In Wow Place #47 (Udaipur, India), I shared with you my passion for visiting places featured in my favorite TV shows and movies. Another such place is Laggan, Scotland, the location where they filmed the great BBC TV show, Monarch of the Glen.
Not familiar with it?
Monarch of the Glen, which ran for 7 seasons between 2000 and 2005, tells the story of a young London restaurateur, Archie MacDonald, who gets roped into restoring his childhood home in the Scottish Highlands. Archie’s dilemma: should he stay in London (with his girlfriend, Justine), or step into his father’s shoes as the Laird of Glenbogle? It’s a classic fish-out-of-water story, with great Scottish scenery, charming characters and loads of bittersweet laughs.
The funny thing is, when my mom, Shirley, and I arrive in Laggan, I have never actually seen the series! My mom is a big Monarch fan, however, so I agree to tour the town with her, visiting the site of the train station where Archie would frequently arrive from London…the cottage where the school teacher, Katrina, lived…Glenbogle House (in fact Ardverikie House) where Archie and family lived, etc. It is only at the end of the day, once we return to our B&B, that I have a chance to actually watch the show, thanks to our proprietor’s extensive DVD library. After binging the first seven episodes, I’m hooked.
Is Laggan worth visiting, even if you’re not a Monarch of the Glen junkie? I’d say definitively yes! It’s a cute old Scottish town, with a small, one-street downtown area, plenty of rolling hills and vegetable fields, and an abundance of Highland charm. For me, the highlight is watching my mom’s face as we visit each of the movie sites. “Oh my, I know this place. Duncan and Golly would go fishing here. That’s where Lexie picked up bread every morning. That’s the gate house where Archie’s mom stayed.”
You don’t have that many chances to make an 80-year-old woman’s day. You have to seize them.