It’s best known as Paul McCartney’s remote Scottish hideaway and the subject of one his most famous hits. But the Mull of Kintyre is worth the long drive to visit it yourself
Words & pictures ❚ Cameron McNeish
ROAD TRIPS SCOTLAND
It’s a long and winding road to the Mull of Kintyre. Paul McCartney thought so, too, and just as he and Linda were inspired by the mist rolling in from the sea and the sunsets on fire, many others are also discovering what this remote part of Scotland has to offer, and travelling by campervan is the best way to experience it.
The Kintyre Peninsula is a long and narrow leg of the old county of Argyll, a peninsula that has only been denied island status by a mile stretch of road that runs between Tarbert and the head of West Loch Tarbert. That tiny neck of land was to prove fortuitous for a certain Viking king.
In 1093, some six centuries after Fergus Mór mac Eirc and his tribe of Scotti warriors arrived here from Ireland to create the ancient kingdom of Dalriada, the Norwegian monarch, Magnus Olafsson, laid claim to the Scottish isles.
At that time the king of Scotland was facing internal rivalry to his own throne so he agreed the Norwegian could have some of the western islands, but there was a catch.
He had to encircle the lands he wanted by boat, but Olafsson’s real desire was control of the Kintyre Peninsula. So, Magnus had his boat dragged across the narrow isthmus, and to make sure he complied fully with the King’s instructions he sat inside the boat and rode within it, allowing his warriors to do all the hard work. In this way he won control of Kintyre as well as the Scottish islands.
Not surprisingly, Kintyre has an island feel to it and although the distance, as the eagle flies, between Glasgow and Campbeltown is only about 60 miles, the actual distance on the road is much longer and takes well in excess of three hours on a good day to reach Campbelltown, the peninsula’s only town.
The reality of this is that Kintyre has created its own atmosphere, not quite highland and not quite lowland, but more of a combination of the two with an island character thrown in for good measure. Drive down the west coast of the peninsula and you can almost reach out and touch the lovely islands of Islay and Gigha. From the east it’s only a short sea crossing to the Isle of Arran, the mountains of which cast a long shadow over Kintyre’s east coast.
