It’s a beautiful place, the north of Scotland. So beautiful that film directors from all over the world spend their budgets filming here.
Read more: Highlands helps Scotland win world’s best cinematic destination
From being showcased in Harry Potter, The Dark Knight Rises and Braveheart, and a mixture of old and new cinema, our part of the country’s certainly not afraid of the camera, and here’s 13 films that prove just that.
1) When Eight Bells Toll
Featuring shots of Duart Castle and Tobermory on the Isle of Mull off the country’s west coast, The film follows a a British agent on a mission to determine the location of a ship that went missing near the east coast of Scotland.
2) Braveheart
Glencoe, Loch Leven, Glen Nevis and Aonach Eagach all star in Scotland’s best-known story. We’ll just not mention the scenes that were filmed in Ireland…
3) Prometheus
The 2012 science-fiction film’s opening scene was shot at The Storr on the Isle of Skye. The directors also chose Inverness, Rannoch Moor and Fort William as part of the set.
4) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The notorious Glennfinnan Viaduct was first shown in the second instalment of Harry Potter. The Jacobite Steam train that takes the trainee wizards and witches from platform 9 and 3/4 features in the third, fourth and fifth films too.
5) The Dark Knight Rises
The end of the Batman trilogy opens in Cairngorms where a CIA plane is hijacked by Bane’s army.
6) Under the Skin
Although mostly based in Glasgow, the motion picture starring Scarlett Johansson features scenes in Lochgoilhead at the northern tip of Loch Eck in Argyll.
7) The World Is Not Enough
The temporary MI6 offices HQ are set in Eilean Donan Castle. And to add to the Scottish flavour the film has, the soundtrack was recorded by the Scottish-fronted band Garbage.
8) Stardust
When Lamia meets Ditchwater Sal at her caravan in the 2007 fantasy adventure, it’s actually Faerie Glen, just east of Uig on Skye.
9) The Thirty-Nine Steps
The 1935 Hitchcock used Glencoe and other parts of the Highlands in its set.
10) Skyfall
And Glencoe makes another appearance when Bond takes M to draw Silva out into the open during Skyfall.
11) Rob Roy
Rob Roy was filmed entirely in Scotland, but Loch Leven stole the show when it was used to depict the opening scenes.
12) The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
And because Glencoe is just that amazing, it also features in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.
13) Highlander
West coast beauty spot Eilean Donan Castle makes its second appearance in the countdown as it was portrayed in Highlander as the village where Macleod is banished to after recovering from his apparently fatal wounds.