Less than 100 years ago Campbeltown was the centre of Scotland s whisky industry with some 30 distilleries operating in the town. Now only one, Springbank, remains in production. A few miles south of the town lies the Mull of Kintyre, immortalised in song by Paul McCartney. Whilst Campbeltown does not have the same range of large scale visitor attractions offered by other ports, it has a charm and unhurried atmosphere of its own making it an ideal port of call for smaller to medium-sized cruise ships whose passengers are seeking a more individual shore experience. The town s Heritage Centre houses a treasure trove of information and artefacts depicting Campbeltown s history and development.
Volunteer are always on hand to welcome visitors and answer questions.
Kintyre plays host to some of Scotland s leading craft workshops where you can watch craftsmen at work producing gold and silver jewellery, ceramics, hand painted silks, and knitwear. Golfers come from around the world to play at Machrihanish, a stunning and challenging links course on the Atlantic coast just five miles west of Campbeltown. Inveraray, a two hour drive north of Campbeltown, provides a good full day excursion with Inveraray Castle, Inveraray Jail telling the story of life behind bars during the 1800 s and the Arctic Penguin, a maritime heritage centre on board a converted three masted schooner. The little island of Gigha, which translates from the Gaelic as God s Isle is easily reached from Campbeltown. The island offers a medieval Church, lots of archaeological sites and Achamore House gardens which are a blaze of colour in May and June.