Campbeltown (Scottish Gaelic: "Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain") is a town and former
royal burghA royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
in
Argyll and ButeArgyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead....
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, located by
Campbeltown LochCampbeltown Loch is a small sea loch near the south of the Kintyre Peninsula facing eastwards towards the Firth of Clyde. The town of Campbeltown, from which it takes its name, is located at its head. The island of Davaar is located in the loch, and can be reach by foot along a natural shingle...
on the
KintyreKintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the south-west of Argyll and Bute. The region stretches approximately 30 miles , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to East Loch Tarbert in the north...
peninsulaA peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paenīnsula : paene, almost + īnsula, island.A peninsula can also be a headland, cape, island promontory, bill, point, or spit....
. Originally known as
Kinlochkilkerran (
EngEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
:
The head of the lochA loch is a body of water which is either:* a lake or;...
by the kirkKirk can mean "church" in general or the Church of Scotland in particular. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.-Church of Scotland:...
of St. KieranCiarán , Ciaràn , Ciaran, Kieran, Kyran, Keiran, Kieren, Kieron, Keiron, , or Kiernan, is a personal name meaning "Small dark one" or "Dark-haired one". Ciarán comes from the Irish word "Ciar" which means dark or black. Ciar can be linked back to Ciar, son of Fergus, King of Ulster...
) - this form is still used in Gaelic. It was renamed in the 17th century and became an important centre for
shipbuildingShipbuilding is the construction of ships. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history....
and
Scotch whiskyScotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. In Britain, the term whisky is usually taken to mean Scotch unless otherwise specified. In other English-speaking countries, it is often referred to as "Scotch"....
, and a busy
fishing port||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and/or transferring cargo. It is usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake. The best ports have deep water in channels or berths, and protection from the wind and waves...
.
Campbeltown is one of the handful of areas in Scotland categorised as a distinct
whiskyWhisky or whiskey is a type of alcoholic beverage distilled from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize...
producing region, and is home to the
Campbeltown Single MaltsCampbeltown Single Malts are single malt Scotch whiskies distilled in the burgh of Campbeltown, Scotland, on the Kintyre peninsula. Once a major producer of whisky with as many as 28 distilleries, and claiming the title "whisky capital of the world", the area has since declined, due to economic...
, at one point having 34
distilleriesDistillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
and proclaiming itself "the whisky capital of the world".
Campbeltown (Scottish Gaelic: "Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain") is a town and former
royal burghA royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
in
Argyll and ButeArgyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead....
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, located by
Campbeltown LochCampbeltown Loch is a small sea loch near the south of the Kintyre Peninsula facing eastwards towards the Firth of Clyde. The town of Campbeltown, from which it takes its name, is located at its head. The island of Davaar is located in the loch, and can be reach by foot along a natural shingle...
on the
KintyreKintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the south-west of Argyll and Bute. The region stretches approximately 30 miles , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to East Loch Tarbert in the north...
peninsulaA peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paenīnsula : paene, almost + īnsula, island.A peninsula can also be a headland, cape, island promontory, bill, point, or spit....
. Originally known as
Kinlochkilkerran (
EngEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
:
The head of the lochA loch is a body of water which is either:* a lake or;...
by the kirkKirk can mean "church" in general or the Church of Scotland in particular. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.-Church of Scotland:...
of St. KieranCiarán , Ciaràn , Ciaran, Kieran, Kyran, Keiran, Kieren, Kieron, Keiron, , or Kiernan, is a personal name meaning "Small dark one" or "Dark-haired one". Ciarán comes from the Irish word "Ciar" which means dark or black. Ciar can be linked back to Ciar, son of Fergus, King of Ulster...
) - this form is still used in Gaelic. It was renamed in the 17th century and became an important centre for
shipbuildingShipbuilding is the construction of ships. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history....
and
Scotch whiskyScotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. In Britain, the term whisky is usually taken to mean Scotch unless otherwise specified. In other English-speaking countries, it is often referred to as "Scotch"....
, and a busy
fishing port||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and/or transferring cargo. It is usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake. The best ports have deep water in channels or berths, and protection from the wind and waves...
.
Whisky
Campbeltown is one of the handful of areas in Scotland categorised as a distinct
whiskyWhisky or whiskey is a type of alcoholic beverage distilled from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize...
producing region, and is home to the
Campbeltown Single MaltsCampbeltown Single Malts are single malt Scotch whiskies distilled in the burgh of Campbeltown, Scotland, on the Kintyre peninsula. Once a major producer of whisky with as many as 28 distilleries, and claiming the title "whisky capital of the world", the area has since declined, due to economic...
, at one point having 34
distilleriesDistillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
and proclaiming itself "the whisky capital of the world". However, a focus on quantity rather than quality, and the combination of
prohibitionIn the history of the United States, Prohibition, also known as The Noble Experiment, is the period from 1919 to 1933, during which the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption were banned nationally as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States...
and the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, led to most distilleries going out of business. Today only three active distilleries remain in Campbeltown, which have, or in one case is expected to have, an excellent reputation for their quality.
The well known
folk songThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
titled
Campbeltown Loch, I wish you were whiskyCampbeltown Loch is a small sea loch near the south of the Kintyre Peninsula facing eastwards towards the Firth of Clyde. The town of Campbeltown, from which it takes its name, is located at its head. The island of Davaar is located in the loch, and can be reach by foot along a natural shingle...
is based on the town's history in this industry.
Culture
Apart from the distilleries, Campbeltown boasts a
museumA museum is a building or institution which houses a collection of artifacts.Museums collect and care for objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and make them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary...
and a
heritage centreA heritage centre is a museum facility primarily dedicated to the presentation of historical and cultural information about a place and its people, including, to some degree, natural features...
. The museum has a varied collection of items from Campbeltown's past, and
prehistoricPrehistory is a term used to describe the period before recorded history. Paul Tournal originally coined the term Pré-historique in describing the finds he had made in the caves of southern France...
items excavated from sites around Kintyre, such as axeheads, jewellery and combs. The 19th century building also houses the library and has plaques or exhibits related to famous Kintyre people: for example,
William McTaggartSir William McTaggart was a Scottish landscape painter who was influenced by Impressionism.-Life and work:The son of a crofter, William McTaggart was born in the small village of Aros in Kintyre. He moved to Edinburgh at the age of 16 and studied at the Trustees' Academy under Robert Scott Lauder...
and William Mackinnon. Near the museum is the
Wee Picture House, a small but distinctive
Art DecoArt Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts, and film...
cinemaA movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre, film theater or cinema is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
dating from 1913 and believed to be the oldest surviving purpose-built cinema in Scotland. These buildings are on the waterfront, as is a 14th century
Celtic crossA Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. The early Celtic stone high cross is generally in the form of a normal cross with a ring joining the arms for structural strength, often with an extended rectangular or cubic base that is mounted on the...
that also served as a
mercat crossA mercat cross is a market cross found in Scottish cities and towns where trade and commerce was a part of economic life. It was originally a place where merchants would gather, and later became the focal point of many town events such as executions, announcements and proclamations...
. St. Kieran lived in this area before the town existed. A cave named after him can be visited at low tide, as can the cave on nearby
Davaar IslandDavaar Island or Island Davaar is located at the mouth of Campbeltown Loch off the east coast of Kintyre, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is a tidal island, linked to the mainland by a natural shingle causeway called the Dhorlin near Campbeltown at low tide...
where pilgrims and tourists go to see a 19th century
crucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
painting.
Campbeltown also hosts the annual Mull Of Kintyre Music Festival, which has seen acts ranging from up-and-coming local bands to well-established groups such as
Deacon BlueDeacon Blue are a Scottish pop band. Their name is rumoured to be taken from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues", whose lyrics seem to reflect the group's early outlook:...
,
The StranglersThe Stranglers are an English rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning four decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most continuously successful band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
and
IdlewildIdlewild are a Scottish rock band, formed in Edinburgh, in 1995, comprising Roddy Woomble , Rod Jones , Colin Newton , Allan Stewart and Gareth Russell...
perform.
On Friday 16 June 2006,
First MinisterThe First Minister of Scotland is the political leader of Scotland and head of the Scottish Government. The First Minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish government policy...
Jack McConnellJack Wilson McConnell is a former First Minister of Scotland, leader of the Scottish Labour Party and current Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency...
flew to Campbeltown to officially open Campbeltown's new 'Aqualibrium' Centre. Aqualibrium replaced the old Campbeltown swimming pool, which closed 7 years ago due to safety reasons, and houses Campbeltown's library (with the old building being the museum only), swimming pool, gym, conference centre and 'Mussel Ebb' Cafe.
The
Kintyre CamanachdKintyre Camanachd is a shinty team from Campbeltown, Kintyre, Scotland. It currently holds membership of the Camanachd Association but has not fielded a senior side for a few years...
are a local
shintyShinty is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played almost exclusively in the Highlands of Scotland, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other...
team that belongs to the
Camanachd AssociationThe Camanachd Association is the World governing body of the Scottish sport of shinty. The body is based in Inverness, Highland, and is in charge of the rules of the game...
.
Argyll FM is a local radio station based in Campbeltown on 106.5, 107.1 & 107.7
Transport
Campbeltown AirportCampbeltown Airport is located at Machrihanish, west of Campbeltown, near the tip of the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland...
lies near the burgh, and a scheduled service runs between here and Glasgow Airport on weekdays, but not weekends.
Due to the town's isolated location near the far end of a long peninsula, in many ways it resembles sizeable communities on the islands of the
Inner HebridesThe Inner Hebrides is an archipelago off the west coast of Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. They are part of the Hebrides. In classical sources, they are referred to as the Ebudae or the Ebudes...
in that transport by sea is particularly important, although nonetheless it is linked to the rest of Scotland by the
A83The A83 is a major road in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, running from Tarbet, on the western shore of Loch Lomond, where it splits from the A82, to Campbeltown at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula. It is the latter part of the principal route from Glasgow to the towns of southern Argyll. This...
(to
TarbetTarbet is a small village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Traditionally on the northern fringes of the historic County of Dunbarton, it is on the banks of Loch Lomond, and has a pier. It stands on an isthmus where Loch Long and Loch Lomond come close. The village of Arrochar stands at the head of...
) and
A82The A82 is a trunk road in Scotland, and is the principal route from Lowland Scotland to the western Scottish Highlands, running from Glasgow to Inverness. It is also the second longest primary A-road in Scotland after the A9...
(from Tarbet to
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
).
FerriesA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
once sailed from Campbeltown to
BallycastleBallycastle is a small town in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Its population was 5,089 people in the 2001 Census. It is the seat and main settlement of Moyle District Council....
in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, but the service was suspended in June 2002 until further notice. According to the
Campbeltown Courier, the Scottish Executive repeatedly gives the message "not this year, maybe next" about this ferry service.
In 2006 a foot passenger ferry, The Kintyre Express, ran between Campbeltown and
TroonTroon is a town in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is situated on the west coast, about eight miles north of Ayr and three miles northwest of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Lying across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran can be seen. Troon is also a port with freight and ferry services —...
every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with a crossing time of one hour in calm weather. By 2007 this ferry no longer ran, although the vessel can be chartered privately.
As early as 1750 the Roy map shows a track connecting Campbeltown to
MuasdaleMuasdale is a hamlet on the western coast of the Kintyre Peninsula of Scotland. The village is along West Loch Tarbert. As of the year 2000 Muasdale had a population of 300. By the year 1750 the Roy map showed a coastal track along the west coast of Kintyre, even though the population level of the...
and points north along the west of the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown was linked to
MachrihanishMachrihanish is a village in Argyll, Scotland. Machrihanish has a classic links golf course described by many as the defining links course in Scotland.Campbeltown Airport, formerly RAF Machrihanish, is located near the village...
by a
canalCanals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canal: aqueduct canals are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterway canals are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans.The word...
(1794-mid 1880s) that was superseded by the
Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light RailwayThe Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway was a narrow gauge railway in Kintyre, Scotland, between the towns of Campbeltown and Machrihanish...
that closed in 1932.
Language
Campbeltown is traditionally one of the few communities in the
Scottish HighlandsThe Scottish Highlands include the rugged and mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east...
where the
Scots languageScots or Lowland Scots is the variety of Germanic language traditionally spoken in lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster. It is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language varieties traditionally spoken in the Highlands and Hebrides....
has predominated, rather than the previously widespread Scottish Gaelic. This was due to the
plantationPlantation was an early method of colonization in which settlers were "planted" abroad in order to establish a permanent or semi-permanent colonial base...
of
lowlandThe Scottish Lowlands , although not officially a geographical area of the country, in normal usage is generally meant to include those parts of Scotland not referred to as the Highlands , that is, everywhere due south and east of a line The Scottish Lowlands (a' Ghalldachd, meaning roughly 'the...
merchants to the burgh in the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
. Today the
English languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
, in the form of the
Scottish EnglishScottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not include Scots depending on the observer.The main, formal variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English...
dialectThe term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by scholars of language. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other...
, is the predominant language in the town.
Notable people
- Jill McGown
Jill McGown was a British writer of mystery novels. She was best known for her mystery series featuring Inspector Lloyd and Judy Hill, one of which was made into a television series...
, British writer of mystery novels
- Sir William Mackinnon, 1st Baronet, Scottish ship-owner and businessman
- James C. Russell, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
- Norman MacLeod, Scottish clergyman and author
- Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
, musician and singer leader of WingsWings was a rock group formed in 1971 by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Linda McCartney. The group was the only "permanent" group that any of the former members of the Beatles were ever involved with after their break-up...
and member of the BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
owns a farm near the town
- Duncan McNab McEachran
Duncan McNab McEachran as a Canadian veterinarian and academic.Born in Campbeltown, Scotland, the son of David McEachran and Jean Blackney, McEachran graduated from the Edinburgh Veterinary College in 1861 and received his license to practice from Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. In 1862, he...
, Canadian veterinarian and academic
- Hugh Henry Brackenridge
Hugh Henry Brackenridge was an American writer, lawyer, judge, and justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.A frontier citizen in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, he founded both the Pittsburgh Academy, now the University of Pittsburgh, and the Pittsburgh Gazette, still operating today as the...
, American writer, lawyer, judge, and justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
- Rodney Pattisson
Rodney Stuart Pattisson, MBE is a former Olympic gold medalist in sailing at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and 1972 Munich Olympics all in the Flying Dutchman class...
, sailor, Olympic gold medalist at the 1968 Mexico City OlympicsThe 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...
and 1972 Munich OlympicsThe 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, in what was then West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
along with a silver medal at the 1976 Montreal OlympicsThe 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976...
External links