Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CalMac
(
www.calmac.co.uk
)
runs a ferry from Tayinloan in Kintyre to Gigha (passen-
ger/car return £6.90/25.50, 20 minutes, hourly Monday to Saturday, six on Sunday). Bi-
cycles travel free.
You can
rent bikes
from Post Office House for £12 per day.
CAMPBELTOWN
POP 6000
Campbeltown, with its ranks of grey council houses, feels a bit like an Ayrshire mining
town that's been placed incongruously on the shores of a beautiful Argyllshire harbour. It
was once a thriving fishing port and whisky-making centre, but industrial decline and the
closure of the former air-force base at nearby Machrihanish saw Campbeltown's fortunes
decline.
But renewal is in the air - the spruced-up seafront, with its flower beds, smart Victorian
buildings and restored art-deco cinema, lends the town a distinctly optimistic air.
The
tourist office
(
01586-552056; The Pier; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Sat)
is beside the
harbour.
Sights & Activities
There were once no fewer than 32 distilleries in the Campbeltown area, but most closed
down in the 1920s. Today
Springbank Distillery
(
ext 1 01586-551710;
www.the-tast-
ingroom.com
;
85 Longrow; tours from £6.50; tours 10am & 2pm Mon-Sat)
is one of
only three that now operate in town. It is also one of the very few distilleries in Scotland
that distils, matures and bottles all its whisky on the one site.
One of the most unusual sights in Argyll is in a
cave
on the southern side of the island
of
Davaar
, at the mouth of Campbeltown Loch. On the wall of the cave is an eerie
paint-
ing of the Crucifixion
by local artist Archibald MacKinnon, dating from 1887. You can
walk to the island at low tide across a shingle bar called the Dhorlinn (allow at least 1½
hours for the round trip), but make sure you're not caught by a rising tide - check tide
times with the tourist office before you set off.
Mull of Kintyre Seatours
(
07785 542811;
www.mull-of-kintyre.co.uk
;
adult/child
from £35/£25)
operates two-hour, high-speed boat trips out of Campbeltown harbour to
look for wildlife: seals, porpoises, minke whales, golden eagles and peregrine falcons live
in the turbulent tidal waters and on the spectacular sea cliffs of the Mull of Kintyre. Book
in advance by phone or at the tourist office.
