A Scottish Love Scheme filming locations in Scotland include Hailes Castle, Nungate Bridge, Yellowcraig Beach, Dirleton Village, Humbie Parish Church, The Castle Inn, St Mary’s Pleasance, Borders Distillery, Dirleton Castle Gardens and Haddington High Street.
Lily (Erica Durance) and Cait Reese (Jo Cameron Brown) travel to Scotland, to reunite with Cait’s old friend, Mairi Campbell (Juliet Cadzow). But when aspiring photographer, Lily, helps local distillery owner, Logan Campbell (River City’s Jordan Young), to rebrand his new holiday whisky, romance is on the cards.
Where Was A Scottish Love Scheme Filmed?
Hallmark’s A Scottish Love Scheme was filmed in the real Haddington, near Edinburgh, Hailes Castle, Dirleton Castle, Dirleton Castle gardens, the Castle Inn, The Foraging Goat and Gibsons of Haddington, St Mary’s Pleasance, historic Nungate Bridge and the River Tyne.
Director Heather Hawthorn-Doyle shared behind the scenes pictures from her A Scottish Love Scheme shoot in July 2023. She revealed her visit to Keith Marischal in Humbie, East Lothian, on Instagram with photos around the grounds. The Tower at Keith Marischal is available as self-catering holiday accommodation. It’s a 16th Century tower that sits alongside the Baronial mansion house.
You can visit most of the Scottish Hallmark movie’s filming locations around East Lothian and the Borders very easily. Here are the locations seen onscreen and how to visit many of the cafes, castles and beaches from A Scottish Love Scheme.
A Scottish Love Scheme Locations
Where Is the Real Haddington from A Scottish Love Scheme?
Haddington. Richard Webb, CC BY-SA 2.0
Haddington is a real town in Scotland, and most scenes in the Hallmark movie A Scottish Love Scheme were filmed there. The real Haddington is about half an hour’s drive from Edinburgh. Look out for local cafes, gift shops, gardens and castles in the 2024 TV movie starring Jordan Young and Erica Durance as the whisky maker and photographer whose mums plot for the pair to fall in love.
It’s a popular area for TV movies and shows set in Scotland, with romantic castles, numerous beaches and charming towns and villages. The area’s Tantallon Castle appears in Netflix’s A Castle for Christmas while The Princess Switch 3 was filmed at East Lothian filming locations including Borthwick Abbey. Not to mention Newhailes House appears as a filming location in Outlander Season 4, and the nearby Dunbar Beach in Outlander Season 5
The Campbell Distillery
We think A Scottish Love Scheme’s distillery location is the Borders Distillery in Hawick. While it’s not in Haddington, the two locations are just an hour’s drive apart. The Borders Distillery became the first distillery to open in the Scottish Borders for 180 years when it opened its doors in 2018. The real Campbell Distillery location is open to visitors for regular tours, but advanced booking is recommended.
Haddington Train Station
The Haddington station sign in A Scottish Love Scheme was added for the Hallmark TV movie. In real life, while there’s a regular commuter train service through East Lothian, the Haddington line hasn’t run for years. The real Haddington Railway Station opened in 1846 as part of the North British Railway. But it closed to rail passengers in 1949, running as a freight only line for another two decades.
Haddington Town Centre
The Haddington town square location is a real place, and it looks exactly as it appears onscreen. In real life, it’s lined with independent shops and cafes, along with a monthly farmers’ market making an appearance. Look out for it in several scenes throughout the movie as the characters get to know each other.
The Pub
The Castle Inn in Dirleton by James Denham, CC BY-SA 2.0
The pub filming location in Hallmark’s A Scottish Love Scheme is The Castle Inn in Dirleton. The good news is that fans of the romantic movie can visit Direlton’s Castle Inn. The 19th Century coaching inn is open to guests for food, drinks and accommodation and it’s in easy reach of the area’s local attractions. East Lothian is a hotspot for golf courses including Archerfield and Muirfield. There’s also the start of the John Muir Way in nearby Dunbar for national park enthusiasts, and of course, the area’s many castles for history lovers.
The Foraging Goat
A Scottish Love Scheme’s The Foraging Goat is a real shop and café in Haddington, Scotland. In the 2024 TV movie, Logan introduces Lily to his favourite local café with coffee and cookies. Filming took place at the Haddington High Street café location back in August 2023.
Walled Garden
The Meadow Garden. james denham, CC BY-SA 2.0
The walled garden where Logan and Lily walk in A Scottish Love Scheme is the St Mary’s Pleasance walled garden. This pretty garden filming location is near Haddington town centre. It sits alongside the 17th Century Haddington House and the church of St Mary’s, and is laid out as a 17th Century garden. But it was actually created in the 1970s.
Various areas are planted to historic gardening principles from the 1600s, including a wildflower meadow and orchard. But Lily and Logan are seen walking through the laburnum colonnade – the archway of trees they pass through midway through the film.
Peffers Place
We see another real Haddington location, Peffers Place, several times in A Scottish Love Scheme. Look out for it when Lily and Logan walk and talk, then later when Lily, Cait and Mairi walk through the town to the shops.
Gibsons of Haddington
The Haddington gift shop in the Hallmark movie A Scottish Love Scheme is real. Gibsons is located on Haddington’s Market Street, and is a real gift whop where you can find local cards and presents. In the 2024 TV movie, Lily enters the shop while Mairi and Cait discuss her and Logan’s potential romance.
Haddington Church
St Mary's Church. Stephencdickson, CC BY-SA 4.0
Look out for the square tower of St Mary’s Collegiate Church in a long shot of Haddington midway through the Hallmark winter movie. The church dates back to 1380 and is part of the Church of Scotland denomination.
The Bridge
A Scottish Love Scheme’s bridge filming location is the Nungate Bridge in Haddington. Constructed in the 16th Century, this bridge has impressed and inspired for centuries. As shown in the Scottish-set Hallmark movie, the River Tyne which runs below it is a haven for swans. Who knows – if you visit, you might just spot the swans seen in the movie!
S Luca Ice Cream
Look out for the S Luca ice cream van after the rugby match scene. This real Scottish ice cream company is based locally in Musselburgh. And if you don’t already know, the Scottish soft drink in the ice cream float is heavily hinted to be Irn Bru.
Castle Photography
Dirleton Castle. Jonathan Oldenbuck, CC BY-SA 3.0
The ruined castle where Lily takes photos at the end of A Scottish Love Scheme is Dirleton Castle. This Hallmark movie location was once the De Vaux family’s 12th Century fortress. Nobody has lived at the castle since the 17th Century, though, and it is now a popular visitor site in the centre of Dirleton.
Once again, you can visit this Historic Scotland castle on a limited basis due to ongoing safety works.
The Beach
A Scottish Love Scheme’s beach location is Yellowcraig Beach in East Lothian. Yellowcraig is one of several beaches near the popular coastal town of North Berwick, and this one is known for its family friendly attractions. The beach sits alongside parkland with an adventure playground and woodland trails.
The beach from A Scottish Love Scheme is also connected to the famous adventure novel, Treasure Island. It’s said that Edinburgh-born author Robert Louis Stevenson was inspired by Fidra Island, which can be seen off the shoreline.
The Castle Ruins
The castle in A Scottish Love Scheme is Hailes Castle in Haddington, East Lothian. Hailes Castle dates back to the 1200s, and was first owned by the de Gourleys, a Northumberland family. It was later linked to the Balliols, then the Hepburns, leading to the ruined castle’s royal connection. Mary Queen of Scots stayed at the Hallmark movie’s Scottish castle with the 3rd husband, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell.
A Scottish Love Scheme’s castle filming location in Haddington is currently closed to visitors while masonry inspections take place. But you can visit the grounds – check Historic Environment Scotland for the latest information.
Rose Garden
Dirleton Castle Garden. HARTLEPOOLMARINA2014, CC BY-SA 3.0
Hallmark’s A Scottish Love Scheme rose garden filming location is part of the Dirleton Castle grounds. The gardens are home to a dovecote, and a Victorian-style garden recreating the castle’s garden as it would have been in the 1860s. Dirleton also boasts an unusual claim to fame, with the world’s longest herbaceous border.
The Church
A Scottish Love Scheme’s church location is Humbie Parish Church, which is part of the Church of Scotland. The quaint, romantic church seen in A Scottish Love Scheme’s finale dates back to 1866, but there’s been a church on the site for centuries. Like most of the movie’s Scottish filming locations, Humbie is just a short drive from Haddington in East Lothian.