Things to see in Mull of Kintyre
St Columba stopped off at Southend on his way to Iona 1500 years ago and you can see the ruins of the church built on the spot where he came ashore. Legend has it that the imprints he made when he came ashore became encased in stone and “St Columba’s footprints” are still visible today!
There is more history at the Dunaverty Rock, which is said to be where the Earl of Argyll had three hundred people murdered back in 1647. Thankfully today it has a more peaceful role as the southern end of the “Kintyre Way”, a 76 mile route that criss crosses the peninsula showing the rugged, remote beauty that marks Kintyre.
Seal Bay gets its name from the creatures that you’ll regularly find basking on the rocks just a few miles from Osborne Cottage. Here you’ll also regularly find a wealth of seabirds and other wildlife, including otters, eagles and cormorants.
For golfers, along with the excellent Dunaverty Golf Club, a short drive away is the famous Machrihanish Golf Course. This championship course is famed for his exceptional first hole, where golfers need to carry the Atlantic from the tee to the fairway. Golfers really are spoilt for choice here, with the recently opened Machrihanish Dunes, a second championship course nearby on the peninsula.
Daunting driving isn’t just confined to the nearby golf courses. The Mull of Kintyre Lighthouse is just twelve miles along the coast and if you can bear the single track road with sheer drops to the sea below, you’ll be rewarded with a view you’ll never forgot. Ten miles to the north is the island Davaar which is reached by a natural shingle causeway at low tide, so make sure to check the tide times at the Tourist Board before setting off!
In Campbelltown you can visit the oldest independent whisky distillery still in operation; Springbank is run by the great great great grand son of Archibald Mitchell, the man who built an illicit still on the site in 1828.
Whether you think it is family friendly, stunning, tranquil, a golfer’s retreat, a walker’s dream, a wildlife paradise; there is something around every corner and to suit every taste and too many words to describe the beautiful Mull of Kintyre and it’s all around you at Osborne Cottage.
For a complete list of all the upcoming events in Mull of Kintyre over the coming months, head over to the Visit Kintyre Events page.