Despite being directly linked to the Scottish mainland, the Kintyre peninsula has all of the romantic mystique and breathtaking natural marvels of island life, as Robin McKelvie discovers
To be honest, the whole Scotland’s Route 66 thing started as a bit of a joke,” says Niall Macalister Hall, distillery manager at Kintyre Gin, as we peer over the cobalt waters of the Kilbrannan Sound and the glowering hills of Kintyre. “But then it grew arms and legs and we thought, what better way to get people to explore this criminally underexplored peninsula?”
Like many Scots I had only ever enjoyed brief flirtations with Kintyre – the peninsula that stretches south from the fishing port of Tarbert down to Campbeltown and then drops to a dramatic dalliance with the Atlantic within touching distance of Antrim. I’ve paddled in on the Waverley, driven through en route to Gigha and nipped over from Cowal for lunch. This newer competition to the much vaunted – and arguably overused – North Coast 500 demands you focus attention on Kintyre in its own right. It’s a slow travel route right around Kintyre, down the smooth A83 on the western littoral; back up the more languorous B842 on its eastern flank.
Split into six areas, the Kintyre 66 (or K66 for short), is handily a basic loop with half a dozen ‘spurs’ that offer more options. Cutting southwest of Tarbert the first choice is whether to sail across to the real-life Treasure Island of Gigha, a community-owned, beach-fringed oasis. I hold fire and instead enjoy my beach fix with the local dog walkers and huge surf of sandy Westport. The other decision is whether to get Andy Stewart’s Campbeltown Loch on for the approach to the eponymous town, or descend into even more saccharine waters with McCartney’s Mull of Kintyre. In this land of big seas and even bigger skies drama tinged with sentimentality is the default setting.
Campbeltown is not so much Kintyre in miniature; rather the best bits of Kintyre writ large, with a postcard-pretty waterside setting hunkering below the hulk of 354m-high Beinn Ghuilean. Campbeltown even sports its own tidal island in Davaar. It oozes history, from its flurry of church spires and old merchant houses, through to the Fourteenth Century Campbeltown Cross, arguably Argyll’s finest medieval example.
Campbeltown was once a hub between the isles of Britain and Ireland with 30 distilleries bustling along. Those glory days may be gone, but it’s not content to linger in the doldrums. In 2021 Campbeltown was named ‘Scotland’s most improved place’ in the SURF regeneration awards after 40 buildings were reborn with £13 million investment. The same year the reborn Glen Scotia Distillery’s 25-year-old was crowned the world’s best malt.
The very symbol of Campbeltown’s steely determination is the Campbeltown Picture House. This remarkable old dame is from another world, opened just before the outbreak of World War One. The community has fought hard to stop the only remaining atmospheric theatre in Scotland being converted into flats. Their reward is a movie house where you can still gaze up at the cloud-studded ‘sky’.
You could barrel quickly back up the A83, but why would you when the slow travel joy of the sinewy B842 reeks of adventure. And epic views of the Arran Hills. I encounter more sheep than other cars, but don’t see many of those either. The towering rhododendrons and the lush fauna are like nothing in my east coast garden: more Gulf Stream than garden centre.
It’s easy to miss the unmissable sight at Saddell Bay. This solitary soul once had artistic friends, but now Antony Gormley’s Grip iron sculpture stands utterly alone, only saved by a mysterious benefactor. Does anyone hear the echo of an ex-Beatle? It’s quite something standing with him, as waves pound around and seals blink back from the rocks.
Pushing north brings tragedy; hope too. I first heard of Carradale in 1990 when a Royal Navy submarine dragged four local fishermen to their deaths – a devastating blow to such a small fishing community. But tourism is bringing renewed hope. I tour their wee heritage museum, find locally landed langoustines at the Glen Bar, and enjoy a sublime dinner at Carradales.
I’m really hitting my stride now, with days bursting with great food, engaging sights and those big sea and skies. But all road trips come to an end. This one way too soon – I resolve to come back and linger longer.
My Thelma & Louise moment comes with my neighbour and co-driver Mike at Skipness. The smokehouse sets my tastebuds tingling. Another seafood feast awaits, along with another Kintyre Gin as the sun smoulders over Arran.
I think of the young woman in Campbeltown who overhead me talking about the K66 and chipped in: “It’s much better than the NC500 as there’s no tourists on it!”
Here it’s just myself, Mike and the gannets, diving for their supper right in
front of us.
More than motels on the K66
Portavadie Marina
The ideal first or last night stop is just a short ferry hop across the water from Tarbert. Check into a designer apartment with floor to ceiling windows and your own sauna, or cosy down in a hideaway for two, then bubble away in the infinity pool on the shores of Loch Fyne. Treat yourself to an Ishga spa treatment and Gigha halibut in their Marina Restaurant.
Ashbank Hotel
John and Sharon Bell are your hosts at this welcoming bolthole on Kintyre’s eastern flank. Book a room here in Carradale with a sweeping view of the Kilbrannan Sound. Enjoy a few drinks in their bar and you’ll feel like part of the local community. ashbankhotel.com
Ardshiel Hotel
Revive Campbeltown’s glory days in one of its grand historic stone mansions. Imagine you’re a whisky baron enjoying their sunny garden or delve into their award-winning whisky bar, stocked with more than 1,500 whiskies, and convince yourself you are. For a superb learning experience hook up here with Watt Whisky (wattwhisky.com) for a curated tasting.
The Yurt Experience, Gigha
Yes, I am suggesting you stay in a yurt. In the Hebrides. It sleeps up to four, with a wood-burning stove to cosy around. The Atlantic tempts within strolling distance. And breathe.
Skipness Cottages
Hide away like the local laird by the coast with a hulking castle on your very own estate. Skipness Estate has been in the Oakes family since 1936, with a flurry of cottages to choose from.
Foodie K66
Skipness Seafood Cabin
There are few finer places in Scotland to savour seafood. They smoke their own fish right down by the Kilbrannan Sound. Savour it along with other boat-fresh delights then wander and appreciate the views across the water to Arran.
skipnessseafoodcabin.co.uk
Starfish
Dine on seriously fresh seafood just across the road from the hard-working local fleet in Tarbert. Kick off with oysters or mussels smoked in Campbeltown by Kintyre Smokehouse, who also supply Fortnum & Mason, plus Ascot, then move on to plump, locally-landed lobsters, if they’re on the specials board.
Boathouse
Hop over on the ferry and soon you’ll be dining on Gigha halibut on the isle where it’s sustainably farmed. They’ve local oysters and Machrihanish brown crab from just across the water, too, as well as crisp Sauvignon Blanc from further afield. boathouseongigha.com
Number Forty Two
A trim-fronted modern restaurant with an urbane rather than rural vibe in Campbeltown, as hipster as Kintyre ever allows. Seafood is what they do best and handily they often hurl their catch of the day up on their Facebook page.
Beinn An Tuirc
Detour off the B842 into Torrisdale Estate and an unlikely treat awaits with superb gin, a welcoming distillery with tours, and an equally welcoming café. Think sandwiches and paninis, before it’s on to their small batch distillery. You will leave with Kintyre Gin; probably more than one bottle.
Carradales
It’s all local here with Kintyre Smokehouse salmon on the menu; Glen Scotia whisky and Kintyre Gin at the bar. Fruit and vegetables from the garden at this plush guest house in Carradale. Dishes like lemon posset with homemade chocolate fudge infused with Campbeltown whisky set the delicious tone.
Getting around
At only 66 miles you probably won’t need sat nav. That said, the free map produced by Explore Kintyre and Wild About Argyll is handy. The K66 website has information and a map to download.
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