„Follow the Kintyre Trail...in the footsteps of Saints and Kings, and the magic spell of Scotland‘s only mainland island will capture your imagination, as it has other visitors for thousand years.“ Kintyre welcomes the visitor with its famous Mull of Kintyre, its history, wildlife and distilleries.

The Royal Borough of Campbeltown was once known as the Whisky Capital of the World. The largest town on Kintyre peninsula with its 5.000 inhabitants was indeed a realm of whisky in Victorian times. During the 19th century there were more than 30 distilleries producing whisky with an annual capacity of 9 million litres of spirit.

Although only a town, Campbeltown was then regarded as one of the major whisky regions of Scotland. In 1885 there were 21 distilleries active. In 1977 Paul McCartney‘s Song Mull of Kintyre was no. one and made the southern Scottish peninsula world famous.

Today only the distilleries Glengyle, Glen Scotia and Springbank survived. David Stirk published a detailed and more than excellent account of Campbeltown‘s whisky history:

The Distilleries of Campbeltown. The Rise and Fall of the Whisky Capital of the World.  Glasgow 2005.

It may take some time

until the distilleries show up.  

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