Campbeltown
A harbour town on Kintyre with a great whisky past, three working distilleries and Scotland's oldest working cinema.
Campbeltown sits at the head of a deep loch sheltered by Davaar Island, near the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula, and for a small town it has a big place in the story of Scotch whisky.
Some thirty-four distilleries were founded here, with as many as twenty-five at work at once in the mid-1800s, and Campbeltown is still one of Scotland's distinct whisky regions. Three distilleries work today: Springbank, which makes Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn; Glengyle, home of Kilkerran; and Glen Scotia.
The town was called Kinlochkilkerran until the Earl of Argyll, chief of the Campbells, renamed it in the 1600s. Its harbour is still busy with fishing boats and leisure craft. A mile-long causeway leads out to Davaar Island, where a painting of the crucifixion appeared in a cave in 1887, and the Picture House, opened in May 1913, is one of Scotland's earliest purpose-built cinemas and the oldest still showing films. There are flights to Glasgow and a ferry to Ardrossan.
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Campbeltown is at the south end of Kintyre, on the A83.
Campbeltown Airport, three miles west, links with Glasgow, and a ferry runs to Ardrossan.
- Where
- South Kintyre, on the A83.
- Getting there
- Flights from Glasgow; ferry from Ardrossan.
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Add your reviewCampbeltown, Kintyre.
Springbank DistilleryCampbeltown's family distillery of 1828, the only one in Scotland to floor-malt all its barley and do everything on site.Under a mile 1 min by road
Glen Scotia DistilleryOne of Campbeltown's three working distilleries, founded in 1832, with tours, tastings and a Victorian-style shop.Under a mile 1 min by road
Davaar IslandThe tidal island at the mouth of Campbeltown Loch, reached by a shingle causeway, with a lighthouse and a crucifixion painted in a cave.3 miles 6 min by road
Westport BeachSix miles of sand on the Atlantic side of Kintyre, backed by the Machrihanish Dunes and loved by surfers.6 miles 9 min by road
Machrihanish Seabird / Wildlife ObservatoryA sea-watching hide on the Atlantic shore of Kintyre, where migrating seabirds funnel past on wild days.6 miles 10 min by road
Saddell Bay and Castle9 miles 17 min by road
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