the real star of the big screen.

Scotland’s spectacular landscape has made it popular over the years with many filmmakers, with movies like Chariots of Fire, Highlander, Local Hero ( Porunk Hőse), Hamlet and Greystoke ( Tarzan a majmok ura) all being made on location here. Hollywood blockbusters such as Braveheart, Rob Roy and Mrs Brown have boosted the Scottish film industry where Scotland’s dramatic scenery, rich heritage and stirring history lured many stars away from Hollywood to film on our shores. If there had been an Academy Award for Best Location, it would undoubtedly have gone to Scotland!

Mel Gibson spent several months filming at two magnificent historic castles Blackness: near Falkirk and Dunnottar, near Stonehaven - when he was starring in Hamlet, and he was keen to return to Scotland to make Braveheart. In the film, Gibson plays the heroic William Wallace, who fought to drive the English from Scotland in the 13th century until his defeat by King Edward I of England at Falkirk. Filming took place in two beautiful and dramatic locations, Glen Nevis and Glen Coe, which will be familiar to cinema-goers from the Highlander films starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery. Glen Coe is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The romantic Eilean Donan Castle featured as a dramatic backdrop in both Highlander and Loch Ness and more recently in the Bond movie The World Is Not Enough. You can experience the atmosphere by visiting this fully restored castle on the shores of Loch Duich. Another castle, Duart, on the Isle of Mull was recently used for Entrapment ( Briliáns csapda) once again starring Sean Connery. At Stirling (where Braveheart had its world premiere) you can visit the National Wallace Monument, perched high on the rock of Abbey Craig around which Wallace camped in 1297, waiting for the English to advance. The monument houses an exhibition of armour, including Wallace's two-handed sword, and there are displays telling his story in various languages. Rob Roy McGregor, played by Liam Neeson in Rob Roy, was an 18th century Highland folk hero whose exploits won him a place in history. Filming took place in Perthshire and in Glen Nevis, near Fort William, and the courtyard of Megginch Castle near Perth was transformed into a realistic 18th century marketplace. The spectacular gardens at Drummond Castle near Crieff, which are open to visitors, doubled as the residence of the villainous Duke of Montrose. If you're looking for your own Rob Roy experience, then head for the town of Callander near the Trossachs. There you'll find the Rob Roy Visitor Centre in an old kirk (church) off the main street. The delightful film Local Hero was a worldwide hit, and fans still make the pilgrimage to Pennan, in the north east of Scotland, and to the small Highland town of Mallaig, which were the main locations. The film's Scottish director, Bill Forsyth, let his camera linger lovingly on the white-washed houses, the fishing boats and the glorious coastline of these regions. Many visitors to the historic town of St Andrews make a point of going down to the beach to see the place where one of the most memorable sequences of Chariots of Fire was filmed the scene where the athletes run along the glistening sea shore to the sound of the famous Vangelis theme tune.

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