Isle of Whithorn

Isle Of Whithorn is a village on the south coast of Scotland. Like the neighbouring town of Whithorn, scenes from The Wicker Man were also filmed here.

The castle in Isle Of Whithorn is seen during the house search for Rowan.

Howie is seen emerging from the castle's back door as pictured above. The boat seen outside the castle in the film is still there today, albeit in a different spot. One of the castle's bedrooms is the location where Howie was grossly offended by two dolls placed in the mating position. The spiral staircase that Howie looks at in this scene was actually filmed elsewhere. The owner advised us that the staircase was actually filmed at Culzean Castle. Another of this building's rooms is where Ingrid Pitt's bath scene was filmed.

Isle Of Whithorn castle is inhabited today, as it was during filming, by Elizabeth McAdam Laughland. Elizabeth also served as an extra during the filming and can be seen during various scenes of the film. Elizabeth was good enough to share her memories of the production with us, of which you can find more of elsewhere on this site.

Also of interest to fans of The Wicker Man here is the studio belonging to the local artist Amanda Sunderland. Amanda has a long Wicker Man heritage; her father and uncles appear in the film!

Amanda's father, Ian , lives on the Isle and was more than happy to reminisce with us on the subject. Ian recalls that he featured prominently in a cut scene involving him running down the street holding hands with Brit Eckland.

Perhaps the most memorable member of Amanda's family, in terms of what made it to the final film, is Mark Sunderland. Mark is the long-haired white-shirted islander seen throughout the film! Amanda's painting work incorporates the local area including its Wicker Man connections. For more details of her work, her website can be found at http://www.sunnysarah.co.uk

For further reading on the area, go to http://www.isleofwhithorn.com