Welcome to the Mull of Kintyre...
... the ancient cradle of Scotland, for it is here in the fifth century AD that Fergus Mór Mac Eirc and the Scoti from Ireland came to establish the kingdom of Dál Riata (Dalriada) and to give our country its name - Scotland.
Famous throughout the world from Paul McCartney's song, the Mull of Kintyre* is a beautiful area, combining rugged cliffs and coastline facing the North Atlantic, with secluded and often deserted, golden sandy beaches. Enjoying a special climate all of its own, as evidenced by the many palm trees growing out in the open, the Mull of Kintyre often has better weather than much of the rest of Scotland.
Stunning all round views include a panorama which variously stretches from the Clyde and the islands of Arran and Ailsa Craig, around past the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland, a mere 12 miles away, and then further past Rathlin Island to the western Hebridean islands of Islay, Jura, Cara and Gigha.
Walking, golf, whisky, sailing, history or simply chilling - there is an airport with twice daily flights from Glasgow, but the drive - via Loch Lomond, the Rest and Be Thankful, Inverary and down the west coast of Kintyre - is spectacular. Well worthwhile for its own sake!
* Strictly speaking, the Mull of Kintyre is supposedly only actually the headland at the lighthouse (Kintyre being the whole of the peninsula south of Tarbert and "Mull" meaning a rounded headland). A glance at a map, however, shows why many locally take a larger view. That the Mull of Kintyre is all of the area enclosed by the rounded headland which extends from Campbeltown to Machrihanish. A point of view greatly reinforced when sailing around it (which, before modern roads, was the main form of transport here).