The Hallmark movie A Merry Scottish Christmas was filmed on location at Duns Castle, Inveraray, Old Kilbeggan Distillery, Kilteel Inn, and Barberstown Cross.
In the movie, Party of Five’s Claudia and Bailey, Lacey Chabert and Scott Wolf, reunite as estranged siblings Lindsey and Brad Morgan. And they may have crossed the Atlantic, but they haven’t forgotten their fans.
“There's also a few little Easter eggs for the diehard fans of our show. A few things that if you look closely enough.”
Lacey Chabert
But they’re not the only recognisable names in the movie. For starters, Glaswegian actor James Robinson, who plays Mac Bell, made his debut playing the young William Wallace in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart.
And more importantly for Christmas movie fans, he recently starred in the Scottish-set Saving Christmas Spirit – filmed around Fort William and Loch Awe.
A Merry Scottish Christmas Filming Locations
Look out for A Merry Christmas filming locations in Scotland and Ireland including Duns Castle in Berwickshire, Inveraray in Argyll and Bute, Victorian Tea Room at Barberstown House, Kilbeggan Distillery and Brennan’s Kilteel Inn in Co. Kildare.
When Lindsey (Lacey Chabert) and Brad’s (Scott Wolf) mother, Josephine (Fiona Bell) brings the brother and sister back to her Scottish homeland, along with Brad’s wide, Sarah (Kellie Blaise), they discover an impressive secret about their heritage.
And of course, once they reach Glencrave Castle, they enjoy Christmas spirit, whisky and romance with a tartan twist.
Filmed in July 2023 with Scottish and Irish film crews working with Synthetic Cinema, A Merry Scottish Christmas premiered on 18th November 2023 on Hallmark.
Tapping into the stars’ appeal with fans and draw of castles and ceilidhs, the Highland-set romance became the most-watched cable movie of the year.
Synthetic Cinema revealed a few shots from their trip, including the Dreel Tavern in Anstruther, north of Edinburgh in Fife. Which has ranked as one of The Times’ top cosy autumn pubs, so it’s not a bad choice at all. Meanwhile, director Dustin Rikert toasted Irish hospitality as location filming drew to a close.
Glencrave Castle
Duns Castle. Rich Tea, CC BY-SA 2.0
The real Glencrave Castle in Scotland is Duns Castle, a private home and wedding venue in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders. It’s just an hour from Edinburgh, and a short drive away from St Abb’s Head (also known as New Asgard in Avengers Endgame).
Though in Hallmark’s 2023 movie A Merry Scottish Christmas, the Morgan family estate is said to be in the Highlands.
Kellie Blaise, who plays Sarah Morgan, praised the enchanting castle in an Instagram post on the movie’s release in 2023. And going further back to 2017, a stay at Duns Castle was offered as a prize to celebrate the release of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens.
So where does Duns Castle get its fairytale credentials from? To start with, the tower dates back to 1320, making the Berwickshire castle a true medieval stronghold. Its gothic makeover didn’t happen until the 19th Century – when dramatic architecture was all the rage.
Glencrave Village
Inveraray by sylvia duckworth, CC BY-SA 2.0
A Merry Scottish Christmas’s Glencrave Village location is Inveraray, Argyll and Bute, and at Straffan Antiques in Co. Kildare. Inveraray is the town that appears in the long shot as the siblings go to the Christmas fair and Highland dancing competition.
Traditionally known as the county town of Argyll and home to the Duke of Argyll, leader of Clan Campbell, Inveraray looks out across Loch Fyne. In the centre, you’ll find the old Inveraray Jail (now a museum) and historic streets lined with independent shops and cafes.
Just off to the side, you’ll find Invararay Castle – a key filming location from A Very British Scandal and Downton Abbey: a Journey to the Highlands.
It looks like many of the close-up shots of the town square were filmed on location at Straffan Antiques. The shops and café are located in the farm buildings of Barberstown House in Straffan, in Ireland.
Forge Head Shetland’s Café
We think a Merry Scottish Christmas’s Forge Head Shetland’s Café location is the Victorian Tea Room in Barberstown Cross, Straffan.
It’s set around Straffan Courtyard, as part of Straffan Antiques in Co. Kildare – about 650 miles from Shetland.
Salinger’s
The Salinger’s pub filming location in A Merry Scottish Christmas looks like Brennan’s Kilteel Inn on Main Street, Kilteel, in County Kildare, Ireland. The Kilteel Inn is a popular filming location – including an appearance as Cassidy’s pub in The Tourist Season 2 in early 2024.
And the name Salinger’s makes a nod to Scott Wolf and Lacey Chabert’s Party of Five past – Salinger being the family’s surname in the 90s TV show. It was also the name of the family restaurant, which the siblings take on under the leadership of the oldest brother, Charlie.
Kilbride Distillery
The Kilbride Distillery filming location in Hallmark’s A Merry Scottish Christmas is the Old Kilbeggan Distillery on Lower Main Street, Co. Westmeath, Ireland.
Of course, it’s a fabulous location that boasts all the attributes of a good day out (complete with its own ghosts to accompany the other type of spirits on the premises). Though you won’t find any whisky here as described by the tour guide – it is, of course, dedicated to Irish whiskey.
It's also home to a surviving Coffey Still, as seen in the shot at the start of the distillery tour scene. In fact, there’s plenty of distilling history to discover at the Merry Scottish Christmas distillery location.
The distillery was founded in 1757, and was run by the same family for almost 200 years, until war, Prohibition, and the Depression. But in 1982 it reopened as a museum, and by 2007, the distillery was back up and running once again.